Samsungs Mobile Sales Force Automation

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Samsung Electronics is one of the biggest multi-billion dollar corporations in the world. In year 2007, it surpasses the $100bn mark in annual sales for the first time in its history. This makes it become one of the world's top three companies in the electronics industry. The name Samsung literally means ‘three stars’ or ‘tristar’ in Korean, reflecting the Samsung Group’s dominance in two further sectors: Samsung Heavy Industries and Samsung Engineering and Construction. The innovation in Samsung is now the established leader in consumer electronics, supporting a sphere of leading-edge premium products and, in their own words, ‘leading the digital convergence revolution’. Samsung has made a big change from copy-cat manufacturer to become Asia's most valuable technology company. For over 70 years, Samsung has been dedicated to making a better world through diverse businesses that today span advanced technology, semiconductors, skyscraper and plant construction, petrochemicals, fashion, medicine, finance, hotels, and more.

Task 2: Identify 5 topics

1. Strategies

Samsung is focusing on build up capabilities in all segments of business and expanding profit base so as to maintain long-term growth. Amid the business environment where competition is intensifying across all financial services sectors, they are determining to secure solid income base by building differentiated core competencies and continuously diversifying sources of income. In the wealth management market, they will also satisfy the client needs, drawing on the capabilities and reputation built over the past 10 years. Before all, they will improve their efforts to serve the UHNWI market where they have competitive edge, and to get fingers on the retirement planning market where expect the strong growth. At the mean time, they will strengthen market dominance in the wholesale market by offering a broader range of products while strengthening competitiveness in the IB market by increasing customer coverage. Moreover, Samsung will effectively invest in their management infrastructure in order to lay the groundwork for tenable growth.

Mid- to Long-term Growth Strategy

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2. Globalization

Samsung is truly global in scope and nature with more than 285 overseas operations in 67 countries. Its strategy is two-pronged: to wisely expand outside its home market and to equip overseas units with the skills and resources to be self-sufficient.

The strategy brings Samsung and the countries where it operates huge opportunities. Globalization provides make use to new suppliers and customers, and allows Samsung to learn and benefit from new cultures and new ideas. In addition, Samsung places a priority on being a respected corporate citizen, a good employer, and a helpful neighbor in the local community and hence contribute to the local economy.

Samsung is already a world leader in many business areas. In electronics, it is the number one producer of memory chips, LCDs, displays and CDMA handheld phone. In finance, Samsung Life Insurance is ranked 10th largest life insurance company in the world by Fortune Magazine.

Increasingly, Samsung has been forming cooperative alliances with the some of the leading names in the global technology arena to share vision, knowledge, and experience.

Alliances include cooperation with Microsoft, AOL Time Warner, and Sprint in the areas of technology and marketing. Samsung is also working with Intel, Sony, and Qualcomm on technology exchange as well as standardization. Collaborating with Dell, IBM, Compaq, and Hewlett-Packard has helped to reduce risks in entering new business areas and to secure stable supplies.

The partnerships are designed to provide all customers with efficiency, productivity and stability with the aim of being a total solutions provider in the areas of home, mobile, and office through Digital Convergence and Networking.

Samsung’s goal in every market is to maximize brand equity through superior design, marketing, and customer service, and to constantly deliver the highest-quality products. The steadfast commitment in each of these areas will ultimately place the "Samsung" name among the best known and most respected in the world. Samsung’s brand value increased to US$8.31 billion in 2002 from US$6.37 billion in 2001 and was recognized by Interbrand Corporation as the fastest growing global brand.

3. New Technologies

A heavily emphasized feature was the Galaxy S4's remote technology which allows users to control functions without touching the 5in (12.7cm) screen. "Smart scroll" lets users browse through emails without touching the screen by detecting the movements of the eyes and wrist. Beyond that, users can also change music tracks or accept a call with a wave of a hand. Users can also take photos or video using a 13 megapixel rear camera and a two megapixel front camera at the same time and blend the images together, even recording voice tags with them. The phone also has an in-built translator, which can translate voice or text. It can measure temperature and humidity which allows users to activate commands via voice control when driving and even monitors your health. The S4 also automatically creates "story albums" of photos and videos, which can be coordinate with devices at home, while a "group play" function lets people enjoy music, photos and games with people around them.

