Solution Report <19> Kang Sam-kwon, CEO of Point Mobile
References with Rigorous Global Companies like Casio, Honeywell, Leica
Steady Performance Despite COVID-19... "Aiming to Become World No. 3"
Dominating the Global Market in 7 Years, Supplying 196 Dealers in 79 Countries
Kang Sam-kwon, CEO of Point Mobile, a manufacturer of industrial mobile devices, expressed his ambition to challenge the near-monopoly of American companies in the global industrial mobile device market, aiming to leap to third place in market share and strive for 100 billion KRW in sales next year. Photo by Kim Hee-yoon
[Asia Economy Reporters Heeyoon Kim and Junhyung Lee] "I once visited a club in Canada to watch a performance. They were using our products there as well."
Kang Sam-kwon, CEO of Point Mobile, a leading domestic industrial mobile device company. Despite contracts with major companies such as Hyundai Motor and POSCO, he said, "This is just the beginning." From the business planning stage, he founded the company with the global market in mind. Compared to the global industrial mobile device market size, the domestic market seemed extremely small. Thanks to the confidence gained from long-term overseas sales experience, dealing with international clients was not intimidating.
Point Mobile produces industrial mobile devices used for systematic logistics management and supplies them to domestic and international companies. As the importance of big data necessary for efficient production and distribution grows, the demand for industrial mobile devices has also expanded. CEO Kang described industrial mobile devices as "used wherever there is a barcode" and confidently stated, "They are core products of the Fourth Industrial Revolution."
For example, Point Mobile's industrial handheld PDA is used at Hyundai Glovis's yard in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. According to CEO Kang, efficient finished vehicle inventory management is possible through barcodes linked with GPS information. Point Mobile also added card payment functionality to its devices and supplied them to Korea Yakult. Approximately 12,000 Fresh Managers nationwide use these devices to make payments, and data such as the time and place of product sales are all recorded.
One of the gun-handle type products supplied by Point Mobile to Amazon, the RF851. Photo by Point Mobile
Customer-Customized Development Captivates Amazon, Casio with Over 4,000 Checklists Also Approved
In July, Point Mobile signed an eight-year contract worth $200 million to supply industrial PDAs to Amazon, the world's largest online retailer. The reason they secured the contract over industry majors like Zebra and Honeywell was their customer-customized development. CEO Kang explained, "The model supplied to Amazon has a gun handle with the battery placed to balance the center of gravity," adding, "Even after long hours of use, wrist fatigue is reduced, which allowed us to gain approval from Amazon's union."
Point Mobile's strategy of focusing on customer-customized development and small-batch production led to differentiation from competitors. Currently, the industrial mobile device market is dominated by Zebra (50.3%) and Honeywell (12.2%), accounting for 62.5% market share. Point Mobile recorded sales of 43.2 billion KRW in 2017, 51.4 billion KRW in 2018, and 62.2 billion KRW last year, showing an annual sales growth rate of about 20% over three years.
In 2016, Point Mobile targeted Casio, known for its stringent standards with over 4,000 checklists. CEO Kang said, "Casio brought a thick book-like checklist and inspected the factory," adding, "They measured even the length of factory workers' fingernails, saying no nail marks could be on the products." Recently, Point Mobile signed a contract with Aldi, the number one supermarket chain in Europe, to supply products to stores across Europe starting January next year. Aldi operates over 5,000 stores in Germany alone.
CEO Kang explained that industrial PDAs must be resistant to shock and wear due to harsh usage environments. At the performance testing room of Point Mobile visited that day, a quality test for one million button presses was underway. Video by Heeyoon Kim
Industrial Mobile Device Market Has Limitless Growth Potential, Aiming to Become Global No. 3
The industrial mobile device market size is expected to reach approximately 43.5 trillion KRW this year. With the explosive growth of the logistics industry, demand is expected to steadily increase. Although Point Mobile holds a 30% market share domestically, 90% of its sales come from overseas. CEO Kang said, "The domestic market is not large, so we aimed for the global market from the start."
Point Mobile currently has 196 clients in 79 countries. Leica Geosystems, the world's number one surveying equipment manufacturer, is also a client, with Point Mobile producing the 'Zeno 20' model used for data collection and management in building geographic information systems (GIS). The company also supplies products to Disneyland and the U.S. ticketing company Ticketmaster. Point Mobile's next goal is to leap to the third largest position in the global industrial mobile device market.
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