The 鈥渋nternal competition鈥 in the smart lock market has triggered a re-positioning of the industrial chain鈥檚 division of labor. Is this a protective moat resulting from macro trends or a weapon for seizing market share? 360 Vision Cloud teams up with an excellent group to provide an answer.
On December 16, 2022, the 鈥淟ock in the Future, Infinite Perspective鈥 signing ceremony for the strategic cooperation among 360 Vision Cloud, Jieli Technology, and Mansen Intelligent was successfully held in Xiaolan Town, Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, the hardware capital of China. This event was organized by 360 Vision Cloud and co-hosted by Jianbo Cloud Network and Mansen Intelligent. The ceremony marked the launch of the 360 Vision Cloud video lock solution, as well as the signing of strategic partnerships with brand merchants, and an award ceremony for ecological partners.
360 Vision Cloud came prepared for this event, working with the smart lock industry to create a new ecological model for video locks. They proudly introduced an innovative cooperation model for the video lock industry aimed at empowering ecological partners:
1.Add a New Money-Making Method: This refers to the revenue-sharing model of value-added services through cloud storage.
Leveraging the accumulation and experience of 360 Smart Living Group鈥檚 security business, we will fully introduce our successful cloud storage revenue model into the video lock industry. By utilizing operational capabilities and big data analysis advantages, we will assist clients in enhancing their cloud storage conversion rates and maximizing sustainable revenue sharing, effectively helping our ecosystem partners make money.
2.Breakthrough on Mini Programs to Enhance Product Experience: We will enhance user experience through mini programs while also providing customized solutions for brand clients, allowing for quick skin changes.
We can showcase the functionalities of the 360 Visual Cloud APP through mini programs, providing users with a high-quality experience. Additionally, we can offer tailored skin customization specifically for lock companies and brand merchants, enabling an out-of-the-box solution that helps clients prominently display their own brands.
3.Provide 360 Visual Cloud Empowerment: We will offer empowering services through the Visual Cloud SaaS platform for selected products that have already integrated into the Visual Cloud ecosystem. This will support brand promotion and enhance sales efforts.
We can promote our products through online marketing, offline marketing, and packaging printing materials by following the 360 Visual Cloud standards, highlighting that 鈥渢his product is integrated with 360 Visual Cloud.鈥 Additionally, we can issue certification certificates for selected products and provide 360 Dimension Safety Certification marks for clients with special safety customization needs.
4.Deep customization of the video lock solution allows ecological partners to stay at the forefront of product innovation, even enabling early launches.
360 Visual Cloud, in collaboration with the chip manufacturer and in strategic partnership with JieLi, launched the 79 series peephole solution by the end of 2022 based on a deeply customized SDK. In 2023, we will jointly develop and launch new integrated solutions, such as peephole + facial recognition in one, dual-camera, and next-generation peephole solutions.
5.Ten Billion Subsidy Plan: For strategic partners in the 360 Visual Cloud ecosystem, we can provide license subsidies, high proportions of cloud storage revenue sharing, AI exemption support, and other policies, working together with ecosystem partners to 鈥渂uild our empire.鈥
360 Visual Cloud has joined the 360 Group鈥檚 Ten Billion Subsidy Plan, offering subsidies to small and micro enterprises alongside other SaaS services like 360 Corporate Security Cloud, to support the digital transformation of these businesses.
At the event:
As the host, Zhang Baoqiang, Chairman of Guangdong Mansen Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., delivered a welcoming speech. He stated, 鈥淎s the leading industry in the upgrade of smart home consumption, the smart lock has grown from a tiny seed to a towering tree, thanks to the hard work of many practitioners. This achievement is hard-won, and we should treasure it. As China鈥檚 largest OEM/ODM manufacturing enterprise, Mansen Intelligent always adheres to establishing strong strategic partnerships with upstream chip manufacturers, module suppliers, and solution providers, aiming to develop the most competitive smart lock product base to serve like-minded brand merchants and provide consumers with quality-assured products.鈥
Moving to the keynote speeches, Sun Hao, President of 360 Smart Living Group - Vision Cloud, elaborated on the theme of openness, sharing, and win-win cooperation鈥攈ow 360 Vision Cloud supports industry upgrades.
Sun Hao introduced:
360 is one of the earliest internet companies to enter the smart hardware field and has pioneered various categories. Since 2013, it has launched several products, including portable WiFi devices, children鈥檚 smartwatches, and security routers, with smart camera products entering the home security field in 2014.
