Samsung Techwin ends relationship with ADSS/Samsung 360

CARSON, Calif.--In a move the company says is a major commitment to the North American market, Samsung Techwin has ended its distribution and marketing relationship with Advanced Digital Security Solutions, which sold the products under the Samsung 360 brand, and will now service the North American market through its direct subsidiary Samsung Opto-Electronics America. This, said David Smith, executive vice president with Samsung Opto-Electronics and the former vice president of marketing for Pelco, "feels like we're starting from ground zero ... Samsung is the 20th largest brand in the world, so we feel we represent a major power when it comes to resources and technology that has really gone unnoticed in the Western Hemisphere." While saying that ADSS did everything asked of it in following through on its agreement with Samsung Techwin, Smith said the company will now simply dedicate far more resources to customer support and working with other manufacturers in the industry. "We decided that if [Samsung] were going to be competitive here, it had to be with employees and staff of our own, rather than using an independent marketing entity ... What [customers will] notice is a big increase in commitment to technical and product support and customer service. We're going to make a much bigger commitment than many other manufacturers to product support and customer service in the form of the way we staff it, with field application engineers, product support specialists, the personnel necessary to provide the kind of support that people need in this industry." Further, "we're looking to do a lot of partnering, to be a lot more progressive than we have been in the past. And that's not something you can do with marketing people. You need engineers, and that's another reason for the change we made. We're making the investment in that engineering talent and we'll be aggressively out there working to see to it that we can integrate with the various companies that are out there." Also look for more marketing that positions the Samsung products "up market," meaning as more of a high-end, sophisticated product. Samsung feels it has a differentiator in its home-grown digital signal processor and some other technology it has created through an extensive R&D operation. "I don't think the market really knows Samsung Techwin," said Smith.