Pulse 04 En

2018-01-04

: Tp-Link Pulse 04 En Pulse_04_en pulse resources

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Cover Story

Table of Contents
Cover Story
01

Getting the Small Things Right

Highlight
03

Showcase
45

Networking BU: AC5400X Gives Gamers the
Router They’ve Been Waiting For

Networking BU: The Crisis of Trust in
Pakistan

Japan: Fighting Fit in the Land of the Rising

R&D: Getting Closer to Users

Sun — Exploration of a Retail Market

Networking BU: The Mystery of MiFi
— Mobile Data Tech Explained

Technical Support: When Wi-Fi is Down,
We're Always Around

Headquarters: AEO — Together We Can

Who

Smart Home: Stand by Me — Together We

Embrace a Limitless Future
18

Smartphone: Rebooting Our Smartphone
Business

Colombia: Heroes at the Front
— The Neffos Trade Marketing Team

the Foundation of Our Company
61

Canada: Keep Calm and Call HR

Brazil: A Mother’s Story

HQ General Affairs Department: Hail to
the Bus Driver

Czech Republic: How to Choose an Ideal
Router — A Microsite for End Users
Brazil: Marketing With Emotion — Bidding

Russia: Become Your Own Personal Lead

UK: It’s Not Just Santa’s Elves Working
Overtime in Q4

Farewell to a Wi-Fi Legend
29

Australia: Diligence Redeems Ignorance
— Efforts Do Pay Off

Lives

Germany: Facebook Marketing on a

An Encounter with the Kitten Family

Shoestring Budget

Triumph in the Skies

Networking BU: Marketing Materials

Life Through a Lens

— The Unsung Hero
38

Manufacturing Department: Strengthening

Networking & SmartPhone : A Baptism
of Fire — Training the Class of 2017

Cover Story

Getting the Small Things Right
Jeffrey Chao
During my business trip to America, I learned a proverb:

not necessarily mean sticking to professionalism or the

"Take care of the small things, and the big things will

industry practices dogmatically, but to keep thinking

take care of themselves", meaning that when we focus

and correcting our way of doing things by observing the

on getting the small things right, the larger things will

actual results.

naturally follow. It’s a simple concept, and should be a
guiding principle for our work today. Some of us tend to
get caught up in larger goals, chasing instant success,
focusing only on huge technological developments and
dreaming of "big wins", but forget that the realization
of goals and the success of a business stem from the
accumulative effect of doing many small things the right
way.

To succeed in doing the small things right, we have to,
first of all, listen to real voices in the market, continue
healthy business development, remove any false
elements in sales, and bear in mind that increased
point-of-sale competitiveness is essential for channel
growth and that a good product is the one that can
solve the pain points
of consumers. Meanwhile, do not rush in blind; stay

To continue to do the small things right is to use the

knowledgeable about our industry. Secondly, we

lowest expenditure possible to bear fruits as big as

have to focus on details. For example, we have to

possible: effectiveness and efficiency. This requires

check if the product features we design grasp the

the correct method, attention to detail and hard work.

essence of the users’ pain points or not, that the

These three are indispensable. The correct way does

message on the product package is attractive and

Cover Story

convincing, that the assortment of products provided

leaders and headquarters. Our work should focus

to retailers is competitive and can sell out, and that the

on solving “the smaller problems”. This has to be

content on the online product page is useful, helps

formalized and promoted in the subsidiaries, so that

to increase consumers’ confidence in us and makes

all departments are well coordinated, and problems

it easy for consumers to make the choice. Finally,

can be easily discovered and solved. It should

we have to keep working hard and never be afraid of

become part of the fabric of our company culture.

trouble. For instance, if we had worked harder, instead

Each day we should seek out the small problems.

of holding back with hesitation and fear, we could have

The management team of each subsidiary should

created an EAP community forum sooner. The R&D

step out of the office, into the market, to observe,

department is forever bargaining with the Sales team

communicate with and listen to customers.

over minor changes to products. If they spent less time
in discussions and used more time on practical things,
those things would have been done much faster.

Here, I advise all overseas salesmen and each
member of the management team in our subsidiaries
to spend two half days each month in point-of-sale

2017 is almost behind us. Standing at this crossroads,

shops. Although in some markets language could

we have to start planning for the future. In the next year,

prove to be a barrier when communicating with the

which business areas should we make breakthroughs

end users, it will not prevent us from observing their

in? Which channels? Which small shops? Which

purchasing behaviour and interaction with staff.

products? Which customer pain points? What is the

Keeping in close touch with our market is the most

foundation of future growth? Where is our Achilles’ heel?

efficient and scientific way to collect evidence on

What are the invisible opportunities around us? What

which to base our decisions. In the future, we have

are the shortcomings, problems and the breakthrough

to move “the office” to the forefront of the market.

points we have neglected? To answer these questions,

Getting the small things right starts from here.

we need to re-examine and to know ourselves. This
year, what business opportunities have we missed? Do
we really know how to do business? What mistakes or
successes have been made in product pricing, product
portfolio, new product promotion, channel policies and
retail management? On these issues, don’t be afraid to
reanalyse, to summarize, and to constructively criticise
and reflect.
The Sales team is labelled by some departments as
the one that shouts the loudest, crying for attention.
Well, I think the noise they create is not loud enough,
and the criticisms they send are not fiery enough, not
enough at all. We should be solely responsible for
the work itself, and be accountable to the customers,
sales channels and the end users, rather than the
02

Highlight

Fighting Fit in the Land of the Rising
Sun — Exploration of a Retail Market
Retail Team, TP-Link Japan
One and a half years have passed since TP-Link entered the Japanese market in early 2016. At the beginning,
business revolved exclusively around online stores such as Amazon, Rakuten and Yahoo. We were totally unknown
in Japan at this point, retailers not so much as batting an eyelid at our arrival. During a year of toil, tears and sweat, we
achieved significant growth online, climbing to a rank of second on Amazon for routers. Retailers’ interest was finally
perked and we fortified ourselves for several rounds of tough negotiations. A breakthrough came in March 2017, our
products landing on the shelves of two of the biggest retailers: Yodobashi and Bic Camera. Today we can be found in
more than 200 retail stores all over Japan.
Here I want discuss some of the difficulties we faced on our bumpy road to success, and the measures we took
to overcome them.

Understanding the Market and
Facing up to the Challenges
Firstly, it’s important to point out that Japanese

Buffalo, Elecom, NEC and I-O Data enjoy weighty
market shares. This was the situation we faced when
we arrived on the scene.

people have a strong national identity. The majority
of Japanese are under the impression that without
exception ‘Japanese national brands are the
best!’ Unfortunately, even with the progression of
globalization and with most Japanese manufacturers
now dependent on Chinese OEM companies, that
stereotype is still deeply rooted, and prevents us from
making a smoother transition to this island nation.
Netgear and ASUS, strong competitors of TP-Link,
still struggle badly on these shores even though they
made their entry into this market much earlier. Netgear
entered retailers at one point but ultimately failed and
retreated. ASUS also failed to make headway, giving
up on selling gaming routers and focusing on lowend products specialized for the local market instead.
By stark contrast, the Japanese national brands like

Use a Different Strategy for a
Different Retailer
For the first few months almost no retail staff knew
TP-Link, so of course they didn’t promote us. To cure
our problems in such a market, we needed a dose of
strong medicine. In the IT area, Yodobashi commands
an impressive market share of almost 10% with only
22 stores, while other retailers at the same level have
hundreds of stores. Thus, we chose Yodobashi as
our breakthrough retailer. From April, we grabbed
the attention of Yodobashi buyers with all kinds
of promotions and gradually gained their trust. As
August rolled around, we gained a chance to run two
weeks of promotions with Yodobashi – pushing sales

Highlight

A roaming squad member improving the display

of Archer C9 and Archer C55 and winning 11% of the

traditional consumer channels. Each retail worker

total store sales. Although that 11% doesn’t seem

has the chance to influence hundreds of people per

like a massive deal, it’s already sevenfold the share

month. Training staff is something we will continue

of ASUS, which entered the retailer much earlier than

to do, with the belief that they will communicate the

us. For another big retailer, Bic Camera, it proved even

virtues of our brand to increasing numbers.

harder to gain the trust of their buyers. Undeterred,
and confident of the capabilities of TP-Link’s sellers,
we sent sales promoters to work at four Bic Camera
stores. Currently, our sales promoters contribute to
nearly 50% of our sales at all Bic Camera stores.

