British consumer goods giant Unilever announced on Friday that its food factory and logistics center in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, went into operation.

The move signifies a milestone in its synergized development of smart manufacturing and supply chain in China, it said in a statement.

The plant, in Guangzhou's Conghua district, is Unilever's first full-range food manufacturing facility in China, promising to become a growth engine of its food business?in the country.

The plant is designed and operated in light of the practice of a lighthouse factory.

It is anticipated to draw upstream and downstream businesses to facilitate a local supply chain.

The new logistics center, equipped with automated facilities, has 60 percent higher distribution efficiency compared with previous centers, serving the South China operation and consolidating the network nationwide.