A key year for smart hardware startups

The past 2014 is a key year for smart hardware start-ups, and three of events this year will profoundly affect the overall ecological trend.

The first thing is to announce the transition to the smart hardware starting platform, and completely tore off the public chip tags.

As the earliest batch of Kickstarter platform in China, the change of roll-call time reflects the general dilemma of the platform of independent public--less audience, lack of large traffic, and no clear profit point, for choosing its smart hardware, in addition to bring some media exposure concerns, other more practical help is limited.

The second thing is the millet hand ring sales breakthrough million.

The biggest bottleneck of smart hardware is capacity climbing, 100,000 is a threshold, which not only means that the annual sales of single products can reach 10 million-100 million of the water (according to the price of a single product 100 to 1000 yuan), but also marked the smart hardware from the crowd of toys to a broader consumer-level market. When the squad millet, 360 and other giants with multiple product line admission, start-up companies face the ecological become more complex and delicate.

So you can see an interesting picture of 2014 years: the pursuit of capital for millet and hardware start-ups face the complex mentality of millet, entrepreneurs on the one hand, eager to help, on the other hand, but unwilling to lose their independence. Smart hardware wants to grow up and call for more variables to help.

The third variable is jingdong high profile smart hardware layout.

Jingdong has been plotting for more than a year on how to participate in this wave of smart hardware. In the second half of 2014, Jing Dong formally established a department called "Jingdong Intelligence". Three departments to support it: the financial system of Beijing-east to provide marketing support, technical system of Jingdong Intelligent Cloud is responsible for the collection and sharing of large data, mining and marketing systems connected to electrical products under the line manufacturers docking.

To put it simply, it's more of a traffic advantage than a named-time Web site. At the same time, in addition to help product exposure, but also in the entire chain of intelligent hardware entrepreneurship from Discovery-optimization-product-promotion-sales to provide complete support, from the "Three dad" intelligent air purifier to large cola 3 mobile phones, The fact that more than tens at the end of this year has come from Beijing and east, entrepreneurs are starting to vote with their feet.

Then, when the most brutal electricity market in the past to prove their own Liu this high-profile kill into the smart hardware, Jingdong a set of intelligent hardware layout is how the idea, for the next intelligent hardware greater opportunity to Beijing East and how to participate?

Why did Jingdong decide to lay the "hardware ecology"?

The Beijing-East layout "Intelligent hardware eco-chain" began with a small meeting in December 2013.

It digital is the most successful, the largest category, it has a decade of history, in the domestic smartphone did not popularize before, it is an important pillar of the growth of Beijing-east business. But in the last two or three years its growth rate has slowed markedly, "even some declines (it digital category does not include mobile phones)," said Li Xi, vice president of Beijing East.

2011, the Beijing-East Strategic department at the end of the meeting to discuss the topic is: Beijing east to do their own hardware products. The core discussion focuses on whether or not Beijing should make a mobile phone. "At that time Lao Liu (Liu) very clear, we are from 3C (computer, communications, consumer Electronics) started, 3C consumers we are the most understand, if we do hardware should have a certain advantage." "Now the Beijing-East intelligence vice president, then still in the strategy Department of the Nasin of the strategy will remember clearly," We have seen the future trend of intelligence, smart phones are just into the industry a breakthrough. At that time, I remember Lao Liu said that in the future to occupy the entire intelligent hardware and the Internet of things, this is a big ecological. 」

After that, Nasin what they did for more than two years of research and preparation for the "ultimate intelligent age". They began to build smart hardware cloud platform, investment and intelligent hardware-related chip modules and core technology, planning in the "intelligent era" of the Beijing East will be in position, consumers in that position jingdong need something.

In the past few years, BoE's overall business growth rate of about twice times per annum, a category growth stagnation is "impossible to be allowed to"-especially the pillar category IT digital.

"In addition to a lot of digital products being replaced by mobile phones, a large number of emerging smart products began to appear, we then the IT digital business leaders particularly want to seize this opportunity," Li Xi said, see Nasin this side in the intelligent hardware of the entire ecological research and some action, immediately put Nasin, IT digital business leaders together, A little meeting. "Plans to do an action in early 2014 to gather all start-ups of smart hardware into the capital," he said. 」

What attracts quality companies?

In February 2014, Jingdong released the first signal of the intelligent hardware eco-chain: the jd+ plan. It is like an intelligent hardware innovation enterprise incubator, Beijing east from the data, marketing, supply chain, technology, finance, capital all aspects of intelligent hardware innovation enterprises to help, so that the quality of products gathered to the Beijing-east platform.

