technology sector

The IT sector is one of the world’s fastest expanding. Smartphone innovation has increased the demand for items in the technology business. As a result, new enterprises are joining the industry on a daily basis. Samsung is one of the most well-known companies in the world. The company began modestly and has grown to become one of the industry’s leaders. Today, the corporation has become a well-known brand in the world of technology. There is no doubt that Samsung has had to make changes in order to rise to the top. Samsung Electronics has been in the technology world for a very long time. It is the world largest mobile phone manufacturer. The company was started in 1938. However, it started dealing in the mobile phone industry in the 1960s. The company has its headquarters in Samsung Town, Seoul. It has several subsidiaries which are under one umbrella the Samsung brand. Some of the subsidiaries are Samsung heavy industries, Samsung Electronics, Samsung Techwin and Samsung engineering. Samsung contributes to about a fifth of the total exports in South Korea. Given its performance in the economy, it has a great influence on culture, media, politics and even economic development. Samsung’s profit margin has been reduced because there are significant threats in the technology industry. The company had to make certain changes to deal with the problem it was going through. One of the things the company had to do was to cut on jobs. However, it managed to come back on top.

SWOT analysis

The swot analysis helps determine what the organization can do to emerge the top. The SWOT analysis considers the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Samsung can use its strengths to maintain its market share. At the same time, it can work on improving its shortcomings. Moreover, the company can utilize the available opportunities to increase customer base.

Strengths

Innovation

Innovation is important in the electronics industry. Samsung has always been innovative. It produces products that are well designed. Samsung has received several awards for being innovative (Hong, 2012). As a matter, it won the prestigious consumer electronics show for 13 years. The company commits to provide products that are ecologically friendly. A company that is innovative will no doubt make it to high places. Samsung has designed innovation designs and technology. It was the first to introduce dual screen mobile phones. Additionally, it has designed mobile phones with rotating lenses.

Research and development

The company has a high research and development. Therefore, it has larger portfolio among the electronics industry. In the technology sector, there is a need for innovation. Therefore, businesses that invest in research and development will be on top of its competition. From the 2014 Samsung report, Samsung’s investment in research and development was the largest in the industry. Furthermore, Samsung increased spending on research and development helped it to gain the biggest share of the market. From the Samsung report ( 2016), the company spent $12.753 billion in research and development. It was third largest amount all over the world to be dedicated to research and development. Samsung had the most extensive study and development in the technology sector.

Recognized brand

Samsung is a brand that is known all over the world. Many people all over the world trust the Samsung brand (Brostoff, Levin, & Bowers, ND).

Environmental focus

There is no doubt that Samsung is playing its role in the society by producing g products that are environmentally friendly. The company ensures that it uses chemicals that do not harm users. Furthermore, it also does global recycling.

Weaknesses

Production of many smartphones

Samsung is the leading company in releasing new smartphones in the market. Releasing so many smartphones in the market only increases cost and lowers the economies of scale. The company should focus on the area where it is performing well and concentrate on those core competencies.

Opportunities

Introduce the low-end smartphones to compete like Lenovo, Huawei, and even xiaomi

Samsung has been experiencing reduced market share as a result of the increase in low-end smartphones. Most of the developing countries prefer brands like Huawei and Lenovo because they are affordable. For Samsung to compete with such companies, it should start to introduce smartphones that are cheap.

Increasing demand for technologically advanced mobile phones

Smartphones have been designed to provide users with flexibility and convenience. Smartphones allow people to do many things at once. Over the years, the demand for smartphones has been on the rise. It is an opportunity for Samsung to come up with innovative smartphones that will improve the user experience.

Acquisition of new firms

Samsung has been ensuring its growth by acquiring companies. Some of the companies that it has acquired include New Net communication technologies, Viv, Harman and AI platform.

Threats

There is an increase in smartphones with Android operating system

About 82.8% of the smartphones have android operating. Samsung is also using the Android operating system. There is little to no difference in the hardware. Therefore, Samsung will not be in a position to differentiate its smartphones from the rest that use the Android operating system. The company should consider developing its operating system.

Increased competition

The mobile market keeps growing with new brands coming into the market. Therefore, Samsung has a lot of competition. It has some stiff competition from Apple, Lenovo, Huawei, Xiaomi, and HTC. The company has a task to maintain its competitive edge.

Plans to implement the change

There are different kinds of changes that the company has gone through. First of all, it has undergone reconstruction. Reconstruction is when there is a change in the way the company designs products.

Strategies to sustain the gain

Some of the strategies adopted by Samsung involve production innovation, pricing, distribution, and promotion. Product innovation refers to a variety of product range produced by Samsung. Samsung provides both home appliances and electronics. The wide product range has enabled Samsung to increase its market share. When it comes to pricing, Samsung has competitive prices in the market. The pricing has led to the success of the company. Distribution is another great strategy that is used by Samsung. Product promotion is also an important part of Samsung gain (Jung, 2014). Advertising helps consumers to know about the brand. Once the information has reached the consumers, then it will be a lot easier for them to become loyal to that brand.

From the SWOT analysis, Samsung has a lot of strengths than weaknesses. Furthermore, the company has significant opportunities that it can capitalize on to increase its market share. If the company continues to produce quality products, then there is no doubt that it will remain competitive.

References

Brostoff, B., Levin, H & Bowers, T. (ND). Samsung client report

Hong, Y.S.(2012). Modes of combinative innovation: Case of Samsung Electronics. Asian Journal of innovation and policy

Global value chain Analysis on Samsung electronics (2012)

Jung, S,C.(2014). The analysis of strategic management of Samsung electronics company through the Generic value chain model. International Journal of software Engineering and Its Applications, 8(12)

Samsung, annual report-2015 and 2016

Samsung, annual report 2014

Samsung official website-2017