In recent years, the outward migration of the electronic information industry chain and the global economic downturn have deeply affected various sectors. Many companies are grappling with declining performance despite employees working overtime. Alibaba's significant layoffs in Hangzhou, ByteDance's restructuring, JD.com's shifts under Liu Qiangdong's guidance, and the perplexity among bosses in Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei electronic components market reflect a pervasive atmosphere of despondency and decline.

However, amidst this backdrop, some outstanding companies are defying the odds and achieving remarkable growth. In 2024, Kinghelm and SLKOR continued their rapid development, with a 100% increase in revenue in 2023. Kinghelm expanded its factory in Luzhai County, Guangxi, and on July 8th, the Kinghelm team received awards for exceeding production targets. They also sent outstanding employees abroad for further education and continued activities such as the "SLKOR Basketball Summer Camp"

What is the underlying logic behind the phased success of SLKOR and Kinghelm?

According to Song Shiqiang, the key lies in adopting "benchmark management" akin to Huawei's "Five Views, Three Decisions," integrating the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle into daily operations, and combining standardization, process optimization, systematic development, and modularization within the company. These approaches, coupled with continuous micro-innovations, have driven high-quality, high-speed growth.

SLKOR's General Manager, Song Shiqiang (sixth from the left), posing with the Champion DeYiHui Intelligent Manufacturing Team

We often joke that Kinghelm and SLKOR are the legitimate soldiers who have emerged from Huaqiangbei, emphasizing methodological approaches in our work. Every task is meticulously planned, executed with purpose, and rigorously evaluated and reviewed to achieve optimal results. Benchmark management, pioneered by Xerox Corporation in 1979, is widely recognized in modern developed countries as a crucial method for continuous improvement and gaining competitive advantage. We constantly learn from industry leaders during different stages of development and from competitors at the time.

Our R&D, organizational, and knowledge engineering systems are modeled after Huawei, our neighbor. In terms of product definition and market positioning, SLKOR benchmarks international giants like Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, ON Semiconductor, studying their management models, technological innovations, and market strategies for our own development. Similarly, Kinghelm benchmarks connector companies such as TE Connectivity, Amphenol, Molex, and Delphi, comparing and analyzing to identify and address our weaknesses to enhance competitiveness.

The PDCA cycle, also known as the Deming Cycle, was originally proposed by quality management expert Walter A. Shewhart. It divides quality management into four stages: Plan (planning), Do (doing), Check (checking), and Act (acting). After establishing quality management systems for antennas, connectors, and power devices, we focus on systematizing, streamlining, and standardizing other aspects of company management. The PDCA methodology permeates every facet of our work, continuously adjusting, optimizing, and improving in cycles.

We adopt advanced principles and successful experiences from Huawei, employing the "Five Views, Three Fixes" mindset and work model to deeply engage our management team in thoughtful reflection and continuous practice. Mr. Song Shiqiang, General Manager of SLKOR and Kinghelm, highlights our proximity to Huawei in Bantian community, Longgang District. Here, we delve into the advanced experiences of companies like Huawei, Xiaomi, and DJI.

This engagement broadens our colleagues' perspectives, sparks vitality, and continuously enhances professional competence, driving sustained high-speed development at SLKOR and Kinghelm. Huawei's renowned "Five Views, Three Fixes" philosophy involves assessing trends, opportunities, issues, planning, and execution—this aligns closely with our own "Three Fixes" approach in setting objectives, strategies, and plans during practical work.

This methodology proves highly practical, emphasizing comprehensive analysis of external environments and rational utilization of internal resources, thereby guiding the company's development. It's readily comprehensible and operationally effective for our colleagues in their daily work.

Colleagues from Kinghelm and SLKOR attended benchmark management training sessions

Mr. Song Shiqiang emphasized that while excelling in product R&D and quality management, learning from Huawei's aggressive marketing strategies is crucial for enhancing market competitiveness. Treating Huawei as a benchmark helps maintain high standards despite being a smaller entity currently, ensuring standout performance in fierce market competition. SLKOR and Kinghelm adhere to a corporate culture centered on "integrity," "refinement," "tenacity," and meticulous attention to detail. Particularly, the value of "refinement" demands continuous improvement and specialization, aligning well with Huawei's and their own aggressive marketing strategies.

Established in 2015 at Room CD, 24th Floor, Guangye Building, Huaqiang North, Shenzhen, SLKOR Semiconductor was founded through investment and technical collaboration with a team from Yonsei University, South Korea, led by Mr. Song Shiqiang. The company achieved mass production of silicon carbide (SiC) power devices—SiC MOSFETs and SiC SBDs—in the same year. In 2016, SLKOR successfully registered the "SLKORr" trademark in mainland China. By 2017, its products obtained RoHS and REACH compliance reports from the EU. The company expanded its portfolio in 2018 with Hall sensors and LDO series power management chips. Collaborations with Tsinghua University began in 2019, followed by successful localization efforts across its supply chain in 2020, achieving "domestic substitution" milestones in China.

In 2023, SLKOR obtained recognition as a national high-tech enterprise, further advancing the internationalization of the SLKOR brand. By 2024, its products passed California 65 testing standards, with plans to recruit agents globally and establish overseas offices in Singapore, Istanbul (Turkey), and Amsterdam (Netherlands).

