The story of Samsung is so pervasive that we can draw analogies from any field of life. Let me once again start from a story from tinsel town. I can pick up many movies since Samsung story has been played innumerable times. Only characters and banners differ. Let me take a chance with a recent ones i.e. ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbai’. I presume you have watched it, if not; I won’t press for the same. And in case of a ‘nay’ you have to use your imagination. The movie is about a smuggler who rises to power in 1970s Mumbai who is later outmaneuvered and overthrown by a, fan-turned-foe, younger gangster who takes over his empire. Similar moves you can notice among loins where a young male challenges the hegemony of older male resulting in a deadly fight with predictable outcomes. In cricket examples are galore. Recent ones is of iconic player Virender Sehawag. We can synthesize all above events as below: - If you don’t remain young (by way of ideas, processes and execution) you can be outwitted and outmaneuvered. - If your moves are similar what matters is the strength (scale…). - Who has less at stake can make bolder moves. So, question arises, is Samsung going to meet the fate of Sultan Mirja or an old loin! Depends… Samsung at one point of time seemed invincible like Nokia. The sense of assumed invincibility at times infuses you with false pride where you may start behaving like god. Samsung attempt to be ‘omnipresent’ in all possible mobile segments, has pitfalls as well. [“While most of its profits come from flagships like the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note, the company has brought out hundreds of Android products covering myriad form factors and features.” (recode.net/2014/11/19/samsung-pulls-back-on-its-machine-gun-approach-to-smartphone-market/, accessed on 26.11.2014)] Operational efficiencies take first hit. Obviously we cannot get a scale in all segments. App suppliers get nightmares in adapting them to all possible configurations. In a market where you use software which is almost a commodity, then your value preposition solely rests on the distinctiveness and value you offer via your hardware. To win a cricket match, a team is expected to be good in both, bowling as well as in batting section. Samsung too needs to be good in software and hardware section. It has to capitalize its ability to offer unique combination which it has shown via its successful notebook series. You can only match the strength and wit of young loins or turks by using better moves, processes, methods and operational plane. Simultaneously, one should endlessly try to create its own ‘blue ocean’ (Blue Ocean Strategy, by Renee Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim [Professors of INSEAD] – Harvard Business School Press, 2005) failing which the history is bound to repeat itself. In case timely course correction is not taken up, Samsung may go Nokia way. The way Nokia was partially annihilated by Samsung, this time, it may itself meet the same fate in the hands of Xiaomi. Welcome to another round of ‘repeat of history’! May be… The article too has a suggestion to frustrate the repeat of history….go ahead and read…
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 18:30:30 +0000
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