4. Business Intelligence

Samsung’s Enterprise Data Tools extend the PC experience beyond the desk with an extensive range of enterprise mobility solutions. These tools allow employees to collate relevant data, create reports and access analytics on the device, enhancing their ability to stay informed and make important decisions when conducting business on the move. 

Samsung's Mobile SFA (Sales Force Automation) is a solution for enterprises that focuses on sales activities by providing services to manage customer relations, order placements and bill collection. The Mobile SFA (Sales Force Automation) can be used to make your sales team more effective and competitive by providing a new platform that manages your customers better. Your sales team can update their information anytime, anywhere and access customer data easily and quickly. And this is available on GALAXY 2, GALAXY SII, GALAXY TAB, and GALAXY TAB 10.1.

5. Supply Chain Management

With a global supply chain as complex as Samsung’s, advanced approaches to planning, scheduling and operations are necessary for stability and success. Since year 2004, a brand new program combining supply chain management and Six Sigma has been a key driver of both.

Samsung first researched how Six Sigma was being used at companies like General Electric, Honeywell and DuPont. Methods of matching customer requirements to products and services, while assigning lean methodologies to manufacturing, were seen as particularly valuable. In the end, Samsung determined about 75% of its Six Sigma projects would involve redesigning processes and 25% would focus on process improvement. It then tailored Six Sigma’s methodology to better support Samsung’s supply chain management projects.

In addition, Samsung’s team also created design principles to guide the SCM Six Sigma projects throughout each stage:

Global Optimum – speaks to a global, rather than local alignment of improvement ideas

Process KPI Mapping – defines objectives and monitors the process towards management improvement plan goals

Systemization – a critical component of SCM Six Sigma at Samsung

Five Design Parameters – used to characterize the changes that need to be managed.

Task 3: Identify 3 topics and find the issues and problems

1. Security

Samsung plans to release a security patch for a newly discovered lock screen hack, reports Lookout Mobile Security. According to the security firm, however, the timeframe for the official software repair is vague, expected to hit "shortly."

Lookout, in the interim, has deployed a minor update to its popular security application that attempts to address these nefarious lock screen bypass methods. To be clear, this is not a final solution to the issue; rather, it's a stopgap measure intended to alleviate user concern.

Both the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and Samsung Galaxy S 3 were recently found to be susceptible to the attack vector. Indeed, the two devices can be "tricked" into allowing access to apps and widgets. The method essentially lets attackers worm their way past a handset's emergency dial pad lock screen with just a series of quick button presses.

To mitigate the risk, when Lookout detects the emergency contact dialer has been back grounded, [[our solution]] preemptively brings it back to the forefront so that the rest of the phone cannot be accessed.

While the lock screen bypass hack requires a bit of practice, and the overall risk is somewhat minor, it's still a troubling issue. Samsung would be wise to address the weakness as quickly as possible lest they incur the wrath of fanboys and detractors.

"Samsung considers user privacy and the security of user data its top priority," a company representative told CNET in an e-mail. "We are aware of this issue and will release a fix at the earliest possibility."

2. Design Failures

Samsung Galaxy S3, the latest smartphone offering from Samsung, is considered as one of the top smartphones in the market. Despite having this title, there are still some flaws in Samsung Galaxy S3 that users are complaining about. Some of these issues were already addressed by Samsung but there are still Samsung Galaxy S3 users who are complaining about these issues regarding their new Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphones. Here are the top 3 issues in Samsung:

Battery Issues

One of the most complained aspect of Samsung Galaxy S3 is the smartphone's battery. Some users were complaining that the smartphone is using up excessive amounts of battery when it is in "standby mode". This issue has already been addressed and it was revealed that it is more of an indicator problem because the drain value in framework-res.apk file is wrongly set at 34mA instead of 3.4mA. This error means a big miscalculation showing that there is 50-70% discrepancy in battery consumption. As mentioned, this problem has already been addressed and users could just update the "power_profile.xml" file in framework-res package. There are also other Galaxy S3 users who complain about the smartphone not charging when it is plugged into a socket. One complaint narrates the problem saying, "I tried a different charger, same thing but then suddenly a couple of hours later it decided it would work and is now charging fine  I've switched it off again to give it a steady full charge but not looking forward to testing it when out and about in case I get the same issue."