Establish Bases behind Enemy Lines

Training shop staff alone is not enough. Most
customers will select products by themselves.
Thus, in-store marketing methods are definitely
significant. This proved tricky in Japan. Japanese
customers are very picky and inquisitive. This is the
reason why local brands’ packages always include
so much information, while our packages are too

Strategy is important, but when your eyes are on

“clean”. To make a better impression, we developed

the stars, you also need to remember to keep your

lots of special localized marketing materials. For

feet firmly on the ground. We established our own

example, a “World’s No.1 Most Popular” sticker for

roaming team to maintain and improve displays in

the boxes – Japanese tend to choose the champion,

the shops, and build closer relationships with shop

and this impactful message helps to draw the gaze

staff. The roaming squad consists of four members

of passersby and gain their all-important trust. A

currently, distributed among three of the biggest

“Wireless Speed” sticker highlighted the strong

economic zones: Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido. In their

wireless performance of our products and made

daily work, our roamers go round the stores one by

them easier to compare. Besides these, we also

one, educating staff on our products. In addition,

made some specialized popup stands and product

more than 10 training sessions are held every month

catalogs. We learnt as much as we could from

for our retailers, convincing them to buy into our

our local successful competitors and tried to do

brand slogan: “Reliably Smart”. Up to September

even better, believing our greater store marketing

2017, we’ve trained over 210 staff. They are the

experience would be a solid base for our future

foot soldiers on the ground, and remain key in the

success.

Highlight

Encourage Members to Offer Ideas and Suggestions
Conquering a new retail market is a mission that challenges everyone beyond their limits. This includes not
only our retail team but also support from our whole company. To gather the opinions from different teams (e.g.
designers and support), we held an event. Every month, a company member needed to visit stores to observe
and give feedback. The three best roamers were selected and won prizes. We got all kinds of useful feedback
related to displays, marketing and so on and, more importantly, after three months of store visits the staff felt
more confident with themselves and knew our brand better.

Best Roamers Award

Keep Striving to Forge the No.1 Brand
We will go on promoting our brand and products to both stores and customers. The word “brand” can be

translated to " ㅷ晥 " (Pinpai) in Chinese. " ㅷ " means "quality" and " 晥 " refers to "name recognition" in Japanese.
We aim to increase our market share in the Japanese market and prove our quality as a manufacturer. Our

ultimate target is to grab the No.1 spot in terms of market share in the next 5 years. With belief in our products
and in each other, there’s no reason why we can't!

Our retail team
05

Highlight

When Wi-Fi Is Down, We’re
Always Around
Networking Bu Technical Support Team, edited by Estela Ji

"Ding——”
“Hello! This is Clare from TP-Link Technical Support.
How may I help you? ”

and discuss the solution. As promised, the user
receives a call back via Skype and is given remote
guidance, confirming each step as he goes. Finally,
he confirms the Wi-Fi is back up and running – "I’m

It’s 3:00 a.m. The technical support engineers are still

grateful for your help". The support engineers breathe

alert, their focus unwavering as they assist people

a sigh of relief, their tense faces transforming into

from every time zone via a 24-hour hotline and live

wide grins.

messaging service.

With the aim of improving service quality and user

On the other end of the line, a user explains his issue,

satisfaction, the engineers work in shifts from morning

the urgency detectable in his voice. The Deco M5

to evening, weekends and holidays. When midnight

(3-pack) he bought doesn’t work after an update. He

falls, a light can always be seen from a window in the

needs access to the network immediately, as he has

office, inside which the engineers are busy solving the

some critical work to deal with. The technical support

troubles of users the world over.

engineers understand his emergency, offering several
solutions at once: restart the modem and Deco, reset
the configurations. None of them work.
There’s no time to lose. The technical support
engineers immediately export the user's telephone
communication record, conduct a detailed analysis

"We are going to hold a party at the weekend, but the
Wi-Fi doesn’t work. What should we do?"
"Travelling abroad, roaming is too expensive. Only a
SIM card can access the internet, but I want to share
my network with my computer. What should I do?"
"I work at home. Suddenly the network is down and I
have a pile of papers to write!"
"To build a wireless network for a large conference
room, what kind of product should I select?”
The technical support engineers are facing these
questions every day, some of which have been
answered hundreds of times. But they understand
that for users, each question is urgent and deserves
to be answered considerately. Chatting with users
from all over the world, from different cultures, and

Highlight

with unique characters and needs, they always follow

The entire team is making unremitting efforts to

the same principle: professionalism and sincerity.

improve the quality of service, from meetings where
cases are shared with the group to the product
training and Q&A organized by the department. Daily
e-mail effectiveness checks, weekly recording checks,
monthly professional knowledge reviews along with
laboratory testing and user scenario simulations
underpin the team’s efforts to constantly improve.
With every detail counting towards our image, the
professionalism of the technical support team as a
whole has been recognized by our users.
In addition to product knowledge, managing emotions
is another way the professionalism of the technical
support team shines through. Facing so many
anxious users and their complaints, you’d be forgiven
for thinking the engineers would be driven crazy at
times and erupt like an angry volcano. “Never let the
users’ emotions affect your own” is a guiding principle
that every engineer must bear in mind from the very
first day. However, that’s easier said than done. It’s not

Professionalism Derives from
Every Tiny Effort

easy to keep a patient attitude and a smile on your
face for every user, especially when emotions can
change rapidly from call to call.

To be able to solve problems relating to a whole

To prepare for this emotional rollercoaster, the

range of products, technical support engineers must

department arranges a professional course named

possess a deep well of knowledge.

“Emotion Management”, aiming at helping team

From the beginning of the one-month product training
to answering their first phone calls, a great deal of

members learn how to rule their emotions and stay
professional in all situations.

work is needed. Nearly 100 outstanding recordings

Organizing regular meetings to share experiences

(cases) have to be analyzed, combined with "talk"

and tea parties to get to know one another better

training, high-level English and other relevant courses.

are good ways for the team to gain encouragement

Every newcomer is striving to lay a solid foundation

from others and get help in solving problems. All

of skills. Some of them choose to do additional

instructors and team leaders are proactive in making

English listening practice in their spare time, in order

sure every member is feeling good about their work,

to communicate with users more effectively and

and are happy to have heart-to-heart talks where

therefore solve the problems faster.

personal difficulties can be worked out.

Highlight

Receiving appreciation from users is another source
of positive energy for the technical support team and

Sincerity and Making Friends with
Users

can give everyone a big boost. Aside from a standard
"thank you" on the phone, especially grateful users will

If a professional is to win the consumer's trust, the

even sometimes send special thank-you notes.

aim has to be to make every user TP-Link’s friend. At
the other end of the wire could be an elderly, anxious
employee desperately in need of a network, or
someone who’s already called seven times to track
our troubleshooting progress. Those who turn to us
for help deserve our patience and best analytical
efforts. Support engineers and users can build strong
relationships even though they have never met
before.
" I still remember a user from Singapore, who told
us his wife was on a business trip in Shenzhen
after we’d solved his problem. When he found out
our headquarters was in Shenzhen too, he at once
proposed a dinner with him and his wife. Although
we haven’t had the chance yet, the meal invitation
was most welcomed, and he spoke as though we
had been friends for many years. Looking forward to
meeting him one day. "

—Leah

"There was a Turkish user who couldn’t speak English,
but translated the thank-you note via Google into
English and sent it to us to express his sincere thanks.
Though some grammatical mistakes were inevitably
included, the love and support for TP-Link shone
through between the lines. It gave every member of
the team encouragement. "

—Jasmine

"Sometimes a user can be very angry when their
network access is out, don’t cooperate with the
troubleshooting and talk to us impolitely. But most
of them regret their attitude afterwards, and call us
back or express their apologies and thanks in
the livechat. "

—Zeplin

"When I initially conversed with the US user David
Harrer, it was via Livechat. Since Livechat is
inconvenient when holding a two-way conversation, I
08

Highlight

immediately called David and assisted him with

that goes into each case. The members who receive

his problem. When the user praised me in my role as

thank-you notes are regarded as positive examples

"the face of TP-Link" and said he had picked the

for the team, inspiring their colleagues to keep up the

right product, I got an immediate sense of

good work and never stop improving.

accomplishment. "

—Anna

These wonderful thank-you notes from users are like
medals, regarded as recognition for the hard work

Unremitting Efforts to Provide
Efficient and Diverse Service
In recent years our user base has expanded rapidly.

way simply by watching the videos. The Technical

In order to be closer to the users and react to their

Support Team also benefit since they have more

needs faster, our company this year established

time and energy to solve the more urgent and tricky

the Philippines Call Center. This is just one part of a

problems.

strategy to up our game when it comes to customer
service.

