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Abstract The development of technology changes and makes progress a minute a mile everyday, and the evolution of technology also brings about many changes to various industries rapidly and radically, especially in hi-tech industry. In high-tech industries, there are some common uncertain characteristics; among them, market uncertainty, technology uncertainty, and competitive volatility are the most obvious ones. These three uncertainties make a company need to be keen enough to sense and detect the pulse and the change in its related businesses, follow the pulsation, and apply its core competencies to adjust operating strategies. Therefore, while making strategies, a company must analyze its internal and external environment. The most commonly used means is the SWOT analysis, which can analyze both the internal strength and weakness and the external opportunity and threat at the same time. Another commonly used tool is Michael Porter's five forces model. By using this model to analyze a company from a structural phase, it is easy to understand what a situation the company is facing and what a competitive condition it is in. The subject of this study is a fine blanking company, and its main product is VCM plate of traditional hard disk drives. Because of its excellent producing techniques and reliable qualities, its products hold more than 20% market share worldwide. In hard drive industry, it is obvious that the development of the company is dominated by its technical development. Any new technological breakthrough that affects hard drive’s performances would cause ecological changes in its supply chain. The performances of Solid-state drive (SSD) are better than traditional hard drive in its searching time, accessing speed, power consumption, crashworthiness, and reducing heat. However, the cost of producing a SSD is relatively higher. If the cost can be lowered and the life problem of accessing times can be solved, SSD is becoming a substitute and a threat to traditional hard drive. On the other hand, car parts market, automotive market, and components market are moving toward a tendency of commonizing, modulizing, and global purchasing. As a result, around the world many primary car parts suppliers have to set up their plants in China to co-operate with their car manufacturers. Driven by the industrial policies of Chinese government and its market size, many automobile companies have to create a domestic market environment. They move from the original SKD way to import component parts to a domestic developing and manufacturing way. Consequently, in the trend of commonizing and modulizing, individual items have the opportunity to take the place of importing and share the global market. In this industrial environment, automotive fine blanking items have a great opportunity for development.
Through the supply chain of the organization, technology supply chain, and ability supply chain, the research analyzes the differences and the similarities between VCM plate of hard drive industry and fine blanking parts of automotive industry. This study analyzes the development trend of hard drive industry and automotive fine blanking industry, and then discusses SWOT analysis of the case company. Finally, the study also apply Michael Porter's five forces model to control internal and external environmental conditions of the case company. This study repositions and then provides the following strategies and directions for the case company:
1. Try to consolidate its market leadership in hard drive’s VCM plate. 2. Set its position at Tier 2 to develop automotive fine blanking parts and become a part of international automotive supply chain and a primary producing base of fine blanking items in Asia.
The researcher proposes some suggestions for the case company in organization and management strategies, marketing strategies, supply chain strategies, R & D strategies, production capacity, and financial strategies. This study focuses on the industrial changes and what impact it would bring about to the individual company, and analyzes the operating strategies and future directions of the case company. The pulse of industry greatly influences the development of the case company; therefore, the case company has to adjust its development directions while making policies.
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