14 DAY TRIAL // When Samsung issued the first global Galaxy Note 7 recall due to the explosions of the phone's battery, everyone, including the South Korean handset maker, blamed the company that provided them.
Samsung SDI, another company belonging to the South Korean giant, was the main battery provider for the Galaxy Note 7.
It was the first time that Samsung SDI scored an important order from its parent company, but Samsung was quick to blame the battery maker when it became clear that there was something wrong with the Galaxy Note 7.
We are now waiting for Samsung to finish its thorough investigation and release the results in the next few weeks, but even if Samsung SDI is not found responsible for Galaxy Note 7's issues, the damage has already been done.
The good news is Samsung SDI won't surrender, even if Samsung made it a scapegoat back in October.
The South Korean media reports Samsung SDI's chief executive officer Cho Nam-seong said that his company must “establish a corporate culture that puts safety first.”
Furthermore, Samsung SDI plans to innovate the battery design and manufacturing methods, as well as improve product safety technologies, as “a competitive edge in products comes from fundamental competitiveness in terms of development, manufacturing, quality and cost,” added Cho.
Samsung SDI has been trying to change its corporate culture since the beginning of 2016, by streamlining the reporting process, meetings and communications.
The process will continue throughout 2017: “I am confident the innovative corporate culture we have pushed since last year will form the basis of becoming a 100-year-old company,” said Cho.
For this year, the company's main focus will be on developing materials, as well as improving the standard development process and capacity of its overseas arms. It remains to be seen whether or not Samsung SDI will score other major orders with big companies in the coming months.