發光二極體產業分析與進入策略之研究

Abstract

發光二極體（LED）產業涵蓋了從上游長晶、磊晶成長、切拋光、中游晶粒製作、到下游的裝測試與最後應用，如背光、居家照明等，自1962年第一顆可見光問世到1975年我國第一家封裝廠成立迄今，LED 產業發展已近四十多年。歷經多年的技術發展，發光效率的提昇，整個產業結構也起了重大變化。由於台灣廠家都選擇資金、技術障礙較低的階段切入，因此廠家眾多，規模都不大。在激烈的競爭下，台灣的廠家雖然有成長但獲利不佳。 隨著節能減碳，LED 照明的替換潮流，台灣的現有廠家如何維持繼續成長並擴大競爭優勢，新進入者其進入策略為何，都是值得探討的議題。 本研究從全球 LED 的產業分析著手，先了解其應用產品的生命周期以及未來的應用趨勢，其次，探討 LED 的需求特性與供需變化，並將影響 LED 產業結構的驅動因素逐一分析說明。接著，我們探討臺灣和大陸的 LED 產業結構與發展概況。最後，我們以T-公司的固態照明事業的個案為焦點，探討新進入廠商之可行進入策略，並提出本研究對我國 LED 產業策略發展的建議。 本研究發現臺灣的 LED 業者規模太小又互相交叉投資，在產業結構鏈裡的議價能力太低，同時，缺乏長遠的技術研究發展計劃，專利又被前5大廠所控制，幾乎每一家都選進入障礙最低的部分進入，導致產業競爭激烈，營收有成長但獲利都不佳。透過產業利潤池和近5年的平均獲利分析，本研究發現台灣 LED 產業前段長晶部分淨利率約12%，磊晶部分約8%，封裝部分約11%。面對目前的激烈競爭，為了維持營收和獲利成長，必須要能採取差異化作法，例如由水平分工轉型至部分垂直整合以提昇對上、下游的議價能力，或盡速併購有技術、專利的歐美公司以突破目前的困境。若能與大陸廠家結盟，並善用兩岸政府力量早日訂定標準，以利搶得先機進入廣大的大陸市場。T-公司的進入策略係基於本身原有的優勢條件，包括正確的商業模式和完整的生態系統優勢，若再加上未來併購策略或兩岸結盟，則可以快速產生規模經濟創造競爭優勢，可做為國內業者經營發展的參考。

The LED industry covers the upstream raw wafer crystal growth, cutting and polishing; the midstream has multi-layers epitaxial growth and manufacturing; the downstream packaging and testing; and lastly, the application of LED, such as backlighting, displaying and residential lighting. Ever since the first visible lighting found in 1962, and the first Taiwanese packaging company, LiteOn Technology Corp., was founded in 1975, the LED industry has been developing for nearly 40 years. Through many years of technology development and the enhancement of light-emitting efficiency, the whole LED industry structure has also been changed significantly. Taiwanese manufacturers tended to invest in lower-cost technologies with lower technical barriers. Therefore, even though there were many of them, none of them was large-scale. Under the fierce competition, Taiwanese manufacturers grew with little profit. With the energy-saving and carbon-reduction trend, LED is now replacing the traditional lighting. How do the current Taiwanese LED manufacturers keep growing and survive from the competition, and what are the feasible entrant strategies of the new entrants? These are the topics worth exploring. This research starts with an analysis of global LED industry, including exploration on the life cycle of LED application products, the future application trend, the demand characteristics of LED, the change of the worldwide LED demand and supply, and the growth and decline in each country. With all these analyses, we further identified the driving factors for the change of LED industry. Next, we analyze the LED’s industry structure both in Taiwan and China, such as the industry transition, and the industry value chain plus potential entrant and replacement manufacturers. Lastly, we discuss the new entrants’ strategies based on a focused case of the T-company’s new LED business. We found that the central problem of Taiwan LED industry lies in their small scale and cross-investments, causing the bargaining power in the industrial structure being too weak. The competition within the industry is fierce. The manufacturers do not have long-term technology research and development plans, and the patents are controlled by the largest five manufacturers, a structure which makes Taiwanese manufacturers barely profitable. According to the profit pool analysis of nearly five years’ average earnings, we discovered that the upstream crystal growth’s net profit margin is about 12%, the epitaxial growth is about 8%, and packaging is about 11%. To keep the revenue and profits growing within the fierce competition, the manufacturers need to differentiate from one another. An example would be shifting from horizontal to vertical integration, to strengthen the bargaining power against up and downstream; or breaking the dilemma by acquiring American and European companies with the technologies and patents. If the Taiwanese manufacturers could ally with their co-opetitors in Mainland China and co-establish standards through governmental supports from both sides, it will be beneficial for them to enter the vast Chinese market. Finally, the T-company case shows a feasible entry strategy based on its businesss model and cmpetitive ecosystem. Further competitive advantages could be created by additional acquisitions or cross-strait alliance, which can serve as a reference model for other companies.