Economic downturn, overcapacity, reduced investment, shrinking market demand... After more than a decade of rapid development, China's survey and design industry has entered a difficult period. The market pie is shrinking, and competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Although a series of national policies such as the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration, sponge cities, and underground comprehensive utility tunnels have provided new opportunities and development space for the industry, not all enterprises can seize these opportunities.
　　Sun Wukong had to master 72 transformations to face 81 tribulations with a smile. In the new development stage, the competitive environment and competitive factors have undergone major changes, and the survey and design industry is facing reintegration and reshuffling. What skills and capabilities must be developed to overcome difficulties, survive against all odds or thrive against the wind, and successfully transform? This is a question that survey and design enterprises must face.
　　1 Compete on management
　　Survey and design enterprises must change the previous single, extensive development and management model that took "winning projects" as an important indicator, establish the thinking that "management is also productivity," and improve the level of market-oriented operations and operational efficiency through management innovation and refined management. According to relevant national policies and strategic deployments, enterprises should strengthen internal management, optimize the allocation of various resources, do a good job in top-level design, clarify transformation paths, and deploy short-, medium-, and long-term strategic goals; clarify market positioning, seek distinctive features, and take a differentiated development path; innovate business models, integrate resources, enhance core project management capabilities; pay attention to corporate culture management, establish corporate brands, and build industry reputation. In the increasingly harsh internal and external environment, only by strengthening management, enhancing internal cohesion, and improving external competitiveness can enterprises seize market opportunities and open up new business models and fields while meeting market demand and better serving owners.
　　2 Compete on technology
　　As a technology-intensive industry, the improvement of the core competitiveness of survey and design enterprises is inseparable from technological progress and the enhancement of scientific and technological innovation capabilities. Technological innovation plays an indispensable and important role in the strategic transformation of survey and design enterprises, surpassing traditional development models, and improving core competitiveness. Enterprises must change the concept of "emphasizing production over research" and firmly establish the concept of scientific and technological innovation, enhancing awareness of scientific and technological innovation.
　　Currently, technological innovation is actually also innovation in information technology. The rapid development of information technologies such as the Internet, Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data, and BIM has driven the development of the survey and design industry. At the same time, the in-depth promotion of projects such as prefabricated buildings and smart cities has put forward higher requirements for the information technology level and innovation capabilities of survey and design enterprises. Enterprises must increase investment in scientific research, improve the level of information technology, enhance continuous technological research and development and innovation capabilities, promote the deep integration of design, procurement, construction, and other stages, and achieve efficient allocation of technology, human resources, capital, and management resources. At the same time, scientific and technological innovation must be closely integrated with national strategies and market demand, so that scientific and technological innovation achievements are practical and meet market demand. At the same time, attention should be paid to the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and the protection of intellectual property rights.
　　3 Compete on talent
　　Talent is the primary resource and development factor for survey and design enterprises. Giving full play to the role of talent is a key factor determining the competitiveness of enterprises, and building a stable talent team is a foundation for the sustainable development of survey and design enterprises. In fierce market competition, enterprises compete on talent and need elite forces. Enterprises must strengthen the construction of talent teams, find ways to attract high-level, highly skilled, and high-quality talent, especially frontline professional and technical talent and young professional leaders. At the same time, enterprises should establish and improve talent training and growth mechanisms, innovate human resource management and incentive mechanisms, stimulate the enthusiasm and subjective initiative of all kinds of talent in entrepreneurship, innovation, and efficiency creation, and build platforms, create opportunities, and provide space for talent training, growth, and the full play of their abilities.
　　4 Compete on capital　　
　　Whether it is the extension of upstream and downstream industrial chains, the scale or specialized development of enterprises, or national strategies such as going global, sponge cities, underground comprehensive utility tunnels, and PPP, survey and design enterprises must realize the importance of leveraging the capital market to become bigger and stronger and to seize markets and opportunities. Capital operation is a means for enterprises to achieve capital appreciation and an important means to realize strategies, expand markets, and improve profitability. Capital operation can not only increase the media exposure and social attention of survey and design enterprises and enhance brand image, but also enable enterprises to use capital as an external lever to achieve rapid development and growth in a short time. In recent years, more and more survey and design enterprises have successfully transformed through capital operations such as mergers, acquisitions, restructuring, and listing. In the future, capital will become an indispensable competitive factor for the sustainable development of survey and design enterprises, and capital operation will also be an inevitable path for enterprises to adapt to the development of the entire industry and social economy.