Garmin Corporation：科技創業、資訊科技與營運策略的適配

Garmin Corporation: The Alignment of High-Tech Entrepreneurship, Information Technology and Operation Strategy

林芬慧(Fen-Hui Lin) ； 曾智義(Chi-Yi Tseng)

《創業管理研究》 3卷4期 (2008/12) Pp. 83-105

https://doi.org/10.30132/JER.200812.0006

摘要

Garmin公司創立於1989年，生產GPS相關產品，涵蓋範圍甚廣：從航太使用的精密導航儀器到一般消費者使用的車輛或休閒導航機型。GPS技術起源於美國國防部，1983年首度運用於民間，公元兩千年開始轉進到個人應用的消費者市場。GPS產業為一結合導航技術、微波訊號處理、高頻通訊技術及高等GPS演算法的新興科技產業。Garmin創業以來，始終專注於GPS技術的技術研發與提升，並採取垂直整合的製造策略，使得Garmin不僅能持續深耕GPS技術，也能有效擴充新的應用領域，快速成長而成為世界的領導廠商。垂直整合必須比水平分工的跨組織合作付出更多營運資源來維持，在垂直整合策略下，Garmin零組件自製率高，管控的價值鏈活動與數量多且複雜。善用資訊科技便成為能否高度掌控產品研發，流程整合與管理合理化，發揮最大產值的關鍵。從本個案資料中顯示，Garmin使用垂直整合策略、專注於技術創新，並善用資訊科技及作業流程的改善，得以靈活反應市場變化，公司從成立以來連年獲利都是正成長。本個案從三方面來探討分析Garmin公司，第一是Garmin的垂直整合策略與創新能力；第二是Garmin的資訊系統發展與企業策略目標；第三則是以交易成本理論來檢視在垂直整合策略下，資訊科技的應用。並從中探討新創產業採取垂直整合策略形成的動機、條件與管理作為，以及如何以資訊系統支持企業之策略。Garmin公司堪稱新興科技創業的典範，創業者從一個GPS的產品構想，在十幾年間發展成為世界領導品牌，其成功有許多的因素；而台灣廠卓越的生產能力則是最重要的因素之一，也具體展現了台灣電子產業的製造能力。

關鍵字

GPS導航 ； 新興科技創業 ； 資訊科技應用 ； 垂直整合

並列摘要

Garmin was established in 1989. The products include a broad range of GPS applications, such as high-tech aviation instruments or commodity products for driving, hiking or mountain climbing. The entrepreneurs are Min Kao and Gary Burrel who used to be colleagues of Allied Signal Company. They had foreseen the market potential of GPS and then determined to start up the company. Because Kao grew up in Taiwan, he was familiar with the circumstance of Taiwan electronic industry. When they started the company, Kao and Burrel adopted the vertical integration as manufacturing strategy where the headquarter is in Kansas State and the manufacturing factory is in Taiwan. The headquarter in the States is closed to the GPS market so that it is in charge of two ends of GPS product value chain: one is research and development, and the other is marketing and sale. Taiwan factory (named Garmin Corporation) has delicately focused on the improvement of manufacturing capability. Since the company establishment, the yearly revenues have been continuously grown for the past seventeen years and now Garmin has been the leading brand in the global market. This case study focuses on Garmin Corporation for its role on Garmin success. In addition, how Garmin Corporation leverages the information technology to enhance the factory operation and generate manufacturing and management synergy is described in this paper. Three characteristics of Garmin Corporation are discussed to explain its success: (1) the vertical integration manufacturing strategy, (2) the information technology alignment for the factory operation, and (3) the implication of transaction cost theory. The entrepreneurs of Garmin started with an innovative product idea; then developed the idea into a global leading brand. There are many factors to cause the success; however, from the point of view of Taiwan, this is an encouraging example, and also a paradigm of high-tech entrepreneurship.

並列關鍵字

GPS ； High-Tech Entrepreneurship ； Vertical Integration