Overheating

Another problem reported regarding Samsung Galaxy S3 is overheating. One Galaxy S3 user remarked that his S3 exploded and even showed images wherein the lower part of the Samsung Galaxy S3 was burnt. Other complains about overheating states that this causes the smartphone to freeze or to completely shut off. Samsung has already looked into the matter and they already released a statement addressing this issue: 

"There have been recent online posts displaying pictures of a Samsung GALAXY SIII that appears to have heat-related damage at the bottom of the device. Samsung is aware of this issue and will begin investigating as soon as we receive the specific product in question. Once the investigation is complete, we will be able to provide further details on the situation. We are committed to providing our customers with the safest products possible and are looking at this seriously."

Wi-Fi Connection

The next problem identified by Samsung Galaxy S3 users is the smartphone's Wi-Fi connection. Most users are complaining that they cannot connect to any type of Wi-Fi networks either at home or work. There are also other users that can connect but would only last for a short period of time. There are others who speculate that the Wi-Fi problem is in the handset rather than connection issues. Samsung has not yet addressed this Wi-Fi issue in Samsung Galaxy S3.

Task 4: Success Story

Since Dr. Kwon joined Samsung Electronics’ Semiconductor Business in 1985, he has played a pivotal role in Samsung Electronics’ rapid advance in the semiconductor industry. He successfully led the development of the industry’s first 64Mb DRAM in 1992, and was promoted to Vice President of Samsung’s Memory Device Technology unit three years later. In 1998, Dr. Kwon was appointed Senior Vice President and head of System LSI Division’s ASIC business. In 2000, he became Executive Vice President and head of LSI Technology. In January of 2004, Dr. Kwon was appointed President and General Manager of the System LSI Division. During his 10 years at the System LSI Division, Dr. Kwon gained special recognition for achieving top market shares of display driver ICs, application processors and CMOS image sensors. In May of 2008, Dr. Kwon was appointed President of Semiconductor Business (now Device Solutions). In December of 2011, he was promoted to Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics.

Dr. Kwon has published numerous papers at conferences and symposiums including ISSCC, VLSI Symposium, and IEDM. He has also contributed his expertise to a number of technical journals on semiconductor related topics.

Task 5: Highlight the solutions

Helping customers succeed in today's market

Shorter product lifecycles and incessant demand for new feature-rich products at lower costs are creating a challenging environment for semiconductor companies today. As geometries shrink, critical parameters like timing, area, power and signal integrity are more difficult to control. Meanwhile, the ongoing push for higher yields can no longer be addressed solely in the manufacturing process. These factors have created the need for broader foundry services that can play a greater role in customer success.

Flexible offerings to meet customer needs

Samsung Foundry provides design services that are in step with today's challenging market. Samsung Foundry's dedicated internal design services are enhanced by the company's deep sub-micron expertise as well as its strong consumer electronics and low-power focus. As a member of the common platform technology collaboration, Samsung Foundry also offers customers access to a comprehensive ecosystem of design enablement and implementation business partners from the EDA, IP, packaging and design services industries. A single design can be multi-sourced to one of the synchronized 300mm manufacturing facilities within the Common Platform.

Worldwide design center locations

Early engagement design services are available at SAMSUNG design centers and through its partner network. Foundry customers can also take advantage of worldwide on-site design services.

Task 6: Conclusion

By utilising its global qualities and substantial market knowledge, Samsung has developed three distinct marketing strategies to launch three equally high-tech, but different, products.Through successful, diverse approaches to individual markets it has maintained its corporate philosophy - to devote its human resources and technology to the development of a global society through ever better products and services.