30 Jun Dr. Hon cover article, China Bicycle magazine part 2
Following on from Dr. Hon’s interview last month in China Bicycle magazine, we have published this extract to give industry players the chance to read Dr. Hon discussing DAHON’s latest business concepts.
Reporter: DAHON has introduced a wide range of modern folding bicycle products to the industry. What new ideas and technologies will DAHON bring from today?
Dr. Hon: Currently DAHON is actively promoting the “Sharing 360” strategy to the market.
Reporter: What is Sharing 360?
Dr. Hon: Since 2019, DAHON has been implementing the “Sharing 360” strategy, which involves technology parts sharing, brand sharing, bicycle sharing and market sharing. At present, DAHON has established steady business relationships with 30 to 40 major domestic bicycle brands as well as foreign independent bicycle brands. DAHON provides dozens of key parts with high technical capabilities for related OEMs in the industry, improving product performance for many businesses.
Reporter: Please introduce in detail each of these four sharing concepts:
Dr. Hon: Firstly there’s “Technology Sharing”: patented technology is a core component that drives an advanced enterprise. Through “Technology Sharing”, this advanced design concept and experience will be used to solve problems for business partners. This can include material mechanics, functional structure, market suitability, and appearance modeling. Currently DAHON has cooperated with Yadi and Tailing, among other enterprises.
“Parts Sharing” involves using high-quality parts from factory technology to improve product cost performance, which can then be sold to domestic and foreign markets with DAHON branding, so that China’s bicycles and parts can gradually achieve the objective of industrial improvement.
So far DAHON has accredited Fuji-ta among other manufacturers and traders to the “Parts Sharing” program.
Regarding the concept of “Brand Sharing”, DAHON is a pioneer of the folding bicycle industry. After years of consistent growth, DAHON has become an international leading brand and representation of the folding bicycle industry as a whole. Brand sharing authorizes the DAHON brand to be used by other players in the industry (such as DAHON ABC), which helps companies whose existing products are reliable and of high quality, but have a lack of visibility and reputation, to establish goodwill in a short amount of time. This scheme helps them to receive the appropriate resources from major global banks, to enable them to maximize bilateral sales profits. At present, DAHON has signed cooperation partnerships with many customers in Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and China, and has generated authorization fees more than 30 million RMB.
“Market sharing” : Since the first day of its birth, DAHON has embodied the spirit of international competition. Regarding market development, DAHON has entered difficult territories before easy ones, and large markets before small ones. It first entered the markets of Japan, the United States, and Western Europe, where quality is strict and bicycle prices are high. After taking a firm foothold there with a large market share, DAHON was then able to penetrate and develop into other markets. Having accumulated the best customers in the industry, it is the world’s leading brand in the folding bicycle category. DAHON and its sales network in more than 60 countries and regions around the world are also opening the door of more opportunities to “Sharing 360″ partners. DAHON is willing to conveniently supply the good products of our “Shared 360” partners into our worldwide sales network.
With the development of its product line and its expanding sales network, DAHON Group is now packaging its high-quality resources and going public, to make the whole enterprise bigger and stronger. Qualified suppliers with an excellent performance within the DAHON network can apply to join the holding company to connect with the advantageous resources of relevant parties, and achieve overall listing, benefiting by developing with an international enterprise group within the whole industrial chain, it is win-win cooperation.
“Bicycle sharing” is based on DAHON’s fast-folding electric technology. This bike-sharing system follows a convenient process similar to that of express delivery cabinets; they are convenient to take and return, as well as being convenient to disassemble and assemble. Its system can be easily adjusted according to the flow of people in the delivery place and needs network and electricity for it to operate automatically. The bicycle-sharing system has smart lockers that include an interactive speech function that works with internet technology and a data analysis algorithm. Its functions comprise bicycle loan and return expense payment and real-time monitoring. Vehicles can also be picked up and returned autonomously, which is very convenient for users. With this system, the phenomenon of shared bikes and electric bikes is improved, as parking is more flexible, which saves land resources for the city. Its most important benefit is convenient maintenance, and overall, its operating cost is very low.
Reporter: “Sharing 360” is an unprecedented plan in the industry. Don’t you worry that the “Sharing 360” strategy will reduce DAHON’s market competitiveness?
Dr. Hon: I have worried about that before. After all, if the master teaches his apprentice, he will starve himself to death. When DAHON’s intellectual property has been infringed in the past, DAHON has gone to great lengths to defend itself.
In recent years, I have noticed that the state has stepped up efforts to protect intellectual property rights, effectively safeguarding the rights and interests of enterprises, and promoting economic innovation. The most obvious example is the timely notification of the seizure of DAHON’s intellectual property rights violations by domestic customs and the request of our organizational opinions. This issue is more compelling than before and commendable.
From the perspective of our enterprise, only when technology serves society and its consumers, can it be considered seriously? Technology that is hidden or put on the shelf will be devalued or even discarded sooner or later. Though I give away a rose, the scent still lingers on my hand, no?
The “Sharing 360” strategy was developed from the overall ethos of DAHON and is a big test of its research and development capabilities. Since the first day of its creation, DAHON’s research and development have been embedded in scientific and technological innovation. Its scientific research team has published more than 10 patents each year. The 439 patents we successfully filed actually act as a kind of moat and firewall. We are not only developing fast but steadily too. China’s increasingly strict protection of intellectual property rights and major international markets such as the United States, Europe, and Japan have given more protection to patents. This constitutes the basis and guarantees for win-win cooperation between the two sides.
On the other hand, DAHON has a clear limitation on the quality of its partners, that being qualified, honest, and law-abiding, compliant enterprises. These enterprises themselves have operating standards, product quality is excellent, everything is ready to go, the only thing missing from the puzzle is the Sharing 360 strategy.
Reporter: What was the original intention of this plan?
Dr. Hon: Over the past 38 years, with the spirit of innovation and change, DAHON has developed into a bicycle manufacturer with profound R&D and production experience in the global bicycle and accessories industry. With more than 400 core technologies and patented accessories, DAHON can provide a wide range of bicycle products and accessories.
Products and technology are the foundation of an enterprise. After years of continuous investment in technology, DAHON has formed a whole industrial chain, from bicycle parts to complete production. The “Sharing 360” plan is a long-term and favorable strategy for the bicycle supply chain. DAHON takes the lead to initiate and hopes that it can work with major enterprises to develop and make the industry bigger and stronger. We look forward to more partners joining our company for co-prosperity, making the national brand larger and more powerful!
More importantly, “Sharing 360” is a way to attract more talent, as technologically advanced enterprises move forward and are willing to share their own ideas.
By sharing technology and inventions of their own, offerings will not only have a greater impact but also promote productivity, so that more enterprises can share their achievements and the overall technology of the whole industry will be greatly improved.
Reporter: Will DAHON become a pure technology company?
Dr. Hon: It could be a good path for growth, like Apple, which is led by research and development to develop its technology. However, currently, it is not realistic for DAHON to be separate from production. We have concluded that if production is fully completed by a third party, production costs will increase correspondingly, which will undoubtedly reduce market competitiveness.
Reporter: What are your plans for DAHON’s future development?
Dr. Hon: In this enterprise, DAHON will continue to optimize management to stimulate the passion of its employees for work and innovation, to truly make the company feel like home for everyone. By providing appropriate incentives, employees can be motivated to achieve their potential, providing a steady stream of talent to help grow the business.
We will also look into improving our business culture further, so we can keep maintaining the cohesiveness and effectiveness of DAHON’s employees.
Find out more about DAHON‘s latest business concepts, core technologies, and patented accessories by contacting Samantha@dahon.com or visit our technology sharing page.