Currently, the videos have over 400 000 views on
YouTube, offering help for a great number of users.

Another is an initiative of the technical support

Now the technical support team has an efficient way

personnel to think as a user, estimating the problems

to serve users and subsidiaries: that is, send the video

that users may come across when using the products

links as a reference first. There is no doubt that this

and then shooting a series of product configuration

initiative has greatly improved efficiency.

and troubleshooting videos. These have won plenty of
praise. Users can solve common problems in a timely
09

We believe that there will be more support videos,

Highlight

remote control and high-tech operations being
applied into the technical support service in the
future. Continuously improving the interaction,
efficiency, quality and reputation of our service, we
know that although the technology may change, our
professionalism and dedication will not.
TP-Link’s Technical Support team will always be able
to handle the pressure, take the initiative and promote
a positive image of the company.
Users choose TP-Link among tens of millions of
brands. Every phone call, Livechat, successful case
and thank-you note is a great endorsement for the
team, cementing the bond between our company and
its customers to grow our base of loyal fans.
The original article was provided by Leah, Zeplin, Clare
and Catherine
To watch the YouTube videos, please scan the QR
codes below:

Network Card

PLC

Highlight

AEO — Together We Can
Rosalind Rong, with translation by Teresa Xu, HQ Office Department
TP-Link was first certified as a Shenzhen Customs

inspection rate for goods, simplified documentation

AA Class Enterprise back in 2010. Then, in 2014,

examinations and priority when going through

came promotion to an AEO Advanced Certified

import and export clearance formalities. With our

Enterprise. By complying with strict criteria during the

markets spread all over the world, the certification is

re-certification examination, TP-Link made history

a great help with the logistics and distribution of our

in August 2017, becoming the first company in the

products. Within China, we also get VIP support from

Shenzhen Customs Territory to pass re-certification

39 government departments. To sell our products in

as an AEO Advanced Certified Enterprise at the first

overseas markets more effectively, AEO certification

time of asking.

is a must.

When it comes to AEO, many colleagues may

The Headquarters Office Department began working

not know its significance. AEO, which stands for

intensively towards the certification in May. The AEO

Authorized Economic Operator, is a voluntary

certification criteria are divided into five categories, 18

compliance program that issues certification for

articles and 32 total entries. The five categories are

enterprises’ credit status. Advanced Certification

Internal Control, Financial Condition, Law Compliance,

is one of the highest honors awarded to import

Trade Safety and Additional Standards. Enterprises

and export enterprises, and is granted by customs

may only be certified once they reach the benchmark

organizations of countries and regions, including

in all graded projects and their total score is 95 points

within the EU, ASEAN and in North America.

or above. The team knew nothing less than perfect

Armed with such certification, TP-Link can enjoy

co-ordination between the headquarters and every

clearance facilitation among international customs

relevant department would be necessary to pass.

offices and has the trust of customs in all AEO-

In the event, all involved rose to the occasion and

recognizing countries. Benefits include an ultra-low

delivered. TP-Link was given a near perfect score, and

Highlight

even picked up some additional points, taking our

Department, was eight months pregnant at that time

final tally up to an impressive 102!

and worked late right up to her due date. She gave
birth to a healthy “AEO” baby, just after we passed the

Aside from investigating enterprises’ daily operations,

certification. The AEO project brought out a strong

AEO certification also provides a good opportunity

sense of responsibility, collective pride and selfless

for enterprises to complete internal reviews and

dedication as unsung heroes worked diligently

optimize their processes. During the three months

towards a common goal. It showed us that we really

of preparation for the AEO certification examination,

push ourselves, we can achieve more than we could

the team at headquarters has shown responsibility,

have imagined.

professionalism and discipline in equal measure.
Attention was paid to every detail, from optimizing

This September, TP-Link attended the Shenzhen

the work space to the development and launch of

Customs General Meeting as a delegate of the Top

the ERP system from scratch. Each colleague set

Ten Enterprises in the Shenzhen Customs Territory

the highest standards for him/herself and made

and the representative company of the Nanshan

unremitting efforts.

Government. At the meeting, the Vice Chief of
Shenzhen Customs, Fang Tu, was quick to laud our

For three months, in rain or shine, on workday or

achievements: “During the AEO certification process,

weekend, colleagues volunteered to work overtime

TP-Link has been a fantastic example of a law-abiding,

to make sure the company was fully prepared for the

trade compliant, highly trusted and safely managed

AEO examination. There was a time when the office

enterprise in the industry. It is a model enterprise

was under decoration, and the pungent smell of

when it comes to AEO Certification in the Shenzhen

paint was unavoidable. Wearing a mask, wiping tears

Customs Territory.”

from smoked red eyes, the commitment from staff
was unwavering. Among them was Qiong Zhang, the

Each and every colleague involved in getting the

Warehouse Director. She has been with the company

AEO certification should take a huge sense of

since its founding 21 years ago. The midnight oil

achievement and satisfaction from their work, bred by

was burned more often than not, as Qiong reviewed

pushing themselves to the limit to achieve something

every phrase of all-important documents. There were

big. Although there are still many challenges ahead

new operation specialists and international logistics

of us, our team will always take “value creation” as our

specialists too, who had little experience but bags

core working principle, staying rock-solid at the back

of energy. Selina Wang, from the Administration

end of the company to boost business at the front!

Highlight

Stand by Me — Together We Embrace
a Limitless Future
Sonia Zhang, Smart Home BU, with translation revised by Ifti Anees
The TP-Link Smart Home Business Unit achieved outstanding results over the 31-hour Amazon Prime Day
online shopping event. TP-Link Smart Plug sales gained the most momentum; sales of Smart Wi-Fi Plug HS100
exceeded 50,000 on Amazon US, and they were also a favorite in the UK.
Looking back on the past year, the TP-Link Smart Home Business Unit has grown from a nobody into a
somebody in this rapidly developing industry. Our achievements are the product of the hard work of everyone in
the team. Together we will carve out a future without limits.

Strict Quality Control
By May 2016, our Kasa product line had gained brand
acknowledgement from consumers, gaining popularity
in part thanks to native support for Amazon Alexa.
Promotions were ran too which reaped bountiful rewards.
Sensing an opportunity to press home our advantage
in terms of market position, we made a request for
increased supply from the manufacturing side and
readied ourselves for a close race with competitors.
At the end of that month our QA factory inspector, Gong

control the plug! If the inspector hadn’t spotted that one

Xue, was performing her usual tasks, making the Final

malfunctioning light among the sea of LEDs, hundreds

Quality Assurance (FQA) inspection on smart plugs. That

of thousands of defective products would have shipped,

day, her shift involved a check of the signal lights. Among

resulting in countless customer complaints and lasting

the 200-odd machines tested, she noticed that the light

damage to our brand image.

on one HS100 repeatedly stopped blinking. Without
hesitation, she flagged up the issue with a high-level
manager.

Fast-forward to today and that inspector has been
promoted to leader of FQA in the Quality Assurance
Department. Looking back on the day she examined the

An immediate call-to-action followed from the Quality

product casings, she had inspected them one by one,

Assurance Department, Product Department, and

finding issues without a clue which technical component

Engineering Department at the factory and R&D

had gone wrong. She showed diligence, attention to

engineers in the Smart Home Unit. Testing yielded

detail and a determination to thoroughly check every

a definitive conclusion, and it wasn’t good news: the

single product assigned to her and report even the

capacitance of the DDR memory was insufficient for it

smallest abnormality.

to function correctly, which would mean users couldn’t
13

Highlight

David Li, in charge of the TP-Link Smart Home Business

To further expand their efforts, a regular meeting every

Unit, made a special trip out to the factory and thanked

other week was scheduled. The idea is to keep up to

Gong Xue in person. “What you did could be regarded

date with local information. All materials that may impact

as a life-saving rescue for our business unit. Thank you

the certification process are reviewed from back to

for such professional, rigorous quality control and your

front. That includes the packaging, user guide and

attention to minor details at the factory!”

installation guide on top of our original responsibility of
laser carving information on products. The problemsolving process was optimized as well. The old linear

Cooling Down and Speeding Up!

workflow of “R&D-Testing-Factory” has been rethought

At the start of 2017, TP-Link smart plugs held a

these three parts. Samples for testing were increased in

dominating position in the US market. However, smart

number. They expect to lower the future defect rate and

home products in Europe are not nearly as popular. We

even contribute to the company’s product development

believe our success in the US market can be repeated

processes.

