Business & IndustryAnalysis
Haier and Yili Form Strategic Alliance for Smart Supply Chains and AI
The consumer goods and appliance giants aim to build intelligent cold chains, zero-carbon parks, and national manufacturing standards.
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The Brief
Haier Group and Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to integrate technology innovation, supply chain management, brand development, and green manufacturing. The partnership will focus on developing an end-to-end smart cold-chain logistics system, co-developing lighthouse factories and zero-carbon industrial parks, and collaborating on national sustainability standards for the food industry.
Why it matters
The tie-up represents a notable cross-sector collaboration between a global home appliance and industrial IoT leader and China's largest dairy producer. By integrating smart logistics, digital manufacturing, and carbon accounting, the partnership reflects how legacy consumer and manufacturing giants are attempting to leverage automation and AI to optimize margins, reduce cold-chain waste, and meet decarbonization targets.
China context
As Chinese policymakers push for high-quality industrial development, intelligent transformation, and progress toward national carbon peaking and neutrality goals, cross-industry alliances have become a key mechanism for industrial upgrading. Establishing national smart manufacturing demonstration bases and standardizing green manufacturing metrics allow leading domestic enterprises to shape regulatory and technical benchmarks across supply chains.
Editor's View
EDITOR'S VIEW — Analysis and inference, not factual reporting.
Cross-sector strategic agreements in China frequently announce ambitious goals across digitalization and sustainability, but the true measure of success lies in technical integration. For Haier and Yili, establishing interconnected cold-chain logistics and shared carbon accounting standards offers tangible operational synergies. Observers should track whether the partnership produces commercialized smart-logistics products and measurable emission reductions across Yili's production network.
What to watch
- Implementation timelines and initial rollout locations for the joint smart cold-chain logistics network
- Progress on the construction and official certification of the dairy smart manufacturing demonstration base and zero-carbon parks
- Participation and publication milestones for national food industry sustainability and carbon-accounting standards
Key Takeaways
- 1Haier Group and Yili Group signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement on August 5.
- 2Key focus areas include end-to-end intelligent cold-chain logistics, R&D collaboration, and sports marketing.
- 3The companies will co-develop a national smart manufacturing base, lighthouse factories, and zero-carbon industrial parks.
- 4Joint efforts will also target the drafting of national sustainability standards and verified carbon reduction accounting for the food sector.
Haier Group and Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement on August 5, committing to deep collaboration across technological innovation, supply chain management, joint brand initiatives, and green manufacturing, according to a report by People's Daily.
The agreement was signed by Yili Vice President Ma Fei and Haier General Manager of Government and Enterprise Affairs Xu Zhibo, with Yili Executive President Wang Wei and Haier Group President and Board Vice Chairman Liang Haishan in attendance.
Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies plan to combine their technological and industrial capabilities to explore industrial operating models adapted to the artificial intelligence era. In product development, the partners will jointly build an end-to-end intelligent cold-chain infrastructure to support customized product research and development. In supply chain operations, they plan to expand existing operational scenarios to create an upgraded cold-chain logistics and transport system.
The alliance also extends into green manufacturing and industrial standardization. Haier and Yili intend to establish a national-level smart manufacturing demonstration base for the dairy sector, collaborate on building "lighthouse factories" and zero-carbon industrial parks, and participate jointly in drafting national sustainability standards for the food industry. The companies will also work together on auditing and verifying carbon emission reductions.
In addition to technical and operational integration, the agreement covers commercial brand partnerships, including sports marketing and joint intellectual property initiatives.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Yili Executive President Wang Wei stated that the agreement aims to broaden innovation across multiple sectors to support Yili's global positioning in the health food market. Haier President Liang Haishan noted that the two enterprises share similar development trajectories and intend to integrate supply chain and product resources to pioneer new manufacturing models in the AI era.
Sources
- 海尔集团与伊利集团签署战略合作 共创AI时代产业发展新模式--经济·科技--人民网 — People's Daily · 8/7/2026