Supply chain & operations leaders
At multinational plants and warehouses
Cut picking and shipping errors, see inventory as it moves, and connect to SAP. Built on a warehouse system proven in large global chemical companies.
ABOUT
The team and partners
behind Thingple.
Our story, our leadership, and the partners who help us bring digital and AI solutions to process industries.
ABOUT THINGPLE
Engineering experience.
Built into every connection.
Thingple combines “Thing” and “Simple”. Founded in Shanghai, we develop integrated hardware and software for digitization and AI in process industries, with a focus on chemical and materials manufacturing.
Our approach starts at the factory floor: capture the physical data, connect it to the product, and make it useful to the people running the operation.
INDUSTRIAL ROOTS
Founded in Shanghai
Hardware and software development focused on real industrial operations.
2023
BASF-YPC warehouse
Receiving and issuing workflows documented on site in February 2023.
2026
Connected manufacturing
An integrated offering spanning warehouse management, production data, and tailored AI applications.
OUR PURPOSE
Better operations.
More responsible use of resources.
Useful data helps people make better decisions, reduce repetitive work and use materials more carefully. This is the purpose behind Thingple’s work.
Our purpose · 1 minute · English on-screen text
THE TEAM BEHIND IT
Fourteen years of engineering,
still running.
2012
Fourteen years, one platform
Since 2012 we have built, installed and refined the same RFID and software platform in real plants. Every project adds to what the next one starts with.
80+
Experience that stays
Over 80 person-years of engineering and plant experience sit behind our systems. They are written into the product, the processes and the way we commission, not just in people’s heads.
Live
We stay after go-live
We keep supporting every system we install. At BASF-YPC, Thingple runs the receiving, putaway, picking and delivery-gate workflow of an operating chemical warehouse. We carry that responsibility every day.
STRATEGIC COOPERATION / YOKOGAWA CHINA
Connecting material visibility with factory automation
Thingple and Yokogawa China have signed a strategic cooperation memorandum to explore opportunities in factory automation and manufacturing operations digitalization. The collaboration brings together Thingple’s RFID, warehouse management and manufacturing software capabilities with Yokogawa’s expertise in automation, measurement and control.
The aim is to help manufacturers improve operational efficiency, accuracy and visibility.
LEADERSHIP
Technology knowledge.
Customer understanding.
Min Zhou · CEO
Min Zhou holds a PhD in materials science and leads Thingple’s business and technology direction. She brings a deep understanding of the chemical and materials industries and of customer operations. In 2004, she led Unilever Technology Ventures’ investment in Impinj. Her materials expertise and long-standing RFID experience inform Thingple’s integrated hardware and software solutions. She also serves as CEO of CM Venture Capital.
STRATEGIC INVESTOR
Phoenix Contact is a strategic investor in Thingple, connecting the company with an industrial automation ecosystem.
CM Venture Fund I was an earlier investor and has fully exited its investment.
A MATERIALS PERSPECTIVE
Min Zhou at Phoenix Contact
Edited excerpt · 1 min 12 sec · Phoenix Contact event, February 2023
Spoken in Mandarin with original Chinese captions. Summary provided in both website languages.
Watch the full 2023 talk · 18 minutes
Historical event recording: “Discover Purpose from Randomness.” Includes the original slides, branding and captions.
WHO WE WORK WITH
Built for the people
who run the operation.
CEOs and heads of manufacturing
At growing materials companies
Start with one problem: a warehouse, a line, a recurring defect. Add modules as results justify, and build the data you will need for AI.
IT and automation teams
Who need it to fit
Standard APIs, mainstream industrial protocols, containerized deployment and hot standby. Works alongside your ERP, DCS and SCADA.
EXPLORE YOUR OPERATION
Where could better
data help your plant?
Tell us about your warehouse, your lines or your quality challenges.
Email info@thingple.com ↗