At 40, Samsung Electronics Eyes Super Global Giant Status

Unveiling the ‘Vision 2020’ calling for $400 bln in sales by 2020

Samsung Electronics, celebrating its 40th anniversary, embarks on new challenges to become one of the world-class 100-year longevity companies. At the 40th anniversary and vision declaration ceremony at the Samsung Electronics Seocho-dong building in Seoul, Samsung Electronics announced “Vision 2020: Inspire the World. Create the Future.”
Samsung Electronics aims at posting $400 billion in sales by 2020, which will make it the global No. 1 IT company, the global top five in terms of brand value, among the top 10 respected companies and in the top tier of environmentally-friendly companies.
The new vision indicates Samsung Electronics’ determination to inspire a sense of imagination toward the future, enhancing value for customers, society and its executives and staff members through new technology, innovative products and creative solutions, thus creating a new future that will ultimately bring prosperity to society, Samsung officials said.
To this end, Samsung Electronics said it will transform its current business portfolio centering around sets and components in the information, communications and audio-visual businesses, also known as “infotainment,” into a 21st century business structure in which software- and solution-oriented medical/bio, environment/energy and convenience/comfort areas, also known as “lifecare” for enhancing the quality of life, will be added.



























The Korean electronics giant set the three guidelines for realizing the Vision 2020: “creative management” for spearheading new technology and creating new markets and new lifestyles; “partnership management” for building external and internal collaboration systems, co-prosperity management and environmentally-friendly management; and “manpower management” for inspiring diverse gifted manpower’s passion and challenging spirit and cultivating top-level experts. Samsung Electronics said it will implement strategic tasks to achieve the new vision and goals.
First, Samsung Electronics will solidify its leading position through the attainment of market share and operating profit rates in such leading business areas as memory, LCD, TV sets and mobile phones in order to further its competitive edge in the existing businesses while raising the portion of six business areas, including home appliances, computers and printers, from the current 20 percent to 30 percent by 2020.
Second, it will aggressively explore new businesses in such lifecare areas as bio-chips, medical instruments, ubiquitous health and solar batteries that will serve as growth engines in the next five to 10 years by combining the electronics industry and other industrial fields while expanding solution businesses to meet customers’ diversified and changing demands.
Third, in an effort to establish a market-driven system, Samsung Electronics will operate marketing organizations differently according to characteristics of markets by enhancing its capability to analyze customers’ needs and local lifestyles while stepping up companywide marketing by redesigning it by considering value creation for customers in all stages ranging from product planning and development to manufacturing and sale.
Fourth, Samsung Electronics will establish an “open innovation” management system designed to utilize external capability and support from outside, expand R&D partnerships with outside research institutes and set up cooperative regimes with firms in other business areas.
Fifth, Samsung Electronics will specialize, systemize and diversify social contribution activities in order to expand co-prosperity management and strengthen social responsibility through co-prosperity with its business partners while establishing environmentally-friendly management infrastructure and stepping up environmentally-friendly branding, thus contributing to the sustainable development of human beings.
Lastly, Samsung Electronics will establish a long-term, futuristic compensation system for the realization of a creative organizational culture and global advanced personnel management system and realize an open-minded organizational culture in which the portion of global and female manpower will increase and invigorate a “work smart” regime and creative performance management system in order to make Samsung Electronics a company most people would want to work for and where gifted manpower gather and come up with creative ideas.
In a bid to transform itself into a global company, Samsung Electronics will raise the portion of foreigners on the overseas front from the current 45 percent to 60 percent, the number of foreigners working in Korea from 850 to 2,000 and the number of female employees from the current 9,000 to 15,000 by 2020.
At the 30th anniversary event in 1999, Samsung Electronics announced its goal to surpass 100 trillion won in sales and rise to be among the global top three IT companies a decade later, which it has since achieved. At the 40th anniversary event, Samsung Electronics set a goal of quadrupling current sales and pledged to make it a global top 10 company beyond the electronics field.
Meanwhile, the anniversary event was attended by about 400 former and current high level officials and staff members as well as business partners’ representatives.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Yoon-woo said in his commemorative address, “Let’s embark on a creative challenge to become a super-class 100-year longevity company beyond what we’ve made in the past four decades on the occasion of our 40th anniversary.”
He called for making Samsung Electronics a pioneer that creates new values for customers beyond a stage of innovation within the existing paradigm to become a super-class global company and spearhead industrial changes by producing its own, differentiated products and building a creative value chain. Samsung Electronics will do its utmost in making itself a company actively participating in activities ensuring the harmonious development of the environment of the earth and human society and committing to a social responsibility befitting its standing, he said. nw

Samsung Electronics’ Suwon Production Center

Former and current Samsung Electronics executives pose for a group photo at the 40th anniversary event. (Below photo) Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Yoon-woo delivers a speech to his executives and staff members.