Currently, SLKOR has two sales departments: the Domestic Sales Department responsible for managing domestic sales teams and Huaqiang North store operations. This includes agent management, customer development, order processing, after-sales service, and technical solution services within China. The Overseas Sales Department oversees sales and promotion in international markets, including the establishment and management of overseas offices, development of agents, customer development, order processing, after-sales service, and technical solution services. SLKOR currently has agents in Turkey, India, and Singapore, with ongoing development and selection of additional overseas agents. Qualified agencies with established client relationships in these regions are welcome to join.

SLKOR's products have passed California 65 testing, ISO9001, SGS, RoHS, and REACH certifications. Passing these tests ensures product compliance and consumer safety, crucial steps in today's fiercely competitive and globalized market environment. By adhering to compliance standards and providing safe products, SLKOR aims to earn consumer trust and loyalty, thereby supporting the internationalization of the "SLKOR" brand.

The history of human societal development is inherently tied to advancing productivity, adjusting production relations, and improving efficiency. Here's a simplified summary:

In agricultural societies, transportation relied on walking, communication on shouting, heating on shaking (to start fires), and security on dogs. In industrial societies, the focus shifted to multi-story buildings, electric lights, telephones, climate control (warm winters, cool summers), and extensive infrastructure development. In the information society, capabilities include calculation, achieving desires, clothing and food availability with minimal effort.

In agricultural societies, work involved domesticating animals and plants, hunting, gathering, and farming, often allowing families or small communities to be self-sufficient. Craftsmen often juggled multiple roles but with lower efficiency. In industrial societies, specialization and cooperation became crucial, emphasizing mass production through detailed division of labor. According to British economist Adam Smith, finer specialization and skilled labor increase societal efficiency, leading to the emergence of numerous industry experts.

German sociologist Max Weber highlighted the inseparable link between scientific management and efficiency. For instance, breaking down factory tasks into precise actions, identifying key points, optimizing combinations, and replicating these processes across an organization significantly boosts labor efficiency while reducing costs. The application of methods like the Deming Cycle ensures and enhances product quality, ultimately generating substantial profits for businesses. Japanese companies like Toyota exemplify this approach, achieving higher quality through systematic improvement processes.

SLKOR and Kinghelm hosted a "Hometown Food Festival

I believe that industrial standardization enables cost-effective replication of products, ensuring production efficiency and enhancing company competitiveness. It also reduces errors and lowers business risks. Effective measures proven to be successful should be standardized into work standards for future implementation and dissemination. Standardization is the best method to maintain corporate governance, accumulate and refine experiences, and continually elevate governance standards.

In an information society, where the speed of information replication and dissemination accelerates, the demand for standardized original information products becomes even higher. This necessitates the effective use of the PDCA cycle, also known as the Deming Cycle, to prevent the accumulation and spread of errors! The PDCA work cycle allows our thinking processes and work steps to be effectively replicated, disseminated, and learned, becoming more organized, systematic, visualized, and scientific.

Just like climbing stairs, each cycle of operation raises our level by one step. Starting the next cycle further elevates our capabilities. Through continuous repetition, companies like Kinghelm and SLKOR gain formidable competitiveness!

Mr. Song Shiqiang implements benchmark management training at Kinghelm and Slkor headquarters

SLKOR and Kinghelm are committed to pursuing excellence, creating a learning organization where every employee becomes a "learning-oriented" professional. This approach ensures the company progresses steadily along its development path, balancing technology, cost, management, efficiency, and sustainability. They strive to provide customers with high-performance, highly reliable products and services.

Continuous learning and innovation are essential for staying abreast of the times and addressing various challenges and opportunities. By studying Huawei's management principles and successful experiences, SLKOR and Kinghelm's management team gains valuable lessons to enhance their own management systems, elevate their management standards, and strengthen their ability to tackle market challenges.

Moreover, benchmarking Huawei inspires internal vigor, prompting team members to engage in self-reflection and continuous learning, thus advancing corporate culture. Benchmarking also enhances competitiveness, enabling SLKOR and Kinghelm to better adapt to market changes, seize opportunities, and achieve sustainable development.

Kinghelm's series of products include pin headers, sockets, connectors, and interface components.

Brief introduction to Song Shiqiang

Mr. Song Shiqiang, founder of SLKOR Semiconductor and Kinghelm Electronics in Shenzhen, is a seasoned entrepreneur and manager with extensive experience in technical management and business operations. He is a member of the Expert Database of the Chinese Institute of Electronics, a business research expert in Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei commercial district, and a columnist specializing in popular science.

Starting from grassroots levels, Mr. Song combines his long-term study of macroeconomics with practical business management theories to drive the rapid development of Kinghelm and SLKOR. His insights into Huaqiangbei, documented in articles such as "The Wealth Code of Huaqiangbei," "Why Huaqiangbei Has Many Millionaires," "Research on Huaqiangbei Shanzhai Phones," "Transformation and Development of Huaqiangbei," "Refuting Bloomberg's News on Huaqiangbei," "Huaqiangbei's Transformation through Hardware and Software Upgrades," and "The Grey Industry Chain of Shanzhai Bluetooth Headsets in Huaqiangbei," have been widely republished by prominent domestic and international media outlets including People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, Global Times, Associated Press, Yahoo News, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review.

Mr. Song's efforts aim to purify the business environment of Huaqiangbei and promote "China's Electronics First Street" globally. His "Song Shiqiang's Insights" video series is popular on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Bilibili, and Xiaohongshu, while his articles are widely circulated across major media platforms.

The hot-selling models of SLKOR at Huaqiangbei shops