We learned a very important lesson with the launch of the OnePlus 2 by not getting units shipped out as soon as they should have been. Now, we are working harder than ever to get the OnePlus 2 in your hands. We’ve ramped up the invite rollout, and will soon hold a one-hour open sale for those of you looking to purchase the OnePlus 2 without any hassle.
But the real change will come as we adapt and progress our operations and logistics. We are a growing company facing high demand from around the world. It’s not easy to make a smartphone; it’s also not easy getting it from our factory into your hands as quickly as you deserve.
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how we can improve this as quickly as possible. I’ve thought about who we could learn from, and who could help us grow. And the first name that came to mind was… Samsung.
Samsung was founded 77 years ago. Running a company that does so well, for so long, with such a wide range of products is an astounding feat by any measure. They’ve shipped hundreds of millions of phones around the globe through a multitude of sales channels; you can’t help but admire their operations.
There’s a lot of talk lately about how the ‘new guys’ (like OnePlus) are coming in to disrupt the ‘giants of the smartphone industry’ (like Samsung, who’ve had a few less than stellar quarters). We’ve seen a lot of speculation and analysis about if and how one player can dominate the market. Well, we fully agree that the industry is evolving, but we think there’s room for all of us to compete and learn from each other.
So, Samsung, today I have a proposal for you: let me be your intern. Seriously.
I would be honored to learn from your team about how you’ve been able to scale, run, and manage your business so successfully. In turn, I would be happy to share what we’ve learned about how to engage with our community and implement their feedback to deliver a better user experience.
Better yet, let’s do an intern swap. I would be honored to visit your headquarters, and, in turn, we would be happy to host one of your own executives here to show you how we work at OnePlus.
Though our histories couldn’t be more different, we’ve both gained a world of unique insight into this industry and how to succeed. Sharing these lessons with each other would make us both better companies, and ultimately better for the consumers buying our devices.
I hope to hear from you, Samsung.
About the Author:
Carl Pei, Co-founder, Head of Global at OnePlus. He was born in China, moved to the U.S. for a couple of years, and then grew up mostly in Sweden. He listen as much lossless music as possible. He follows Steve Jobs and got inspired by his Stanford Speech.Never Settle the tag-line of his OnePlus company are taken from that speech.