A while back, I had the privilege of being invited to conduct research in a certain location in North China.

I caught an early morning flight, explored the vast region on foot, and analyzed its current development status through a professional lens.

It’s often said that you can’t attract business from behind a desk. The same goes for industrial research—you can’t see the problems if you stay in the office.

Industrial research is certainly not merely about writing a summary, compiling a set of statistics, or hosting a few forums.

From a regional perspective, we clarify the region’s industrial development goals by examining the investment environment, the current state of the industrial foundation, and the development plans.

Based on this, what sets us apart is our ability to analyze market trends and identify development bottlenecks within the enterprise’s industrial chain ecosystem, thereby formulating tailored investment promotion solutions.

Sound investment attraction decisions are invariably rooted in industrial research. In other words, without thorough industrial research, attracting investment becomes an arduous task.

To conduct effective industrial research, sitting in an office won’t allow you to encounter problems, identify bottlenecks, or grasp the true situation. You must go out into the field, dig deep, take a comprehensive view, and search meticulously.

Industrial research is the prerequisite for investment promotion; only by confronting the "fundamental issues" of the industry can we "tailor improvements" to our investment strategies.

01 Identify Bottlenecks in the Supply Chain to Set the Right Pace for Investment Promotion

Without thorough industry research, investment promotion efforts will be haphazard and disjointed.

In many regions, bottlenecks and breaks in the industrial chain—from enterprise operations to the entire supply chain—still persist, causing investment promotion efforts to stall.

Long before setting out, we conducted several rounds of review and analysis.

Regarding the region, we integrated leading industries, key enterprises, and the 14th Five-Year Plan to understand local conditions and clarify industrial development goals.

At the same time, using in-depth enterprise survey forms and interdepartmental coordination forms, we visited the area to conduct on-site inspections and gather accurate and comprehensive information.

First, regarding the enterprise survey form, what constitutes “in-depth”?

Basic information, financial data, site selection requirements, and layout details are essential components.

Most importantly, corporate operations involve numerous detailed and specialized issues. It can be said that without familiarity with the industry and a clear understanding of its sub-sectors, it is impossible to engage in meaningful dialogue with the company.

In fact, even during face-to-face discussions, key information may remain elusive. This is akin to a layman attempting technical work—the outcome is predictable.

We examine issues from the perspective of the enterprise’s industrial chain and conduct research in several areas:

Upstream: Proportion of raw material costs, sourcing locations, and supply of core equipment

Midstream: Product business sectors, production volume, gross profit margin, and strategic planning

Downstream: Product application areas and sales coverage

If you break down each of these categories further, you’ll find that the number of involved stages increases; the more detailed the breakdown, the clearer the picture becomes.

For example, the proportion of costs such as raw materials, labor, transportation, and energy consumption within operating costs; core production equipment, procurement locations, and suppliers; future output plans, technological upgrades, equipment acquisitions, and new product development.

This is the essence of industrial research: keenly observing market changes, accurately grasping industry trends, and tailoring investment attraction strategies based on existing corporate layouts and operational realities.

During this research, we visited several coal-fired power plants. Fly ash is the fine particulate residue left after coal combustion; it generates a large volume of solid waste with a low comprehensive utilization rate.

Within the industrial chain, fly ash serves as a raw material for building materials; due to its fine particle size and unique chemical composition, it is commonly used in the construction sector.

Built on solid waste and thriving through building materials, we aim to establish an industrial chain hub that spans from solid waste to building materials and from building materials to construction, thereby opening new avenues for local investment attraction.

For building materials enterprises, the rational and high-value utilization of fly ash of grade 2 or higher aligns with the requirements of green, low-carbon, and high-quality development.

Furthermore, this approach meets the production needs of enterprises; whereas raw materials previously had to be purchased from other regions, this method now reduces product costs.

Taking industrial research beyond local boundaries—gaining both an industry-wide perspective and market insight—is essential for identifying industrial development challenges and seeking breakthroughs in investment promotion.