in Europe. After all, it’s surely a matter of time until
voice assistants (Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant)
become popular there, and our integration with them will
lead us to success.

with the cooperation encouraged between any two of

The R&D team are like a family. The smart plug squad
has grown from a trio into a dozen. When a new issue is
found at the end of the shift, the team are happy to start
over again without a single complaint. A new dad in the

Localization in Europe is not easy as there are

team who needed to rush home and take care of the

multiple countries with different safety standards and

baby was supported by other hardworking colleagues.

certifications. A domestic certification agency are

Encouraging, considerate, supportive, diligent — that’s

responsible for checking our products meet these

them. A pleasant work environment keeps the team

requirements. However, due to the agency’s lack of

motivated and productive.

attention when performing thermal tests, our efforts to
make progress with our smart plugs in Germany were
hampered. With adjustments urgently needed, the
R&D team wasted no time in discussing solutions in
an attempt to get the project back on schedule. After
multiple attempts, the thermal specifications were good
to go and we had that all important certification.
Once bitten, twice shy. The R&D Hardware team worked
closely with the certification agent. Engineers made
a special trip to Guangzhou to supervise the thermal
test process and eliminate any possible source of error.
With attention early on, our smart plugs now go through
certification for the German market without issue. R&D
Hardware team subsequently changed their approach to
regulation testing too. German safety testing is very strict,
with engineers now checking both Chinese and German
texts to make sure not a single word is overlooked.
14

Our products wouldn’t do even close to as well as they
do without the R&D team’s endeavor. Better quality
products ensure a tighter bond with our users and
build up our reputation as a brand. Users may never
know about the hours that go in backstage; one thing
that’s for sure is that these unsung heroes always exert
themselves to the fullest to make a difference.

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Supplying the World
Today, the demand for our smart home products

very damaging. Furthermore, if a defect is discovered

has multiplied several times over compared to when

after shipment the details must be passed to R&D and

we first launched them. Keeping up with demand is

the factory immediately to rework a solution. From

a challenge in itself. Enter Lucy Yang, Verna Wang,

there it’s a race against time to avoid a gap in supply.

and Echo Lin – the Product Management Engineers
(PME). They coordinate overseas subsidiaries, the
factory, R&D, purchasing, and suppliers. Their phones
are ringing constantly, with no time to waste when it
comes to dealing with requests.

From last summer, smart bulbs were outsourced
for production. Finished products were sent back
to our own factory’s Quality Assurance Department
for QC check. The back and forth frequently cost
time and effort, impacting on efficiency. Facing an

Attention to detail, efficient coordination and accurate

incoming shipping request, Lucy and Verna decided

forecasting are a must in this team. They say the

to shake things up and change the status quo for the

biggest challenge for now is to seek a balance

better. They urged their QA colleagues to move their

between the supply and demand in peak and quiet

offices to the location of the bulb supplier. The switch

seasons. Not much is available in the way of past data

immediately made a difference, guaranteeing higher

since the business unit is still a young one. Extreme

product quality borne out of more rigorous inspection.

caution is taken when it comes to figures. One more

From March this year, to better match shipment

“0” in a column results in mountains of dead stock

volume with overseas sales volume, they started

while one less causes shortages everywhere, both

to keep an eye on the quantity sold and customer

Highlight

reviews on Amazon. Excessive stock was diminished,

For this reason the Cloud Department customize

and the stock balance has been improved ever

their services to match the specific needs of the

since. In July, smart bulbs began selling on Amazon.

Smart Home Unit. They have even set up an LED

Designated contact persons were identified at each

screen in a corner of the office to supervise the

stage of the production cycle in order to delegate

cloud server 24/7. It displays one of three characters

responsibility and ensure orders were fulfilled on time.

who act as watchmen, reporting the status of the

A sense of responsibility and common goals are
what motivates these ladies. Recently, we reached
an agreement with BestBuy. The Smart Home
Department is very excited about it; it’s the first time
TP-Link products will be sold through BestBuy, so it’s
a big breakthrough. The PMEs are about to get even
busier.

cloud. Doraemon the cat, Pac-Man and a Minion from
“Despicable Me” have become key personnel. They
take it in turns to report “I’m okay” and will promptly
trigger an alarm whenever an error crops up. The
Cloud Department’s availability is another reflection of
their commitment. Even at midnight, cloud colleagues
are only a WeChat message or email away. For last
year’s “Black Friday” in the US, the shopping rush
came at nighttime in China. The cloud team dealt with
it that time by doing an overnight shift in the office.
If any abnormality was found, they would be woken
up by one of their digital watchmen and be able to
resolve the situation on the spot.
March 2nd: Smart home devices began disconnecting
from the server one after another. It was the most
complicated and serious situation the cloud team

The Cloud Is Here with Us!
We successfully concluded the Amazon Alexa Q4
bid with a quantity of 11 million units, and concluded
the agreement with Best Buy in store. It’s an exciting
season for us and hopefully is a sign of things to
come in the next year.
Rapid development inevitably brings pressure. With
improved brand recognition and an increasing range
of devices, the challenges grow larger. In the aptlynamed “Fully Best” building in Shenzhen, the Cloud
and Smart Home departments are close neighbors.
Necessarily so, since the cloud platform provides
reliable connections for all our smart home products
and supports the IoT cloud in the US.
Smart home products rely heavily on user experience.
16

have run into. With overwhelming reconnection
requests, the cloud server crashed. The team seized
every second to restore the server. They first allowed
all users to reconnect at the front-end and then got
them back on the server. Dealing with the fall out
afterwards, the Smart Home Unit proactively replied
to bad reviews. We also sent PR emails to our list of
US Kasa users, provided by the cloud team. Overall we
made a pretty good job of minimizing the grumbling.
The cloud service architecture was upgraded within
a month to avoid a similar situation in future. We in
Smart Home are incredibly grateful for the tireless
work our friends in the Cloud Department put in to
ensure our products can work as they should.
From yesterday’s zero to today’s hero, our feats could
not be achieved without the support and hard work

Highlight

of every colleague. Not everyone in our department
is a genius, but this group diligently stick to their work
by constantly seeking improvements and maintaining
unwavering focus.
Together we bring different ideas and implement
change. Faced with intense competition in the smart
home field, we sail a steady course. The field is vast
with many future discoveries awaiting us. We want to
push onwards and ensure TP-Link Smart Home can
make a lasting impression on consumers.
Gratitude goes to colleagues interviewed: Gong Xue,
Huang Weijie, Lao Changwei, Lucy Yang, Verna Wang,
Lu Maoxiang, Wen Yong.

Highlight

Neffos: Rebooting Our Smartphone
Business
Yuki Li, with translation by Joicy Huang and Michonne Wang, Smartphone BU

At the end of September 2017, the Smartphone Business Unit hosted a business training and sharing
conference. Our smartphone sales executives, country managers and regional directors convened at
TP-Link’s headquarters in Shenzhen to discuss the latest developments in the Neffos journey.

Learn from the Past for a Brighter
Future
For the past two years, TP-Link has been exploring

materials were all tailored to give the impression of

various development models for a successful

an upmarket product. Growth stalled though due to

smartphone business. We’ve made some steps

limited product range and poor execution when it came

forward, although admittedly not as many as we’d

to market positioning among other factors. Salesmen

like, and we still have a long road ahead of us. The

were finding it tough.

conference provided an opportunity to reflect.
We discussed policies, shared the lessons of our
experiences and defined an overall strategy for
the smartphone business area — no small task by
anyone’s standards.

