LILIN revamps to welcome new security era

With over 30 years of experience in the security industry, Merit LILIN was one of the first Taiwanese manufacturers to start their business off with their own brand. To maintain a high quality of products, LILIN has been dedicated in upholding their Made-in-Taiwan (MIT) status, manufacturing all its products in Taiwan — they were also one of the first Taiwanese manufacturers to establish itself as a global company, with 12 sales offices across Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the U.S.

LILIN has always been at the forefront of new trends and technologies in the security industry, focusing on the mid- to high-end market sectors, and developing solutions with 4K and H.265. With a large analog client base, LILIN made their transition to IP in 2008. “LILIN was able to make the move to IP successfully, which can be seen by our yearly 40-percent performance growth, from 2011 to 2013,” said Cheng Chung Hsu, President of Merit LILIN. Moreover, Ambarella’s surveillance SoC was selected for LILIN’s IP products to provide and ensure users quality products for their mid- to high-end applications.

The company focuses on going to market via projects through systems integrators (SIs) instead of distribution channels. This strategy has worked well for the company, as can be seen by their double-digit growth over the years. In 2014, like other security providers around the world, LILIN was faced with the rise of Chinese manufacturers, whose product quality had significantly improved from years before but still maintained a low cost. As a result, the company knew they needed to change in order to maintain their growth.

Thriving in Competition
In order to stay competitive, LILIN made changes to their market strategies and internal organization. First, the company hired a consultant agency to help speed up assembly time and organize storage efficiency by restructuring factory operations. “Initially, a product may take up to six minutes for completion, now assembling a camera may only take up to two minutes,” Hsu explained. Secondly, the company has also created incentives to attract more engineers to join their R&D team. “Before, 20 engineers were considered enough. Now, we have 100 engineers on our team to help us remain highly competitive,” he added. Aware of the importance of maintaining high-quality products and launching new technologies, LILIN’s investment on their R&D department continues to grow.

LILIN has expanded their focus to the entry-level market, which has helped them increase their sales volume. This has further allowed LILIN to lower the unit cost of their components and helps the company maintain its cost efficiency.

LILIN was able to make the move to IP successfully, which can be seen by our yearly 40-percent performance growth, from 2011 to 2013.

LILIN in the World Market
LILIN has established branch offices in several countries across the globe. Having been present for a decade in mature markets such as the U.S. and U.K., LILIN has made internal changes to further boost their performance growth. For example, England will become the HQ office for the European market with the purpose of consolidating operations and streamlining strategies to make it more efficient in the future.

Furthermore, the company is also expanding in emerging markets. The Middle East is the next emerging region that the company will focus more of their efforts on, according to Hsu, who noted, “We already have very good presence in Saudi Arabia.” A new office will also be set up in India this year, which will focus on the project market. In addition, in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, LILIN has grown quite strongly lately.

Opportunitines in the Chinese Market
China is known to have one of the biggest security markets in the world, with strict regulations and quality demands. “In the U.K., a project that requires 500 cameras is considered large, while compared to China, it is a small project. Big projects in China may consist up to 1,000 cameras,” Hsu said.

Although a competitive market, LILIN sees the Chinese mar ket as ful l of opportunities for several reasons. The competitive nature assures that if one was to survive the Chinese market, they will have no problem with planting their roots down in other markets. Upon investigating the demands in China, LILIN plans to develop their own VMS and build up their own total solution, as well be able to fully support applications that will facilitate their presence there. “In China, it is essential to provide total solutions. Users want to be able to contact one provider for all their needs, which is convenient if there are any troubleshooting issues,” he explained. In order to remain highly competitive, LILIN is planning to establish a R&D team in China to provide immediate support for projects in the country.

Future Growth
LILIN has several plans in store for the company’s future. Being aware of the pressure and competition that Chinese manufacturers bring, LILN established an ODM department in 2014 to boost the company’s per formance growth. Additionally, as the industry has become more solution-oriented, LILIN plans to develop their own total solutions to help them maintain their competitive status. Furthermore, LILIN’s recent integration wi th par tner s has opened up a new market opportunity for the company in the smart home sector. We can expect to see more diversified developments from LILIN in the future, expanding to non-security channels and applications.
 

 
 

 

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