A Study on the Qingdao Brewery’s Lighthouse Factory

초록

This study systematically examines the intrinsic mechanism through which the development of a sustainable lighthouse factory enhances the international competitiveness of manufacturing enterprises, using Tsingtao Brewery as a representative case. It aims to fill the research gap regarding how lighthouse factories empower consumer goods manufacturers in digital and green transformation. Since the Lighthouse Factory certification system of World Economic Forum (WEF), standards for intelligent and sustainable manufacturing have become increasingly clear, while empirical studies on Chinese consumer goods enterprises remain limited. Tsingtao Brewery, recognized as the first Lighthouse Factory in the global beer and beverage industry in 2021 and upgraded to the first Sustainable Lighthouse Factory in the global food and beverage industry in 2024, represents a leading case of lighthouse development in China. Covering the period from 2018 to 2025, this study evaluated the following fields: financial performance, production efficiency, supply chain resilience, ESG compliance, and brand premium. The findings reveal that lighthouse development significantly strengthened internal competitiveness, with net profit margin increasing from 5.49% to 14.53%, gross profit margin exceeding 40%, and carbon emission intensity declining by 62% within three years. However, the conversion of manufacturing advantages into international competitiveness remains constrained by channel expansion, brand communication, and localized operations.

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