Global Lighthouse Network 2026

Lighthouse factories unlock CoE-driven scale At the Lighthouse pilot stage, companies often pursue a CoE-driven model, characterized by a centralized, top-down transformation approach. A transformation office or CoE orchestrates roll-outs site by site, ensuring operational consistency and performance tracking. Cross-functional teams are typically deployed in a limited number of priority domains – focused on high-value use cases that accelerate time-to-market and improve quality for strategic products. Data architecture is often built with external partners, supported by agile governance to maintain quick decision cycles. The centralized CoE codifies business rules, harmonizes metrics and standardizes reporting, although implementation remains relatively light-touch at the site level through rapid pilots led by local champions. This model prioritizes speed and replicability over autonomy – allowing organizations to quickly prove value and establish foundational digital capabilities before broader scaling-up efforts. Tongwei Solar demonstrates a CoE-driven model through a CIO- sponsored transformation office coordinating 250+ full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) across 15 digital use cases (Figure 34).58 Transformation journeys at Lighthouses scaling-up network-wide FIGURE 34 Note: WMS = warehouse management system. Source: Global Lighthouse Network.Rising customer expectations, stricter quality standar ds and cost pr essur es from market oversupply CIO-sponsor ed transformation office with 258 cr oss-functional FTEs for parallel development of 15 digital use cases Talent pipeline by collaborating with 200+ universities for R&D and curriculum integration Tongwei Cloud IoT platform and hybrid data ar chitectur e to pr ocess 450 GB of real-time data daily Dassault, Foxconn, NetEase H3C for low-code platform, GenAI, unified data pr oducts, IoT infrastructur e Digital bootcamps, hackathons, demo days and performance-linked incentivesDeployed >50 4IR solutions (64% with AI), enabling -41% quality defects; -37% conversion cost; upskilled 500+ engineers (15% FTE)2 Employee engagement pr ogrammes such as suggestion cycles and gr oup surveysPackaging suppliers, forwar ders, and equipment pr oviders; Renault, Decathlon for innovation, benchmarkingDual SAP & WMS system to manage linear and cir cular flows, integrated IoT and cloud for r eal-time dataPartner ed local organizations (e.g. IMP AQT) to develop sustainability skillsCatalyst model for leadership exemplarity , transpar ent communication for collective ownershipAchieved a fully cir cular pr oduct flow of 220,000 pr oducts, enabling customers to pur chase lower CO2 footprint pr oductMeet rising customer demand for sustainable solutions, secur e critical raw materials and comply with r egulations3 Clear car eer paths for 87 job types, incentives for multi-skilled/lingual employeesMicrosoft, T encent and HAI Robotics for AI, training and automation solutions, universities, logistics partnersIntegrated 11 supply chain systems via a cloud-edge IIoT ar chitectur e and 10 AI agents for business scenariosPartner ed with universities to co- cultivate 70+ digital talents and 200+ interns annuallyCross-functional agile teams with 20+ pr oduct owners, 50+ translators, 100+ developers, 30+ ar chitects, 160 gr oup experts Deliver ed $7.1 million annualized financial impact thr ough 72 digital solutions; integrated 4k+ new employees from Thailand, Myanmar , ChinaLong lead times for cor e materials fr om 800 overseas t ier 1/2 suppliers acr oss 35 supply chain nodes Adoption programmesScaling archetype Centre-of-excellence-driven Capability-driven Technology-driven Examples from the 2025 cohort Impact Agile operating model Talent and training Technology and data Ecosystem collaborationCase for changeLighthouse pilot Product & platform Fully rewired y stageenruoj noitamrofsnarT Capabilities Change management 1 Global Lighthouse Network: Rewiring Operations for Resilience and Impact at Scale 50