Part of the problem was that smartphone business
executives have had the misconception that as a new
brand, Neffos must suffer from poor brand recognition.
Therefore, promotions were run in which prices were
dropped to attract attention. This was far from ideal,

Back when Neffos was still in its infancy, the idea

and came with its own set of consequences; Neffos

was to target the middle and high-end of the market.

was dragged into a perpetual price war with low-

Our brand promotion, channel expansions and retail

budget rivals, which moved it away from our original

Highlight

vision for the brand and stifled our development. To
regain the initiative, the Smartphone BU adjusted the
overall operation strategy, going into "cost-effective"
mode.
The head of Smartphone BU, Jason Xu, kicked off the
meeting by looking back at the reasons why TP-Link

Keep Calm and Implement
Strategy
Attendees discussed several topics, including the
essence of business, classification of consumers and
basic business tactics. Thus, a simple but effective
strategy was formulated.

entered the smartphone business in the first place. He

Unity is key — four unities to be precise: a unified

explained how smartphones have entered an era of

working language, unified industry understanding,

extreme homogenization. An excellent manufacturer

unified team culture and unified competitive strategy.

not only must achieve the ultimate quality, but also

To succeed in this business, cooperation is needed

needs to have excellent ability in cost control and

from top to bottom, from headquarters to subsidiaries.

operational management. These three aspects give a
smartphone company the tools to survive and thrive
in any era, which is exactly why the Neffos brand will
prove successful. With a culture of exceptional quality,
cost control and operational management inherited
from TP-Link, Neffos’ steadfast management and quick
response to the market will see it climb to the top of

We have to find the optimum position in the market
and set benchmarks. This business is huge. Only by
focusing on a specific part can we carve out our own
space for the brand. In the past, our business has
been scattered. With more focus, we can control our
business better.

this emerging market with the perfect combination of

Last but not least, a simple but effective combination

high-performance products at affordable prices.

of tactics are needed for business. Subsidiaries
should adapt their tactics according to local

A strong company culture is needed to create the

conditions, focusing on one channel, one client and

conditions in which a brand can thrive. Building a team

one product. Breakthrough with channels supported

that’s "active and positive, open and enterprising,

by retail, and increase awareness by marketing. We

practical and realistic and open to constructive

can build up the reputation of Neffos as a brand and

criticism" is the aim. Reflection is the most effective

increase sale volumes using simple but effective

way to learn from experience. It requires staff to be

methods.

down-to-earth, to review and introspect, to look for
improvement, and finally to grow and progress.
By revisiting the lessons of the past at the meeting,
the sales team gained a clearer understanding of the
current situation. Three necessary evolutionary stages
for the smartphone business emerged: "to survive, to
stand firm and to flourish".

Highlight

for product. Samsung was our inspiration for in-store
marketing and materials. By October, we were in all
Challenger stores. Increased sales figures provided
the perfect endorsement for our newly devised
strategy for Neffos.
In Ukraine, MOYO electronics store was the target.
By this stage, MOYO was about to remove Neffos
products because of their poor sales during the first
half of the year. We had to turn things around. First, we
introduced fresh marketing materials into the stores
to help consumers get a better understanding of what
the Neffos brand is all about, then went on to launch a
promotion campaign to generate interest. Our sales in
MOYO doubled from November to September before

The Fruits of Practice, the
Beginning of Success

increasing by a further 43% in October.
The plan in Colombia was to cooperate with a

Buoyed by the conference, subsidiaries set about

distributor, who placed a welcome order of 1000 units

putting the lessons and requirements into practice.

in the end. When they ran into a problem with a self-

Business began to thrive.

developed app, we worked tirelessly to get it fixed
and solved the issue within a week. The reliability,

In Malaysia, we concentrated resources into the X1

fast responses and excellent customer service

Lite. Products were distributed in batches to sales

are what impressed the distributer most about the

channels and we marketed more aggressively. We

Neffos team, and they expressed a strong interest in

held a launch event to release the product and made

continued cooperation.

full use of our famous brand ambassador to increase
awareness. On the retail side, we redecorated our

The guiding principles that emerged from the

VIP stores, putting a spotlight on the X1 Lite. The

Neffos conference have helped us to rediscover the

hard work paid off. In October, the number of sales in

inspiration that gave birth to the brand in the first

Malaysia broke the 6000 barrier for the first time.

place. Acting on these directives is already generating
tangible results in our global offices, giving us the

Over the border in Singapore, we focused on our key

encouragement to look forward to a bright future with

channel – the high-street IT retailer Challenger. We

confidence.

targeted Xiaomi, attempting to outdo them product

Highlight

Heroes at the Front —
The Neffos Trade Marketing Team
Hope Chen & Gustavo Agudelo, TP-Link Colombia

Building Up the Forces
How do you go about assembling a brand new team,

that in Q4 five more promoters will join us for the

starting with only yourself? Since the beginning of

season

2017, Juan Valendia, Neffos Manager, has been
working towards doing just that. After screening a
pile of resumes and interviewing more than a dozen
candidates, two outstanding individuals were selected

Focus on Details AND on
Customers

to come aboard in February. They were to be the first

In their daily work, promoters must have an eye for

recruits for the innovative Trade Marketing team.

details. Every day they need to prepare their samples,
give product demos, prepare the POP (point of

In March, we invited Gustavo Agudelo to join us

purchase) materials and so on. These details matter

as Supervisor and assist Juan with management.

since they will improve the image of our product and

In addition, three more promoters were picked

brand, while going a long way towards attracting

up. Our “1+5” (1 Supervisor + 5 Promoters) team

consumers.

supported the key POS (points of sale) provided by
the Panamericana store. With strong promotions in

Of course, the main job is to engage with consumers

March, we achieved record sales of 340 units, with

actively and give sound advice on purchases

promoters involved in 59% of these.

according to consumers’ requirements. The key is to
not bore the visitors with specifications, but reveal the

In April, we began business in Cencosud, forth largest

benefits instead such as battery life, camera quality

listed retail company in Latin America, and recruited

and merchandising gifts.

nine more promoters. Our team morphed into “1+14”.
After some survival training in Panamericana, the new
promoters entered Cencosud in May raring to go. We
made sales of 766 units and promoters were even
more instrumental this time, contributing to 71% of
the sales.
The next step is to look towards generating more
business in the northern cities. In August we hired
a promoter in the Panamericana Cucuta store. The
impact was immediate; sales jumped from 6 units per
month to 27. The strategy has been so successful
21

Promoter introducing Neffos and clinching a deal

Highlight

become more competitive, and faster at making
decisions, with a good understanding of what needs
to be done. It wasn’t easy at the beginning, but today
people know the brand and we are no longer "one of
the others" in the market. We are NEFFOS!”
— Ingrid Martinez, Specialist Promoter at Metro
Soacha
“Being part of the Neffos team improves my
knowledge, stimulates personal growth and gives
me opportunities to move into higher level positions.
There’s no doubt in my mind that we are going to
become one of the leading brands.”
— Andrés Sánchez, Specialist Promoter at Jumbo
Hayuelos
“When I started with Neffos eight months ago I didn’t
know too much about the brand. Time has shown

Never Stop Improving
Improvement is continual. We have our sales
meetings on Wednesdays every fortnight. During
these, we study the new models, learn the key selling
points, check the sales figures, exchange sales
experience and discuss our competitors. After work, if

me that my choice was a good one. We have won a
better market position in a short space of time, with
Neffos now recognized as a highly competitive brand.
My ambition is to accompany Neffos on its journey
to stardom, doing everything I can to help the brand
reach its potential.”
— Juan Moreno, Specialist Promoter at Jumbo Suba

we come across anything interesting from our Neffos
Facebook page or any other way, we share it with the
team at the next opportunity.
Everyone in our team has a shot at promotion. After
Q2, we promoted three team members who worked
well over Q1. They were assessed in the following
aspects: examination, presentation and sales target
completion. In their new roles as Specialist Promoters,
they will take on additional responsibilities to help out
our manager.
“Neffos is challenging me every single day. I have

A Promoter Presentation

Highlight

Gustavo preparing the POP materials and training an external promoter

“A Professional Team”
“When Juan Velandia invited me to join his Neffos

promoter performance and lack of training hindered

team, it was a proposal that I was delighted to accept

our progress. We needed to react, to work harder

since I foresaw an exciting professional challenge

than other teams and make up the difference. Our

ahead”, says Gustavo Agudelo, our Supervisor. “We

effort was reflected in the results. Nowadays, Neffos

started to build a promoter team, selecting personnel

products occupy the first and second positions

based on experience and sales attitude (key for this

in terms of units sold in the top stores covered by

position). The point of sales team we assembled was

promoters. This can be put down to how closely

born to shift stock. We’ve built strong relationships

our team are working together and helping one

with store personnel too, ensuring we get allocated

another. Also, we are working from a strong strategic

prime store positions and a good amount of space to

plan devised by the Neffos Manager, who is always

maximize our impact.

alert and ready to switch things up in response to a

My daily work is centered around promoter

dynamic market.

management:

I believe the key to leading the promoter team is

- Training internal and external promoters.

to consider the promoters’ opinions. This means

- Supporting their activities such as promotion

maintaining strong lines of communication and

implementation and merchandise distribution.

taking their feedback on board. After all, these are

- Tracking sales and pushing sellouts.

the guys on the frontline of the market every day

- Gathering the price map and sales reports,

and understand it well so their feedback can offer

giving feedback about the market and promoters’

valuable insights. It’s also important to make them feel

performance.

confident and committed to the brand.