"The ultimate hope is the interconnection of all things, but the interconnection is relatively early, we first do is to put as many products as possible to connect to the Internet." "To this end, Nasin they do the smart hardware cloud platform, based on the platform launched the Jingdong Cloud Helper app, in this app, you can control all the smart hardware that has been connected with it, including home appliances, 3C products, wearable equipment (mainly for health monitoring), automobiles and so on.

"Even after the Internet, these hardware products produce services, data and users who belong to each product", Nasin said, the data is significant, the core is to improve efficiency and around consumption, "the whole life process will produce a variety of consumer demand, product, service, value-added aspects. Consumer entrance is not necessarily a mobile phone, PC end, will be under the various scenes of the consumption impulse, I hope that no matter what time with the Beijing-east contact, directly into the Jingdong ecological, which is the greatest benefit to us. 」

How can there be no time and nowhere to have relations with Jingdong, Nasin cited an example: "Consumer use of air-conditioning is what the habit, may represent his characteristics." such as open frequency, summer like cold spot or hot spot, this has very big help to us. If you can reverse the introduction of the air-conditioning in the end energy-saving energy saving, before consumers can only see ads know-said once electricity once electricity, now have such a path after he will be more clear which product is more reliable. For the Beijing-East service, is the air-conditioning should be cleaned? We cannot expect consumers to check themselves, which gives us an opportunity to proactively push a more intimate service, which is a real value to see in the eyes. 」

In order to tap and attract more high-quality intelligent hardware innovation Enterprises, Jingdong will provide a full range of technical solutions, and subsidies. Nasin's team has been laying out investments in the core technology and chip modules of the IoT for more than two years, "we help them achieve what they call" connected "action. With our own investment in the vendors to provide services to us, the cost is greatly reduced. 」

What can Jing Dong bring to hardware enterprise?

After optimization is the promotion of the era of ineffective information flooding, product promotion is a difficult problem. Jingdong has solved it by using the natural advantages of its own electric business platform.

"From a marketing standpoint, the original mall this piece of channel outside, we now still have Pat Net (Jingdong buys the original Tencent's Consumer-to-consumer platform), micro-letter channel (Tencent 2014 acquired 15% shares), and the public, can meet a variety of different stages, types of product marketing needs. "In Nasin's view, Beijing-east of the" rise ", can not be separated from the property of the users of Jingdong itself-the east of the people are basically directed to buy things," we are facing consumers, it seems that in the industry can not find a better channel for so many consumers. " Even if we have a good relationship with the 360, Baidu, their products or their participation in investment, hatching products, to sell the time must be to the Beijing-east platform. 」

From 2011 onwards, a large number of U.S.-funded web site Kickstarter imitators in China, only a few years later, this simple "copy to china" approach to the failure--China's first platform for the top-end in April 2014 announced the abandonment of the public, its CEO The explanation is: there is not enough protection mechanism, there is too much uncertainty in the Chinese public to raise.

Jingdong in order to avoid "acclimatized", will become the pre-sale of the public.

"We just call it" public ". Chinese consumers are completely different from American consumers, and our team is more grounded. Now consumers understand that the promotion is pre-sale concessions: I like this product, paid in advance, the price can be cheap. And Beijing east has the ability to promise delivery time, we have the supplier's ability to assess the supply. Unlike the U.S.-funded website model, the product said on the on, two years after the delivery is no problem. "Nasin said.

Through the "public marketing" approach, products in the market before the full exposure, providing a story, get fans. Products listed, Jingdong will use its platform to give greater exposure to quality products will also give investment support.

A typical case is the air purifier "three dads". This is the first public to raise tens of millions of projects, less than one months, "Jingdong invested a lot of resources in the inside, to help do a lot of promotion, such as home resources." The core or product itself is good, and there is a very good story, coupled with that period of time the air is very poor, these factors have, after the explosion of the brand. This is also the Beijing-east and other platforms a relatively large difference, we face the user is very direct, are consumer identities. "Nasin said.

Jingdong use platform Advantage curve to put the concept of the public to the consumer Heart, the manufacturer's approval, the next can really achieve consumer demand leading production.

This year, Jingdong will add a similar likelier in the main station, the role is to help manufacturers and consumers to establish stickiness. Nasin said this time very self-confident, "Jingdong this platform's advantage is the consumer is ready-made, who buys your product to be at a glance, depends on how you treat these users." I provide the place, the people are ready-made, that how to play, I encourage everyone to find a way to, flowers, to make this thing a fire. 」

Now the Beijing East Cloud assistant APP has more than 50 in the sale of intelligent hardware products, docking completed more than 300, is docking of more than 500. "Home appliances accounted for more, and the characteristics of Beijing and east, other platforms, such as millet, it is difficult to touch so many home appliances manufacturers." "Li Xi introduced, Beijing East for many years accumulated a large number of home appliance suppliers, was quickly developed into the Beijing-East intelligent hardware ecological chain."