In the past, when investment promotion teams went out to attract investment, they mostly pursued projects one by one—in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Yangtze River Delta, and so on—often requiring them to travel all over the country.

Visiting wave after wave of companies and reviewing project after project was not only time-consuming and labor-intensive but also yielded limited results.

Now, however, regions are using industrial chain maps to “follow the map to find the horse,” attracting investment along the chain. With a map in hand, project matching has become efficient and rapid.

02 Assessing Local Capabilities to Match High-Quality Resources

“Are the key points clear? Let’s go over the local promotion materials one more time…”

I overheard this remark while passing by a local official’s office during a research visit.

Sometimes, conducting industrial research is like being a detective. You must not only understand the company’s needs but also have a clear grasp of the region’s “assets.”

Conducting thorough industrial research and taking a clear inventory of regional resources is also crucial.

What is the core offering of investment promotion?

It’s not just land, factories, and warehouses, nor is it solely about natural resources, industrial foundations, or preferential policies.

Rather, it is the investment plan—the end-to-end service we provide to assist companies in completing the site selection and investment process.

Why do I say this? The preliminary work of investment promotion involves conducting in-depth research to match high-quality resources with companies.

To achieve this to the fullest extent, coordination is required among multiple departments, including development and reform, industry and information technology, commerce, statistics, environmental protection, and approval authorities.

For example: the stock of regional land resources;

This includes industrial land, logistics land, M0 new industrial land, the status of land parcels transferred in the past two years, as well as providing regional master plans and information on natural resources.

Additionally, the current state of local industrial development.

This includes the number of industrial enterprises (above designated size), their industry sectors, output value, and tax contributions; as well as the nature of enterprises (listed companies, high-tech firms, specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative enterprises, top 100 enterprises, etc.) and their numbers.

What relevant policies are available to enterprises; the proportion of output value from enterprises above designated size relative to total industrial output value; and the proportion of output value from various sub-sectors within the industrial sector above designated size relative to the total output value of that sector.

Environmental protection is now the top priority; before attracting enterprises, it is even more important to pay attention to various indicators and entry requirements.

Emissions standards for the "three wastes" (wastewater, waste gas, and solid waste), environmental protection indicators (such as VOC capacity), sewage treatment plants and their treatment capacity and pricing, and solid waste treatment facilities (for both general and hazardous solid waste).

In particular, focus on permitted processes, such as spray coating, electroplating, and electrophoresis. For the biopharmaceutical sector, pay attention to the admission standards for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), chemical formulations, and traditional Chinese medicine extracts.

In our research, we assess whether the park’s infrastructure, upstream and downstream support systems, and labor recruitment conditions meet the needs of prospective investors, based on the production operations and plans of existing enterprises.

After visiting several new energy companies, we identified that the local area lacks photovoltaic quotas, has no downstream extensions for energy storage lithium batteries, and lacks component manufacturers for wind turbine main units.

Whether focusing on industrial development directions or extending and strengthening industrial chains, industrial research requires going out into the field to conduct on-site investigations, examine the current state of enterprise operations, analyze regional investment competitiveness, systematically address issues, break through investment promotion deadlocks, leverage comparative advantages, and drive high-quality local development.

The GuChuan Industrial Research Institute conducts on-site investigations from the perspective of industrial competitiveness. By integrating current industry conditions and future trends, we clarify development strategies, identify key regional industrial priorities, and implement investment promotion initiatives focused on building, extending, filling gaps in, and strengthening industrial chains.

Underpinning this approach is a comprehensive overview of local enterprises compiled from research findings. Addressing regional challenges and the site selection priorities of prospective companies in specific sectors, the institute implements measures to ensure successful business establishment. These include, but are not limited to, talent recruitment initiatives, the adoption of industrial support policies, and the development of supporting infrastructure.

With the support of industrial research, investment promotion can follow the development patterns of the dominant industrial ecosystem to map out a blueprint for industrial development.

This approach enables the precise identification of target enterprises with growth potential that can contribute to the park’s industrial development, significantly enhancing the efficiency of investment matching.