At the beginning, we were a fresh team and problems

I’m proud to be involved with Neffos and results are

such as low sellout rates, lack of inventory, bad

looking good from my side. Big opportunities await

Highlight

with the chance to branch out to an ever greater

Here, I would like to express my gratitude to all the

number of retailers. I will do my best to keep up the

members of the Trade Marketing Team whose hard

sales figures and guide this dynamic and diligent team

work has contributed to TP-Link Colombia's every

to the best of my ability.”

success:
VIVIANA VARGAS, WENDY GOMEZ, IOAM SANCHEZ, JUAN

The Best Month is Next month
Here in the Colombia Trade Marketing Team, we never
rest on our laurels. At the end-of-month summaries,
we stand by a favorite saying from Christian An, the
Manager of TP-link Colombia:
“Which month is our best month? Next month!”

MORENO,INGRID MARTINEZ, JUAN ARBOLEDA, ANA VERGARA,
FELIX OSPINO,DIEGO JIMENEZ, DEISSY ACOSTA, DARWIN
ALDANA, JUAN CORREA, OSCAR PARRA, YORLENI BARRERO,
MARIBEL JARAMILLO, YENIFER APONTE, PATRICIA PUELLO,
JULIE ROJAS, YENIS DUARTE, PAOLA GOMEZ, CARLOS JIMENEZ,
CRISTHIAN CARVAJAL, RONALD BERNAL, NEDITH ZABALA,
FREDY CADAVID, JESICA HOYOS

If this month we’ve smashed the sales record? It’s
worth celebrating, but we know it’s just the beginning
for us. We need to be ready to go again next month
and never get complacent.

Trade Marketing Team in November

Highlight

How to Choose an Ideal Router —
A Microsite for End Users
Tereza Houdková, TP-Link Czech Republic
With an incredibly diverse range of router products on offer here at TP-Link, customers can have a tough time
deciding which is the right one for the job. We organized a brainstorming session with our top partner, e-shop Alza.
cz, to think about how to create a useful tool to give customers a helping hand. The aim was to make it easy for
customers to choose a new home router based on their needs, and at the same time to educate them about the
benefits of our products and show them that the cheapest option is not always the best.
We imagined a simple microsite where, after the customer answers several easy questions, an ideal router for their
home is displayed. Our partner Alza.cz expressed enthusiasm, but then hit us with the bad news; since their coders
were already fully deployed on other projects, it would take over a year for them to develop such a tool.
Undeterred, we approached the agency that manages our partner portal to see whether they would be able to do
something. We were in luck.
Questions were designed to identify the network environment of the end user and assess the performance
and features needed to support their online activities:
1. What type of connection does your internet

5. Do you play online games and watch HD videos

provider offer?

over the internet?

a. Fixed connection by telephone line (ADSL/VDSL)

a. Yes b. No

b. Fixed connection from local internet provider
c. Mobile connection using the LTE SIM card
2. How many devices will be connected to the
wireless network?
a. 0-8 devices b. 9-15 devices c. 16 or more
3. Do you use a fast connection (1 Gbit/s), by LAN
cable for instance, to connect to network data
storage?
a. Yes b. No
4. Do you want an option to set up a separate network
for guests and control access for children?
a. Yes b. No
25

6. Are you going to use the router in a densely
populated area with a high concentration of wireless
networks ?
a. Yes b. No

Highlight

We created a list of routers that included bestsellers from each category and ensured there was a suitable
model for every possible user scenario. For our microsite the list includes the following models:
1. ADSL/VDSL routers

2. LTE routers

3. Wi-Fi routers

a. TD-W9970B

a. TL-MR6400

a. Archer C20 b. TL-WR940N c. TL-WR1043ND

b. Archer VR400

b. Archer MR200

d. Archer C1200 e. Archer C7

After the first draft, we knew we wanted to roll out this tool to other partners as well, so we designed it
accordingly. The customer is redirected from our partner’s website to the microsite. After he/she answers the six
questions, an ideal router for them will be displayed. A “Buy” button is displayed below the recommended router,
which then takes the customer back to the partner’s website and, more specifically, to the product page of their
dream router so they can make the purchase.
Currently, we implement the microsite on the websites of all our partner retailers. We have a special microsite
for each of them with links to and from their websites, while the product list remains identical. Most traffic to the
microsites originate from banners on homepages and also from individual routers' banners on the sites. The fact
that the microsites run on our domain allows us to keep a close eye on them. Since the launch in August, we’ve
already had hundreds of visitors keen to discover their ideal networking match.
In the next few months we will aim to fine-tune the tool to the specific needs of our partners. That way, we will
be able to offer our customers even better pre-sales support, which is one of our main objectives.

Highlight

Marketing with Emotion —
Bidding Farewell to a Wi-Fi Legend
Ana Carolina Zugaib, Ana Laura Vassoler and Julia Barros, TP-Link Brazil

The demand for high-performance routers has been

In order for users to understand the message and be

growing at a healthy rate over the last two years

receptive to the arrival of more advanced devices in

in Brazil. In November 2016, sales of these next

the market, TP-Link Brazil's marketing department

generation products overtook the figures for the older

created an emotional movie to appeal to Brazilian

150Mbps routers.

families. 150Mbps routers have served families well
over the years, and like every good professional,

With a large population and the increasingly

there comes a time when it's right to retire and let the

widespread availability of the internet, the Brazilian

younger generation take over. But not to worry — we’ll

market holds great potential for broadband expansion.

always remember the good old years when 150Mbps

At TP-Link, we’re betting on more efficient products,

routers connected thousands of homes. Now that the

such as 300Mbps and AC routers, to win over

TP-Link AC router has arrived on the scene to help

customers with the superior Wi-Fi experience they

with the task of getting families online, the 150Mbps

provide.

router can finally enjoy a well-earned beach vacation

Video and music streaming, online gaming and 4K
movies already feature in the daily lives of some
Brazilians. However, a smart TV isn’t so smart when
you need to wait around for it to load up the content.
Similarly, your favorite online games just aren’t as fun
when you lose your connection and the match.
To get the best performance from devices, the user
needs solid network infrastructure. That's why the
new 802.11ac technology, with the promise of ultrafast Wi-Fi and minimized interference, has gained
such high levels of popularity in a short space of time.
Last year, TP-Link Brazil received a call from the
commercial team informing us that we would stop
retailing our range of 150Mbps routers in Brazil. The
process of withdrawing them from the national market
has been happening since the beginning of the year.
The plan is to have no TP-Link 150Mbps routers
available for purchase by the end of 2017.

(or perhaps a skiing holiday, if that’s his thing).
“My dear 150Mbps router,
All those years we spent together were incredible.
We have so many good memories: the day we met
for the first time, and you connected me to the world;
the information I accessed through you to learn new
things; easily connecting with my friends; the online
chat nights... good times! But today I see how much
the world has changed and how you struggle to be a
part of it.
I’ve become so much more connected. Today I
have a smartphone, a tablet, two smart TVs and two
computers. That’s not to mention when all my friends
come home! It's a party of electronic gadgets. The
power of the internet is growing and it’s sending you
more data than you can handle.

Highlight

Today I met the new TP-Link AC router, which is
prepared for everything the latest technology has in
store for us. Thank you for the incredible work you've
done, my friend. I will always remember you!
Kisses of your eternal #TPLover”
The script was written and then combined with a
video featuring simple hand-drawn pictures. The
video was then posted to our social media accounts.
With pride and just a hint of sadness, we realized our
goal had been achieved; we had created an emotive
tribute to our great companion of many years.
The next step for our marketing department is to
reinforce the features and benefits of AC technology
in the minds of potential customers. By engaging
with people across all forms of media, we hope to
educate customers about their data usage and
network requirements. We believe that by providing
knowledge, the consumer will feel more confident
in buying a device that matches their online needs.
Customers will then make TP-Link their point of
reference, adding to the perception that we are a truly
reliable choice.
Some fan comments:
"I can’t believe I cried for this router"
"I cried! What an exciting story!"
"A digital tear-jerker"
Script and text: Ana Laura Vassoler (Marketing Executive)
Voice: Lucas Ishii (Training Analyst)
Illustrations and video editing: Ana Carolina Zugaib (Graphic
Designer)
Direction: Julia Barros (Marketing Manager)
Total reach: 241 738
Likes: 970
Shares: 231
Comments: 99

YouTube link: http://bit.ly/2kXLBYT
28

Highlight

Diligence Redeems Ignorance —
Efforts Do Pay Off
Teddy Wu, TP-Link Australia

The game is changing here in Australia. A nationwide infrastructure project is under way with NBN (National
Broadband Network), a government-owned corporation, tasked with expanding and speeding up Australia’s
connections. NBN is a monopoly wholesale provider of broadband access. This means ISPs have to make
contracts with NBN to access the network and provide internet service to end users. For TP-Link, this boils down
to our products having to comply with a very specific set of standards.
We began to sell NBN-compatible products to ISPs in November 2016. We’ve now put pen to paper on deals
lasting the next two to three years, valued at millions of dollars. This represents the first time our high-class
VDSL products have made a breakthrough in Australia and, more significantly, the first time in the global ISP
market too.

