Our reporter Shi Yingjing reported from Shanghai
"Now is the era of users, and the key to determining the success or failure of enterprises is the distance between us and users." On April 28, Li Huagang, President of Haier Zhijia, said at the Global R&D Innovation Awards Ceremony held in Qingdao with the theme of "Ecological Leading Technology Escort".
The R & D team of the enterprise is the core asset of scientific and technological innovation, and to achieve the leadership of science and technology, it must be "led by people". This is the fifth year that Haier Zhijia has held the conference. At the scene, Haier Zhijia commended the outstanding scientific and technological projects and R&D personnel.
Li Huagang said at the meeting: "Now is the era of users, and the key to determining the success or failure of enterprises is the distance between us and users. "And this commendation conference is to be user-oriented to select the scientific and technological innovation projects recognized by users."
Let technology have a taste of life
Haier Zhijia can receive praise from the market, industry and users, and is inseparable from the hard work of all R&D personnel. Haier Zhijia now has more than 20,000 R&D personnel worldwide, and according to industry public data, the number of personnel is the largest in the industry. Li Huagang said at the conference site that to enhance the user's experience, it is necessary to make technology more "taste of life" and understand users better. This is also the original intention of innovation that Haier R&D people have always adhered to.
Take the popular washing and drying combination in the Asian market, the traditional washing and drying combination is generally 1.89 meters high, the male operation is good, and the women often have to tiptoe or even step on the bench, which is very inconvenient. In this regard, Haier Zhijia integrated high-quality R&D strength, specially developed a 150cm tall neutron and beauty washing and drying care machine for Asian women' height, and "removed a small bench" for Asian women. Less than half a year after the listing, 50,595 neutrons and the United States entered the user's home, leading casarte washing machines to reach 91.5% of the market share of more than 20,000 yuan.
In fact, there are many more subversive scientific and technological achievements like neutron and beauty. For example, the full-space fresh-keeping refrigerator that can make frozen meat fresh for 30 days, the dryer that realizes 71 meters of silk drying without entanglement, the air conditioner that can bathe yourself, and the water heater that can voice first aid. Every technology brings surprises to users' lives.
In addition to paying attention to user needs, Haier Zhijia's global R&D personnel have also achieved 24-hour uninterrupted R&D. For example, the AMERICAN GEA large drum washing machine, which completely eliminates the odor from the root, is to cooperate with the United States, Europe, South Korea, India, China and other countries and regions to achieve the share of drum machines jump from the seventh in the industry to the third. This is also in line with what Li Huagang said at the scene: the value of research and development is to turn technology into products and solutions, and finally into business in the market.
The innovation gene of "R&D for users"
Haier Zhijia's innovative achievements that change the industrial pattern, industry trends and user experience are inseparable from its innovative genes of "research and development for users".
This kind of scientific and technological innovation thinking from users and back to users makes Haier Zhijia's innovation more "taste of life", which not only realizes the leadership of the global market, but also has been fully recognized by the industry in this "user-oriented" era.
In March this year, Haier Zhijia won the industry's only winner award with unanimous approval in the National Subversive Technology Innovation Competition; also in March, Haier Zhijia won 56 Red Dot Awards, setting a new record for the number of awards in previous years. In April, Haier Zhijia won 42 iF awards, ranking first in the industry, and on April 15, Haier Zhijia won the China Patent Gold Award, becoming the only winning brand in the home appliance industry.
On the whole, Haier Zhijia has achieved industry leadership in patents, standards, national recognition, industrial design and other aspects.
It is not enough for scientific and technological achievements to be fully led, because all scientific and technological innovations ultimately need to be verified by the market. According to Euromonitor International data, in 2021, Haier will achieve 13 consecutive retail sales of large-scale household appliance brands in the world. In the United States, GEA has become the fastest growing company in the local industry; in New Zealand, Fisher & Parker ranks no.1 in the local white electricity market; in Japan, the AQUA community washing share reaches more than 70%; in Thailand, Haier refrigerators and air conditioners are online TOP1; in Pakistan, Haier Zhijia's overall market share has been TOP1 for 5 consecutive years.
From "Product Technology" to "Scene Technology"
Why has Haier Zhijia been able to produce innovative results efficiently? In addition to the innovative concept of "user thinking", it is also inseparable from its forward-looking model innovation and strategic upgrading. Li Huagang said: "We want to move from a high-end brand to a scene brand. Casarte has achieved the best understanding of users, and what the three-winged bird has to do is to further amplify the user value. ”
As user needs are upgraded to one-stop, intelligent and convenient, Haier Zhijia's innovation strategy has also changed from "product technology" to "scene technology". Li Huagang described such a scene for us at the scene: in the smart kitchen, there are warm lights, melodious music, and simple operation in a pleasant atmosphere can taste local cuisine. This is not something that can be done by a simple connection of electrical appliances, but a change of concept and the integration of the scene into the user's life.
At the beginning of this year, Haier Group announced the establishment of five major committees. Among them, the "Science and Technology Committee" plans to invest 60 billion yuan in the next three years to accelerate the research of five key core technologies. This is not only a step to undertake the national strategic direction and consolidate the barriers of scientific and technological innovation, but also the haier Zhijia in the scene innovation, ecological innovation strategy change at the moment, to give global R & D people to face new needs, new opportunities, new challenges.
(Editor: Quartzing Proofreader: Yan Jingning)