Being a global brand, Merit LILIN has built an extensive network of distributors all over the world. Now to expand its customer base the company is also working more closely with systems integrators, helping them win projects and explore new possibilities in video.
Having operated in the industry for nearly four decades,
Merit LILIN is one of Taiwan’s premier video surveillance manufacturers. In the face of intense competition in the market, the company realized that focusing on products alone could no longer guarantee success. That’s why the company has transitioned into a system provider targeting different vertical markets. At the same time, the company has also forged stronger ties with systems integrators to widen its reach into more markets.
“Starting two to three years ago we began to strengthen ties with mid- to large systems integrators, helping them get and design projects. This way we can achieve a mutual-win situation,” said Cheng Chung Hsu, President of Merit LILIN. “We focus on SIs all over the world but prioritize Southeast Asia, due to the proximity factor. It’s close, and when they need support we can get there immediately. In other regions, LILIN already has North America and EMEA offices, which have also forged deeper ties with local SIs.”
To provide help and support to systems integrators LILIN holds periodic training sessions for them. “We find a place in a particular region and gather up all major SIs in that region to do a training session. We do this at least every half year because we continue to launch new products. We train these SIs so they know the strengths and differentiators of our products, as well as our strategy and the directions we are taking,” Hsu said.
Taking pride in MIT
Over the past four decades, LILIN established itself as one of the biggest names in video surveillance and built a strong presence in North America and EMEA, thanks to its manufacturing and R&D capability that the company has accumulated over the years. “We do all our manufacturing in Taiwan, and we insist on doing that,” said Hsu. “If we manufacture outside Taiwan there are many things we won’t be able to control, for example materials selection, production and product lifecycle. In Taiwan we can control all this, with detailed data to prove to customers the quality and durability of our products.”
According to Hsu, video is no longer just for surveillance; it can also be used for management purposes. This is made possible by more advanced analytics which enables the end user to perform smart searches and obtain detailed reports about their entities or operations.
Hsu used transportation as an example. “Providing simple road monitoring can no longer fulfill the end user’s increasingly complex needs. Once something happens, you need to track suspected vehicles or individuals,” he said. “Now we have license plate recognition on the front end and back end. So when something happens we can do live tracking. And in case live tracking isn’t possible, we can perform a smart search where we enter the car’s license plate number and all images of the vehicle taken by cameras at difference places come up. That’s how video can be useful.”
A focus on Asia
LILIN sells their products to all over the world, including North America, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. In particular, Southeast Asia is now a primary focus for the HQ of the company due to the region’s growth potential.
“We do a lot of business in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and India, and we have also entered Bangladesh where we have a major transportation project,” Hsu said. “Southeast Asia is an emerging market that keeps developing. It’s an important market for us.”