Samsung to undergo strategic realignment

Mike van Lier

These four pillars will now focus on sales, product management, commercial and retail management.

The strategic realignment of the local organisation follows the announcement of the pending sale of Samsung Global’s printer division to HP. The sale of this operation will facilitate a streamlining of Samsung SA’s remaining business-to-business (B2B) segments, which will now fall under the newly created commercial unit.

”Fantastic opportunity”

“The global sale of Samsung’s printer division is a fantastic opportunity for both organisations. Here in SA, it will allow us to sharpen our focus on our other enterprises, while at the same time improving our operational processes. The structural realignment will also lead to the creation of a number of new strategic positions within these entities. Ultimately, this is a new era for us and is an approach that will not only enable us to continue delivering the outstanding service we are renowned for, but also to gain a deeper understanding of our customers’ needs,” says Mike van Lier, director: Consumer Electronics at Samsung South Africa.

Van Lier, who will head up the reorganised CE division, brings a wealth of experience to the table, with more than 20 years working in a variety of retail settings, from independent retail to mass retail and B2B operations to the large commercial environment.

Delivering increased value

He explains that the new sales structure has been created with a view to delivering increased value to the company’s existing channel partners, by ensuring that the end consumers’ needs are met and that the right products and solutions are put into their hands.

The commercial entity will now encompass the B2B units – apart from printers – that were previously housed under the enterprise business division. This is designed to maintain the integrity of the existing mature B2B channels that have been established over many years.

Van Lier points out that Samsung understands that the needs of enterprises are very different to those of the consumer, which is why this newly streamlined and efficient structure will be perfectly positioned to deal with the demands of the various vertical markets.

Realising synergies

He adds that the aim of the product management division is to realise synergies across the numerous ranges of Samsung products that exist within the overall CE division.

Finally, retail management will focus on communicating and marketing the company’s technologies to the end-customers. The goal being to provide them with the right information to make informed product choices.