Designing an external hard drive case (HDD enclosure) that inspires consumers!
What does the future hold for you in the existing market?

If you could design a product that inspires consumers, and in so doing, make distributors and everyone happy by helping them make money, what would the IT distribution chain and market in such a scenario look like?

While the Internet has enabled access to massive amounts of information, it has also directly contributed to a world that is increasingly flat. When all information is open, transparent and readily available, how do you maintain competitiveness as a manufacturer, survive cutthroat price wars, and still make a reasonable profit? Do you safeguard your reputation, ensure access to resources or retain customers? Currently, the external box market is highly saturated, with supply far exceeding demand, thus shifting from a seller's market to a buyer's market. Are you ready for this? How do you stand out from the hordes of competitors? Do you know how to attract consumers?

Based on over a decade of experience in the export sector, Tommy Chen, Macpower founder and president generally categorizes suppliers into four grades, i.e. C, B, A, and A+.

When faced with competitive pressure, traditional grade-C vendors invariably scramble to differentiate themselves in terms of packaging and appearance. What they fail to realize is that their IC solution, electronic circuitry and designs are just clones of their competitors' products with no real innovation. When you attempt to differentiate products by external appearance only without any improvement in functionality, you will only end up in a vicious cycle of price cuts and low profits. In fact, over 90% of vendors fall into this pattern without realizing it. Does this describe your operation as well?

Grade-B vendors are characterized by their eagerness to claim the uniqueness of their products. In addition to the business model of grade-C vendors, grade-B vendors will also invest in software and firmware design to increase versatility at the manufacturing and production end. Unfortunately, these hidden features do not effectively attract the attention of customers. The problem with these so-called customized features is that consumers do not experience them directly and that they do not elevate the vendor's strategic position to a higher level of visibility. Thus, this approach cannot stimulate purchasing behavior nor directly entice consumers.

To put it simply, the biggest mistake made by grade-B and grade-C vendors is underestimating the customers' ability to make purchasing decisions and their profound requirements in making those purchases. In order to stand out from a myriad of product combinations, you have to know what consumers really need. Apart from superficial specifications, such as ease of use and attractive appearance, the integration of firmware and application software is in fact the means to ultimately draw customers. However, only a handful of vendors are able to cross the threshold to become a grade-A or grade-A+ vendor because of the massive resources required. What we refer to as grade-A vendors are those with unique R&D capabilities and extensive manpower and financial resources. Within this structure, these vendors can independently integrate application software and firmware, and boost product visibility. The limitation in developing this business model, however, is that it can only be integrated on a single operating platform (e.g. Windows platform). If you were a grade-A vendor, then you would have already achieved second-tier manufacturer status within the industry.

On the other hand, if you want to become an industry-leading manufacturer, what you need to integrate is cross-platform applications, which are compatible with both Windows and Mac. Only through such powerful and complete product integration and applications can you hope to win over world-class customers and be widely accepted among users.

At this point in our analysis, let us further consider the characteristics that will advance a grade-A+ manufacturer to a grade-A++ level. Using the example of Web usability, what do we see in the shift from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 characteristics? A very important message: sharing, real-time information, and interactivity. This concept of interactivity is what the A++ manufacturers noticed. They use the characteristics of their own applications to trigger purchasing needs and simplify purchasing decisions by guiding customers back to the original vendors' electronic shopping platform, eliminating unnecessary panic and selection. Only A++ manufacturers are able to truly consider customers' requirements and provide timely interactive service.

A significant number of articles and discussions have all pointed out that existing suppliers are still trapped in Red Ocean Strategy thinking in terms of operational behavior and mode of competition. The A++ team that Tommy Chen leads, however, is adopting a business model rarely seen in the industry to achieve new breakthroughs. Through the integration of our resources, what used to be a cold, unresponsive external box product is in fact interacting with consumers and effectively leading to repeat purchases. Now, do you want to have this innovative, cross-platform, smart application? Contact our sales team now. We look forward to building an A++ competitive edge and niche with you. Leave the Red Ocean behind and dive into the Blue Ocean!

Why choose Macpower to design and produce your external storage enclosure?

Macpower Competitive Positioning Analysis