360 Smart Living Group, as part of the 360 Group, focuses on providing intelligent hardware and IoT solutions based on a great safety strategy, fulfilling the mission of securing homes, and currently offering reliable products and services to 60 million users.
In the home security domain, 360 has a first-mover advantage, being one of the first to launch home smart cameras and video doorbells. With its product innovation, outstanding user experience, and established market position, it ranks third in smart cameras and first in video doorbells. The platform has more than 20 million users and handles 300 million AI recognition tasks daily.
As an internet company, cloud and AI soft power is 360鈥檚 core competitiveness, with 360 Vision Cloud鈥檚 transformation into a SaaS platform based on eight years of product and platform technological accumulation; the core of this platform is its efficient, cutting-edge, globally covering video cloud technology. This is supported by PB-level ultra-large-scale video distributed storage and indexing technology, along with encrypted video data transmission and storage. 360 Vision Cloud focuses on AI technology related to visuals, promoting product innovation through years of accumulated capabilities in video cloud, cloud storage, and AI. The development of smart locks has evolved from password and fingerprint access to integrating smart peepholes and remote intercoms, and this cooperation with ecological partners will help leverage 360鈥檚 core capabilities and pursue win-win collaboration.
In concluding his speech, Sun Hao expressed his wishes for the event, hoping the cooperation with Jieli and Mansen and other ecological partners would bring more excellent and competitive solutions to the video lock industry in the future!
Next, Ding Xiang, General Manager of Ecological Business at 360 Smart Living Group - Vision Cloud, shared insights on creating a new ecological model for video locks by cooperating with the smart lock industry.
Ding Xiang introduced:
The 360 Vision Cloud ecological business relies on AI vision, aiming at the strategy of serving small and micro enterprises with services like video connection, storage, and intelligent AI algorithm applications, allowing clients to swiftly realize one-stop video capability deployment and cloud-edge collaboration safely and efficiently.
360 Vision Cloud started laying the groundwork for IoT ecosystem in 2020 and shifted focus to the intelligent security industry, increasingly concentrating on visual AI in 2022. It has become a leading video solution cloud platform, providing ultra-low-power video lock solutions with end-to-end AI solutions relying on the advantages of 360 security cameras and video doorbells.
Ding Xiang stated that 360 Vision Cloud鈥檚 open platform features leading, efficient, and globally covering video cloud technology, utilizing proprietary protocols for end-to-end secure transmission to protect video transfer and storage. Proven through the years with millions of products, it ensures high connection rates (over 99% for the entire network and more than 90% for P2P), low stuttering rates (<1%), and latency in the millisecond range. It offers robust features for users, including variable-speed playback, real-time multi-party intercom, quick connection, instant screen opening, AI intelligent analysis, and data report display, with global deployment making it seamless for clients going abroad.
Additionally, Ding Xiang announced the innovative cooperation model for the 360 Vision Cloud ecosystem, expressing its intention to partner with the smart lock industry to create a new ecological model for video locks and disclosed a product matrix with Jieli for video lock solutions to be launched next year.
Following that, Gao Xiang, Deputy General Manager of Shenzhen Jieli Microelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., presented on the topic of simplifying complexity to build an integrated ecosystem in the smart lock industry.
Gao Xiang explained:
The update of chips and backend solutions aligns with Moore鈥檚 Law, and with advancements in the design and manufacturing processes of domestic chips, leveraging a mature supply chain (including upstream wafer manufacturing and testing), the duration of Moore鈥檚 Law is now accelerated to around one year.
Today, China is the global manufacturing hub, and domestic chip companies are diligently responding to client needs while comprehending consumer psychology. Jieli鈥檚 team, with a professional, pragmatic, and responsive service approach, fully absorbs feedback from end-user clients, striving to optimize user experience while reducing PCBA manufacturing costs in partnership with the 360 Vision Cloud team.
In 2023, intercom features between smart locks and smartphones will likely become standard in the market, leading to an exponential increase in consumers purchasing video cloud storage. Together with 360 Vision Cloud and Mansen, they aim to create a secure, smooth, and stable user experience.
Video encoding, screen display, and Wi-Fi wireless transmission work together seamlessly, and Jieli鈥檚 AC7012AB single-chip solution has undergone repeated iterations to achieve these objectives.
