Samsung to provide 'smart factory' solution in South Korea
Samsung Electronics will provide its smart factory solution for over a thousand small and medium-sized businesses in South Korea by 2017, the company announced.
The South Korean tech giant will first provide the solution to 224 firms selected by the Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (CCEI), a state-run startup and small businesses accelerator program, starting this month.
The CCEI has centres nationwide and works with almost all South Korean conglomerates to fund and support small enterprises with potential.
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Samsung will provide these firms with manufacturing execution systems and enterprise resource planning solutions. It will also provide its IT-based manufacturing solutions such as automated manufacturing, process 3D simulations, and CAD/CAM super-precision moulding machines.
The firm plans to provide 450 companies with the solutions this year and over 1,000 by next year.
Hanmac, a box maker, had its production capacity improved 34 percent and product quality 28 percent following the application, Samsung said. Dong Sung, a furniture maker, saw its production capacity improved 36 percent and distribution sped up by 52 percent.
Last year, Samsung, in cooperation with the CCEI chapter in Gyeongsang province, provided the smart factory solutions to 120 companies in the region.
The tech giant is currently building a startup campus there as well.
The manufacturing and export-dependent South Korea has seen its economy slow down dramatically since the global financial crisis in 2008. The finance ministry is targeting a 3.1 GDP growth rate this year.
The government is providing various initiatives to find new growth engines, such as the CCEI, as exports continues to slow due to the global recession and the rise of China.