1. DJI is currently the dominant player in the consumer drone market with 77% market share. It started as a DIY drone company and introduced the first consumer drone, the Phantom 1, in 2013.
2. DJI has successfully captured competitive advantages through strategic partnerships, crowd-sourcing contests, rigorous internal processes, and protecting its intellectual property with over 1,000 patents.
3. The drone industry and film industry have started to integrate, with drones being used to capture aerial footage for movies. However, further technological developments are still needed to address limitations such as flight time and pilot shortages.
3. CONTENTS
• Case Summary
– History
– Drone Technology
– Market Players & DJI
• Analysis of Key Concepts
– Overview of DJI Technologies
– Products & Innovation
– Application of Key concepts from the
class
• Industrial integration and implication
on film industry
• Future of the DJI
• Q&A
4. MAJOR MILESTONES
184
8
191
0
194
0
196
0-70
197
0-74
198
6
Austria’s attack
on Venice with
balloons filled
with explosives
Operation
Aphrodite was
conducted by
the US army
Ryan 147
“Lightning Bug”
used by US army
in war against
Vietnam
US used bomb
filled balloons in
the Spanish War
Ryan Firebee
(Lightning Bug)
UAV developed
by US- Jet
propelled
drones
U.S. and Israel
developed the
Pioneer RQ2
01
6. DRONE TECHNOLOGY
Propellers
(Standard & push)
Motor
Battery &
compartment
Multiple LED
Landing gearHigh definition
camera
Compass
Signal receiver
GNSS AI Flight
controller
DJI Phantom 4
Pro Specs.
03
7. DRONE MARKET & PLAYERS
6.2
billion
in
2016
13.4
billion
by
2023
04
9. S Z D J I ( D A J I A N G )
T E C H N O L O G Y C O
L T D .
Founded in 2006 by Frank Wang
Started building DIY Drones & Controllers
at the University Dorm
Started selling other gimbals and drone
accessories between 2007 and 2012
Introduced the first consumer drone
Phantom 1 in 2013
Expanded horizon to the commercial drone
industry in 2017
06
10. AWARDS &
ACHIEVEMENTS
2014: Best Technology Award at Sohu Fashion Festival
2017: Emmy® Award for Technology and Engineering
2017: Architizer A+Award for best product of the year
2019: Best Drone of the Year (Mavic) by T3 Awards
2019: Global Robot Top Honor, IEEE Robotics and Automation Award
2019: CCF Wangxuan Award
2020: Special award for scientific and technological progress , The Guangdong
Science and Technology Award
07
11. PRODUCT LINE OF DRONES
Consumers Professionals Enterprise Components
2013 2013-
2014
2015 2016-
2017
2016 2017-
2018
2017 2018 2019
Phantom
1
Phanto
m 1I
Phanto
m 111
Series
Phanto
m IV
Series
Mavic
Pro
Spark &
Mavic
Air
Matrice
200
Series
Phanto
m RTK
& Mavic
E.
P4
Spectral
& Mavic
Consumer Drones Series Consumer + Commercial
08
12. DJI, THE INDOMITABLE: IN LIGHT OF THE
KEY CONCEPTS
• Radical or Incremental
.
Effort
Performanc
e
09
16. DJI’S DOMINANCE- INSIDE THE
ORGANIZATION
Rigorous
recruitment
process but
is just the
beginning
Cross-functional teams
compete with each
other to new product
development
Performance based
on peer evaluation
and inter-
departmental
coordination
Automation and
robots dominating
the manufacturing
plants
Employees reported attendance
to workplaces in Shenzhen even
during the outbreak of COVID-19
NPD & INNOVATION
13
17. DJI CAPTURING KEY COMPETITVE
ADVANTAGES-EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
• Strategic Alliances and Partnerships
DJI tool minority stake in 2015
but by 2017 it becomes the major
shareholder of the camera
manufacturing giant Hasselblad
• Crowd Sourcing
International short
film contest in
association with
Skypixel in 2019
Drone film festival in
collaboration with
Peugeot in 2018
14
18. DJI PATENTS- PROTECTING IP
FROM COMPETITORSDate of patent Patent name
October 15, 2013 Rotor aircraft
January 20, 2015 Stabilizing platform
December 29, 2015 Proximity sensing systems and methods
March 15, 2016 Multi-zone battery exchange system
March 16, 2017 System and method for supporting photography with different
effects
May 16, 2017 System and method for data recording and analysis
November 28, 2017 Robot vehicle
January 2, 2018 Systems and methods for gimbal simulation
May 1, 2018 Aircraft attitude control methods
September 17, 2019 Telescopic limiting structure, camera body, and camera
Source: https://patents.justia.com/assignee/sz-dji-technology-co-ltd?page=6
Source:
https://app.cbinsights.com/profiles/c/Xn2PL/twitter
• 1058 Patents between 2010 & 2020
15
19. PATENT STATS OF DJI
73
130
49 43
169
109
62
124
87
18 20 16
B64D B64C F16M G03B G05D H04N
DJI Patent Application
Invention Utility
304
248
172
8 4 4 2 2 2 1
0
100
200
300
400
USA
Germany
Korea
Brazil
Mexico
Number of Patents
Overseas
Patents
16
20. COMPETITORS
BOWING
• 3D Robotics halted producing own
drones to produce software
compatible for DJI devices
• GoPro Inc. already ran out of
Business declaring its closure in
2018
• Parrot SA (The pioneer of consumer
drones) lost hope to DJI for the
consumer market and declared its
exit
• The drone bubble bursts and DJI
remains the only leader
17
21. THE FILM INDUSTRY INTEGRATION
Movies used drones to take aerial shots
18
22. POPULARITY IN THE FILM INDUSTRY
• Cost reduction
• Development of 4K shooting through
drones
• Flight time has developed as long as 3
hours
• Portability
• Easy operating interface
• Things holding back:
– Elevated flight time
– Pilot scarcity
– Professional photographer insufficient
– Competition from other industries
– Time of technological adaption
– Learning and training incurs both time
and money
19
23. THE FUTURE OF DRONE & DJI
• Will DJI become a Monopoly?: Maybe
• Security breach is a major issue
• Can disrupt many industries and job
nature
• AI will limit the drawbacks
• Great potential to develop further
20
