“Samsung” case study
1. Introduction:
Samsung Electronics Company, henceforth called “Samsung” in this case, was established in 1969 to manufacture black-and-white TV sets. In 1974, Samsung, which was a producer of low-end consumer electronics, purchased Korea Semiconductor Company and began its semiconductor industry. Under the leadership of the chairman of Samsung Group, Kun He Lee, Samsung has risen, with a remarkable speed, to become the world’s leading memory producer, ranking 2nd just behind Intel. Meanwhile, Samsung used the earnings from memory division to invest in various technology products like mobile phones, liquid crystal displays and so on. These businesses made Samsung generate the second-largest net profit of any
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Off course, buyers could choose to switch to other memories like SRAM or FLASH. However, given the distinct function of DRAM, the switching costs are high. Thus, the bargaining power of buyers in the industry is very weak.
3. Intensity of rivalry among existing firms
There were 6 major competitors in the memory chip industry in 2005. Since Intel exited the DRAM market in the 1980, Samsung gradually has become the largest DRAM producer, with a market share of 30%. The intensity of rivalry was rather low, and for Samsung, it was easy to hold the leading position so long as it conducted continuous innovation.
4. Pressure from substitute products
As is mentioned above, there was no mainstream substitute of DRAM. This market would be very stable in the predictable future. Keeping in this industry will be beneficial.
5. Threat of new entry
Since 2000 to 2004, there was a decline in DRAM market, with many firms in financial loss. Though Samsung had achieved profits despite of the reverse DRAM environment, it had reduced the price (a combined result of both strategy adjustment and periodic cycle of the industry). In 2005, the competitive environment changed dramatically. Samsung faced the challenge from Chinese entrants who were attacking the DRAM market in much the same way Samsung did 20 years ago. From the analysis of the Porter’s 5 forces in DRAM market, it is not difficult to find that Samsung had great advantage in the first 4 factors. The only
From pioneering in memory DRAM semicon to exiting the low-margin DRAM market – Intel was primarily a Memory semicon manufacturer before it entered microprocessors in 1980s. Its added value in the memory industry in 1970s was very high because of its advances in MOS process to produce DRAM. However, with increase in competition and the advancement of Japanese conglomerates in the memory industry Intel was forced to play a chasing game to improve performance and reduce costs. In the mid-1980s, Intel’s market share in the core memory business was <1%, however it was continuing to invest in this domain. They finally exited the DRAM market, which was more of a cash burner with low-margins.
By the early 1980, Intel’s total share in DRAM was barely 1% and manufacturing was restricted to one fab out of Intel’s eight fab, where the Japanese semiconductor companies had captured nearly half of the world memory market. There are several factors that forced Intel to exit the DRAM market, those are the same lessons learned.
Third, Samsung created new uses for DRAM by outing its manufacturing and R&D in support of design firms (i.e., Rambus). Over the years, new DRAM products were launched which shared a common core design. This way, more DRAM chips were produced and sold, helping the company, not only to achieve larger economies of scale, but also to learn more about the market and its preferences.
Industries will look different with all of these forces. The strategy will change based on how these forces look for the organization and industry. These concepts can be applied across the board, and they help organizations from getting trapped into the latest trends and technology out there selling solutions. This matrix really helps to
For years, AMD held the place of a distant follower of the large microprocessor market leader, Intel. Up to there, the competitor Intel led the market (with a “push” strategy) by creating consumer needs thanks to technological innovations. Those were linked with strong marketing campaign in order to facilitate a quicker adoption process of their new product line. However, in 2003, AMD change its traditional strategy to use a widely different one by switching into a blue ocean strategy. Indeed, AMD has changed course to become a “starter” firm. AMD has decided to launch at first its own brand server microprocessor range, called “Opteron” before one of Intel. At this moment, the firm made the decision to initiate the moves of server segment and therefore take heavier risks in term of investments, sales, pushing partners
• Learning curve has to be steep, i.e. Cost reduction has to be fast with change in technology
Threat of New Entrants: In 2008, the threat of new entrants was not very high. Sony’s Playstation, Microsoft’s Xbox, and Nintendo’s gaming systems were
In the next section we will analyze the level of competition within memory industry based on Porter’s model, Samsung's competitive advantage and its sustainability considering the current market situation. 3. Analysis: Considering Porter’s model as a framework to analyze the level of competition within DRAM memory business, the threat of new entrant is high compared to the threat of substitutes and established rivals in horizontal competition. If we look at rivalry within the DRAM industry between established players, Samsung has a clear advantage over its competitors. Samsung is the market leader in DRAM memory business. It has a wide range of products and its products has a higher brand value. Threat of new entrants is high as Chinese competitors have easier access to large pool of local engineering talent and have a growing market for these DRAM chips. The government is also providing all sorts of assistance, like subsidized land, for the initial setup. Samsung has several options to deter the entry of new Chinese competitors. One option Samsung have is to continue to explore and increase market shares of flash memory markets which is a new and growing market. Samsung can also take advantage by lowering the price of DRAM chips. This would force a price war and drive new
By the end of 2012, Samsung electronics become the largest producer of televisions and mobile phone. In order to achieve the success and the dramatic rise in consumer electronics sector, the company initiated new methods to innovate and create high quality products .
With Intel have very few substitutes in the microprocessor industry, it is it is most certain that current customers will not want to switch and use another company’s products. High switching cost presents low bargaining power to the customers mainly because it would be very expensive to switch to a competitor, and since Intel is the leader in the market, switching
The evolution of the world has left nations with an ever changing business environment which keeps companies on their toes.With the technological advancements as well as changes in demographic, many companies have to rapidly change the way they react to these changes in order to stay relevant in a competitive environment (Jovanović, 2015). Samsung has adapted to today’s business through adopting Western business practices into its Japanese system as well as digital technology(Khanna, Song & Lee, 2011).The role of management in today’s industry has rapidly changed from the role of a manager imposing restrictions to an organisational tool, not only for a company but personally as well (McCrimmon, 2010).Management system used in Samsung during the S-level recruitment program proves the importance of managerial ranks as well as an organised system(Khanna et al, 2010).
True to nearly any commoditized product, pricing and availability became the only two significant differentiators quickly as Intel increased
Company Background: Samsung is a South Korean multinational company those starting its business as a small trading company and right now becoming world largest corporation. The company deals with its business in several sectors such as advance technology, finance, petrochemical, semiconductors, plant construction, skyscraper, medicine, fashion, hotels, chemical and others. The company was established in 1969 in Suwon, South Korea and known globally for its electronic products (Kelly, 2011). The company is manufacturing several latest technologies, electronic appliances such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, washers and other products. The company runs its operations and sales its products in 61 countries with approx 160,000 employees in all over the world (SAMSUNG, 2014). Moreover, the company acquired the position of the world biggest IT maker in 2009 by beating the Hewlett-Packard (HP) previous leader. Its sales revenue in the segment of LCD and LED is the highest in the world. Furthermore, Samsung also becomes world leader in the segment of tablets, mobile phones and gadgets.
a new memory chip is introduced, price is high, yield is low, and production capacity
Learning and experience Curve: Between 1983 and 1985, Samsung allocated more than $100 million in into DRAM technology, even paying another firm to teach them how to produce 64k DRAMs. As the market grew, firms tried to catch up to where Samsung already had a foothold. To further make advancements efficiently, Samsung has had separate R&D groups compete within their company to come up with the same solution.