Looking back at where we were 10 months ago, it’s

I joined the Australian subsidiary at the end of last

fair to say that we essentially started from scratch

year. Frankly speaking, we didn’t have much influence

when it comes to NBN. Here are just some of the

on mainstream ISPs in Australia at that time. Our

issues we faced:

relationships with customers were becoming more

-Customers: We lost our contract with our largest ISP
partner which became defunct in August 2016. We
had supplied ADSL products to the company for over
three years, and this now caused an annual revenue
shortfall of one billion dollars.
-Quality: Due to quality problems concerning software
versions failing to pass ISP tests, we were facing
customer complaints, thousands of refund requests
and a mountain of work to do to patch up the issues.
-Products: We had a lack of products that met
the NBN specifications, causing us to lag behind
the major competitor for more than 18 months.
Discussions relating to additional demand weren’t
concluded for nearly half a year.

and more distant because of various problems. It was
no longer the era of "selling the comb to the monk".
Were we going to stand by and just let our customers
walk away?
Changes had to be made! A sentence I had seen ten
years ago in front of the entrance to a company came
back to me now: “There never exists an immortal
emperor – everything depends on ourselves.”
First of all, let’s get down to the essence of our
business. The ISPs can provide reliable and stable
network service while we can provide reliable and
stable network terminals. We’ve delved deep in this
market and done our best to solve our customers’
problems. We’ve also realized that NBN deployment
is the new trend, and updating our terminal products
is our biggest opportunity for expansion. But what

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should we do if we don’t have any experience and

management in order to reduce the development

brand presence in the NBN market?

delays and the complaint frequency, which were

Keep cool and advance step by step. Having fallen
behind with our product line, we didn’t waste a second
in researching customers and opponents. Within
a month, we analyzed nearly all the products from
the major competitors. What’s more, with the NBN
development plan, we devised a product strategy

usually caused by over-ambitious promises to the
customers. Outside the office, we normalized our
commitments to customers and put stricter controls
on releasing new products and new versions, so
that we can guarantee the product quality meets our
standards.

that plays to our strengths and can satisfy market

As for business development, it’s about matching

demand. The joint advantages of performance and

the magic combination of good products and brand

cost-effectiveness provided by Broadcom and MTK

image. We improved products for T3 customers,

chip manufacturers respectively met requirements

established the brand for T2 and became a trendsetter

for T1, T2 and T3 customers (referring to large-scale,

for T1. To work with a T1 ISP, it usually takes two to

medium and small network operators respectively).

three years of product development and bidding. We

When it comes to improving the quality of our
products and building our ISP brand, identifying the
issues and coming up with solutions is the only way
forward. For instance, regarding the release of ISP
software, we devoted ourselves to refining our project

didn’t concentrate too much on speed; instead, we
made a long-term development plan for three years
from the outset. As the local team here has a long,
established relationship with TPG, a leading ISP, we
had an opportunity to open the door to customers on
our new NBN products after a short space of time.

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The market strategy from the frontline has been

changing MAC labels and dealing with software

supported by technical know-how from headquarters

bugs. For the MAC labels, the ISP team changed

all the way. Various problems relating to the TR069

the MAC labels of some 5500 machines in the

technical specifications and Wi-Fi performance were

customer warehouse within two days. To enhance

solved in the blink of an eye.

Wi-Fi performance and debug the current network

• In January 2017, Archer VR1600v was developed,
adhering to NBN specifications.
• In February 2017, TPG received our bid involving

problems, the technical staff debugged day and night
for several weeks in the client room. By constantly
learning lessons, we are advancing step by step.

Archer C1200.

There is no success story for us to copy in the ISP

• In April 2017, after three months of access tests,

market. Only by making achievements, building a

Archer C1200 obtained TPG's first PO, marking a

reputation and setting benchmarks can we promote

breakthrough in NBN Green Field.

our products and stories to a larger market, and even

• In July 2017, after six months of development and

the world.

access tests, Archer VR1600v got the first PO of
TPG while the product hardware and software were
not yet mature, regarded as a breakthrough for our
company’s NBN products.
There have been twists and turns along the way.
After the first deals, we came across problems like

There’s no need to fear a late beginning because, in
the end, hard work most definitely pays off.

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Facebook Marketing on a Shoestring
Budget
Florian Sohn, TP-Link Germany

Improving our brand awareness has been a key
objective at TP-Link in recent times, with our
marketing departments under pressure to reach out
to ever greater numbers of potential customers. We
know we have a limited budget to work with, but with
a little creativity, a small investment can make a big
splash.
Here in Germany, Felicitas Binder, our Head of Online
and Social Media Marketing, formulated a cunning
plan to shine the spotlight on our Neffos smartphone
range while spending only a tiny fraction of her
budget.
Buying up advertising space on social media is easy,
but that doesn’t necessarily make it the best option.
Your message is simply delivered to a certain number
of people from a particular demographic. The higher
your budget, the more people the message can be
sent to. The trouble with this is that many individuals
won’t take interest in the content, and therefore won’t
interact with it. A better way is to send out content
that spreads organically, driven by interest. People
should like the content they see and share it with their
friends. The best thing about this is, of course, that it
costs absolutely nothing.
OK, so nothing is totally free – Felicitas spent a small
amount on an agency, who searched for the hottest
words and topics trending on Facebook. The result,
intriguingly, came back as “Holiday”.
So how to tie together a holiday theme with our TP32

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Link Neffos smartphones to create an eye-catching

The result can be seen here:

ad? Felicitas had the answer: great holiday snaps with
Neffos’ camera of course!
An amusing video featuring Neffos phones quickly
took shape and was shared with the Facebook
community on August 8th. Without paying anything
to push the content, our video began to trend, getting
shared between groups of friends and families. Users
were soon tagging each other in the comments
sections of the different clips.
The video was viewed over a million times within
the first week and the response from the public was
beyond even our wildest expectations. By the time the
campaign had ended, a staggering one out of every
five German Facebook users had been reached; that’s
5.7 million people without the use of any paid media!
In terms of value for budget, our initial target was a
solid cost-per-view of 0.015 Euros. The campaign
beat that target by 202%, coming in at a thrifty 0.007
Euros per view.
TP-Link Marketing Germany thanks Felicitas for her
creative idea.

https://business.facebook.com/pg/neffosde/
videos/?ref=page_internal
More key stats from the campaign:
Views: 2 Million
Reach: 5.7 Million
Total Time Watched: 14001 Hours
Likes: 14978
Comments: 17705
Shares: 3081
Engagement Rate: 1.77%
Reaction: 88% Positive Comments

Highlight

Marketing Materials —
The Unsung Hero
Networking BU Marketing Department

Capturing the Imagination of
Customers
Marketing materials perennially play the role of the

cases and a myriad of boxes shining on the shelves.

unsung hero. With the product itself grabbing the

You begin to hesitate, overwhelmed, with dozens of

limelight and making headlines, they hang out behind

products to choose between.

the scenes instead, rarely discussed despite their
importance in driving sales.