Finally, Zhang Baoqiang, Chairman of Guangdong Mansen Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., delivered an insightful outlook on the smart lock industry trends in the post-COVID era, providing five key terms for analysis:
Slowing Down:
There鈥檚 a high probability of slow growth in 2023, mainly due to:After this year鈥檚 Double 11, the smart lock sales on e-commerce platforms plummeted, and the performance during Double 12 was even worse. Overall data showed a noticeable decline in 2022. The first quarter of 2023 is expected to be tough due to the broader market environment.Smart locks are essential products driven by consumer upgrades. As consumption declines, upgrading will be delayed.The market penetration of smart locks remains low, and consumer awareness still has many gaps regarding quality, safety, and service, thus further consumer education will take time to evolve.
Involution:
Involution has become the norm, but the current competition is asymmetrical and unhealthy, leading to subpar products driving out quality ones. According to Liao Yong, a senior engineer from Weikai Testing, at least 20% of products in the market are unqualified鈥攖his is alarming.
Lateral and Vertical Cooperation:
In the context of declining consumer demand and industry slowdown in 2023, price cuts will be a primary method for capturing market share. Only through lateral and vertical cooperation across research and supply chains can competitive product pricing be achieved, winning the market.
Fragmentation:
The market has yet to see a concentrated leadership effect, with brand concentration not reaching the Pareto principle of 80/20. Over the three years from 2020 to 2022 in e-commerce, brands have risen and fallen, with no clear winner emerging.
Slow Growth Bull Market:
From 2016 to 2019, growth was on a high curve. The growth rate began to slow after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, with noticeable deceleration in 2022. Overall, smart locks are essential products for upgraded consumption, and the market holds vast potential. The slow bull market is expected to begin in 2023, lasting at least two years.
From Ding Xiang鈥檚 presentation, it is evident that 360 Vision Cloud鈥檚 鈥渇oresight and forward planning鈥 emphasize that only strong cooperation along the supply chain between upstream and downstream stakeholders can intelligently secure the future. This means establishing a superior supply chain with excellent partners.
Prominent at the strategic cooperation signing ceremony were Ding Xiang, General Manager of Ecological Business at 360 Smart Living Group - Vision Cloud, Gao Xiang, Deputy General Manager of Jieli, and Zhang Baoqiang, Chairman of Mansen Intelligent. This represents a strong collaboration between the safest visual cloud platform 360, the leading smart lock visual chip manufacturer Jieli, and Mansen, the largest OEM/ODM smart lock producer in China.
Additionally, Ding Xiang, Gao Xiang, Bu Haifeng (General Manager of TCL Intelligent Home), Cai Wendom (General Manager of Guangdong Heilong Intelligent), and Zhang Baoqiang participated in the strategic partnership signing session for the launch of the 360 Vision Cloud video lock solution.
The 360 Vision Cloud ecological partnership award ceremony was led by Mr. Guo Li, the person in charge of video locks at 360 Smart Living Group - Vision Cloud, who awarded certifications to Shenzhen Shuzhi Vision Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Huixin Video Electronic Co., Ltd., and Baishida (Shenzhen) Intelligent Co., Ltd.
The ecological partnership award ceremony was conducted by Ding Xiang and Xiang Lei (Senior Director of Cloud Platform at the Technology Center of 360 Smart Living Group), granting awards to Xiamen Ruiwei Information Technology Co., Ltd., Guangdong Mansen Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., Obsidian Light Technology Group Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Jieli Microelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., and Guangdong Shengshi Lianyun Communication Technology Co., Ltd.
Participating in the signing and award ceremony were Zhan Donghui (Chairman of Ruiwei Technology), Yu Huan (General Manager of National Technology), and Li Ranchun (General Manager of the Security Product Line at Obsidian Light).
The highlight was the 鈥淟ock in the Future, Infinite Perspective鈥 sharing salon, featuring participants such as Zhang Baoqiang (Chairman of Mansen), Zhan Donghui (Chairman and CEO of Ruiwei Technology), Ding Xiang (General Manager of Ecological Business at 360), Xiang Lei (Senior Director of Cloud Platform at the Technology Center of 360), Yu Huan (General Manager of National Technology), Gao Xiang (Deputy General Manager of Jieli), Bu Haifeng (General Manager of TCL Intelligent Home), Cai Wendom (General Manager of Guangdong Heilong Intelligent), Liao Liang (Senior Engineer at Weikai Testing), and Li Ranchun (General Manager of the Security Product Line at Obsidian Light).
