1. October 13, 2010
Group 4: Ben Julian, Samantha Macdonald, Lauren McNamara,
Tom Pojero, & Laura Voisine
2. 1. About Samsung – Tom
2. External environment- Ben
3. Internal analysis- Lauren
4. Business strategies- Laura
5. Problems identified- Samantha
6. Our suggestions- Samantha
3. Founded in 1938
Headquarters in Samsung town, Seoul, South Korea
276,000 employees worldwide
World’s largest electronic company by sales
Lee Kun-Hee took over as CEO in 2009
They are also involved in shipbuilding, construction, life
insurance and even have a theme park
20% of Korea’s GDP
4. Consumer Products
Cell Phones and Televisions
21% of global cell phone market share as of Q3, 2009
23% of global television set market share as of Q3, 2009
Technology Products
Memory Chips and Displays
Over 40% of global market share of memory chips as of
2008
Products include devices such as flash drives, hard disk
drives, and dynamic random access memory cards
5. o Consumers
o Through large retailers like Wal-Mart, Best Buy and others
o Cell phones, televisions, home appliances, and computers
o Business to Business
o Heavy Investment in R&D
o Their incredible core technologies
o Over 100 design awards
o Business to Government (through other Samsung companies)
o Nuclear Power Plants in the United Arab Emirates
o Solar Energy in Ontario, Canada
6. Employees and Communities –
◦ Largest corporation in Korea
◦ Major Employer of many Koreans and people worldwide
◦ Represent 20% of Korea’s GDP
Government –
◦ Major source of tax revenue
Suppliers and Customers –
◦ Huge consumer of materials and customer to many Korean
companies
◦ Produce consumer products, customers look for good
quality at reasonable price
Stockholders
7. Profitability
Gained through
market share -
Differentiation
Threat of Substitutes-
Minimal
Buyers – High Bargaining
power, many choices in
products
Suppliers – Low bargaining
power, Samsung is high
volume customer
Industry Competition-
Television and Smart
Phone market extremely
competitive
New Entrants – Threat
exists in new product
markets not in major
markets
9. Value Chain Analysis:
◦ Technology development is the company’s strongest
activity.
◦ Inbound Logistics is a possible area of improvement. They
need to continue to find ways in which they can continue to
cut costs.
◦ Possess a fast market launch, but other activities could
further be improved.
10. Competitive Advantage
◦ Samsung’s research and development team is what
differentiates the company from its competitors.
◦ By continuing to utilize this differentiation strategy,
the company will see an increase in profits.
◦ The innovation of their research and development
team is going to be a key element of their future
success.
11. Previously cost management
New products are a result of Samsung’s
desire to differentiate itself
Samsung’s position in the marketplace:
Samsung
LG
Sony
Toshiba
*Chart shows revenue of each
company
12. Current revenue generators:
◦ Low cost, low priced products like laptops and basic
cell phones
Potential growth areas:
◦ High end cell phones and tablets (the Galaxy line)
◦ Innovative home appliances
◦ Home theaters of the future (3-D technology)
14. Problems and Issues:
Hurt by the worldwide economic recession in 2008
On the brink of bankruptcy in the late 1990’s
Previously identified as a “me too” brand
Haven’t branched out into music, movies,
or video games (like competitors Apple
and Sony)
Inability to acquire The SanDisk Corporation
(inventor and largest supplier of storage cards
in the world)
15. Suggested Solutions:
• Start taking risks!
• Use techniques that have worked in other domains
• Suggestion #1: continue building a fund for research and
development to develop a strong competitive advantage over
others
• Suggestion #2: develop a more rigorous advertising campaign
16. Our Recommendations:
• Maintain a logical research and development strategy
– Don’t play “catch up”
– Design and introduce new products to the market that
will likely make a profit
– If the product needs improvements or further
innovation, re-visit R & D & invest more money
– Don’t waste money in R & D of products that may not
survive in today’s marketplace
• Boost advertising and marketing campaign
– Learn about consumers
– Target the right people
– Advertise more aggressively
– Market products as innovative but within a reasonable
cost range
– Continue to cut down factory costs
– Use just-in-time inventory management