“Hi there. Are you looking to buy a router?” A friendly
promoter approaches you, introducing the pros and

In recent years, consumers have increasingly been

cons of the various products, making use of a variety

making impulse purchases, reflected in the increase in

of promotional materials such as guides, posters,

the proportion of buys that are unplanned. The upshot

video demos and prototypes.

of this is that marketing materials, which provide
greater possibilities to stimulate sales, become much

All of these guides, posters, containers and exhibitions

more significant.

belong to the wonderful realm of marketing materials.
Their job is to catch the consumer's eye and convey

Suppose you are going to buy a new router. Perhaps

useful information that aids the decision making

you would access the website of a retailer first to

process.

compare appearance, price and performance. You
may also try to read some articles and magazines
products. But after all these steps, there still may not

Improving Marketing Efficiency
Within the Five Meter Range

be a clear target product in your mind, perhaps just

Back in the day, businesses simply placed boxes,

few brand names or several models that impressed

man-made licensing, print outs with the brand logo,

you in some way. Thus, you decide to head out to the

balloons and other decorations in front of their

shops to take a look for yourself.

shelves. It’s fair to say things have moved on a little

about electronics to get reliable reviews of the hottest

On the bus, you spy some billboards along the
street. Perhaps one of the brands' ambassadors is
your favorite film star, and you immediately feel a
connection.
As you walk onto the shop floor you notice all kinds
of flags hanging from the ceiling, colorful display
34

since then. Each brand now provides a lot more
information, and competition for the consumer’s
attention is fierce. But with so much content
screaming to be looked at, it’s easy for key messages
to become mixed up and diluted, making it tricky for
customers to make a final choice.
There was a time when brands began to rapidly

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expand the amount of information they provide to

Focusing on the materials within five meters of the

such an extent that it became detrimental to business.

product not only streamlined our efforts but also

Attempting to bombard customers with slogans and

ensured the maximum benefit for the smallest outlay.

stats not only brought more trouble to them, but also
contributed to increased advertising costs.
So striking a balance is important. We should extract
value from our existing resources effectively. During
2017 our team undertook an in-depth analysis of the
motivation for purchases in the Malaysian and Thai
markets. The research proved that many customers
know little about networking products before they

PDQ for Deco

buy, and so make their decision while browsing the
shelves to a large extent.
A survey revealed that streamlining the materials
and focusing on those that can attract customers
from within a five meter radius is more effective than
putting high costs into advertising and gifts.
Before Deco was released, we produced several Deco
desktop shelves (PDQ) and freestanding shelves.
These conveyed the key selling points, product
images and other essential information directly to the
consumer. They were placed next to the cashier so
all customers making a purchase would notice them
and could be drawn in, maximizing the opportunity
to clinch a deal. Shelves have also been adapted
to meet the needs of different regions; for minority
language countries we translate the copywriting, while
for countries with special size requirements, we make
sure those are also met.
The choice of supplier was carefully considered
since we wanted to create the best possible visual
effect and make the biggest impact on shoppers. We
carried out rigorous testing of samples from different
suppliers. Taking shelves as an example, we asked our
colleagues to sit on the shelves to test their durability
and load-bearing capabilities. No detail escaped our
attention, from the particular shade of color used to
the texture of the surfaces.
36

Localize to Popularize
Our markets are spread far and wide. Since different
markets and channels have different characteristics,
that means we have to spend more time and effort
adapting our persuasion methods for consumers on
the last mile of their purchasing journey.
The WALN standard known as 802.11ac has been
around for several years now. Although 802.11ac
inherits all the features of 802.11n standard, it's the
introduction of the 5G band that really makes it such
a great leap forwards. One problem we’ve had is that
not as many people are taking up 11ac products
as we had hoped. The old generation of network
products, such as TL-WR841N, only support 802.11n
but still hog quite a hefty market share.
To do something about this, we recently launched
the "Feel the Speed" project to proactively promote
802.11ac standard products. We wanted to enhance
consumers' awareness of the benefits of 11ac
over 11n products, persuading them that it’s worth
spending some cash to make the upgrade.

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Bangkok, Thailand was chosen as our debut city.

customers that to make the most of their phone’s

We decked out the flagship store with a range of

Wi-Fi capabilities they would need to step up to

five-meter promotional materials such as shelves

11ac.

and selling point stickers, ensuring shoppers in
every corner of the shop would “Feel the Speed".

Of course, promotion doesn’t magically happen
overnight. This was our first attempt at it since our

In terms of design, the HQ and the local marketing

research field trip. We will explore more options in

teams worked together closely. Our team in

the future and continue to think of new ways to glue

HQ provided the vision and basic design while

more eyes to TP-Link boxes.

subsidiaries modified their designs based on the
local situation.
Our design centers around explosions of color
to highlight the characteristics of the improved
speeds 11ac can provide. The local team added
further information, photos of the hottest products
and a sales volume figure to make them more eyecatching.
The Thailand team also worked on local promotional
content focusing on the selling point that "your
phone supports 11ac, so should your router".
Besides that, they formed a list of mobile phone
models and their supported network frequency
bands then posted it on Facebook, which showed

Thank you to all our colleagues at TP-Link Thailand
for supporting the "Feel the Speed" Campaign. We
welcome collaborations on this and future projects.
Come and feel the speed with the HQ Marketing
team!

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A Baptism of Fire —
Training the Class of 2017
Networking BU & Smart Phone BU
July 10th, 2017: thirty-one new sales recruits enter the office mere mortals; by the time they leave at the end of
the day, work cards are hanging proudly from their necks — they’re TP-Linkers. 20 days of training follow in which
they soak up invaluable knowledge — product specifics, business etiquette and manufacturing. On August 4th,
they board a plane to Malaysia, ready for the next stage.
Awaiting them on the other side is what’s become known as the "devil's training" — nearly three months of
it. Throughout August they remain in Malaysia, accumulating valuable sales experience with mobile phone
products. When they reach the mid-way point of their three-month stint — September — they pop over to
Singapore and switch their focus to networking products, before heading back to Malaysia and the mobile phone
business for the remainder of their education.

The Routine of a Salesman
— Mars Chen
Due to delays, we arrived at Kuala Lumpur airport at
midnight, just as the clock ticked over to August 5th.
Our plans wouldn’t be altered through, even though
it was almost 3 a.m. When we gratefully caught sight
of our beds, we knew we still had to be up at the
crack of dawn to begin work in our new destination. In
Malaysia, the rhythm of our lives sped up to a whole
new tempo.
We began work at 8:30 each morning, starting with
a meeting in which we discussed sales results, case
studies, our experiences and the problems we had
found the previous day. These meetings were useful
since we could learn from one another’s experiences
and gain a better understanding of how to deal with
different types of customer. All in all, they got us up to
speed with the market and made us more seasoned

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and skillful.

Jago’s territory.

After the meeting, each group would make breakfast.

Jago rarely talked. Even when promoting, he was

Those days spent living together in a big house

concise and clear, and never wasted a word. He stabbed

reminded us of college life. It also made us, 31

at the keys of his calculator like it had offended him,

channel salesmen, become lifetime brothers!

causing it to rattle loudly with each digit he entered.

After breakfast, we made our way to our respective
stores separately and started our daily sales work.
From 1:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. we were fully immersed

Every time a customer came to the store, he’d whip out
that calculator, and I’d hear that familiar rattling sound
again.

in the business world. When the selling was over, we

From my observations, Jago was a person almost

had to make a summary of the whole day, including

without emotion. When a deal was clinched, Jago shook

a case analysis, consumer sample collection, sales

hands with the customer. On the other hand, when a

condition summary and a daily summary. Never put

deal fell through, he just gave the customer a sad smile

off what should be done today till tomorrow! Besides

and said goodbye impassively.

the work, we also took time to exercise in our free
time. The accommodation facilities in Kuala Lumpur
are excellent and more than met our needs.
Although life in Kuala Lumpar was busy, it was also
rewarding, giving us the opportunity to develop
ourselves and contribute directly to the company’s
success.

I remember the first time we met, I said to him, "Hi,
Jago! I’m new here. Could you please teach me how to
promote?"
"There are no skills. Just let it go.", came the reply from a
head that hadn’t even been lifted.
As I watched Jago strike a deal in his own way, I repeated
his words in my head — let it go? I thought this whole

See the Beauty of the World — Allen Zhu

selling business was simpler than I’d built it up to be...

Maybe it’s because summer is the only season in

I couldn’t have been more wrong. It turned out that this

Malaysia that the people, just like the weather, are warm

method did not work for me. I sat myself behind the

in all situations.

showcase and waited for the customers to flock to me.

Bustling crowds greeted me upon my entrance to
Lowyat plaza, accompanied with incessant shouts in my

An hour later, a single customer had asked me where
the toilet was.

direction of "hello boss". It gave me a sense of déjà vu,

I thought that maybe I should change my strategy. I

such was the similarity with the Huaqiang electronics

started to keep myself busy by intercepting customers,

markets of Shenzhen. Lowyat UG is an arena containing

striving to actively promote our products. Although this

the flagship stores of all the famous mobile phone

busyness gave me comfort psychologically, it had no

brands that operate in Malaysia. Beneath the surface, a

practical effect, as I still failed to make any sales in those

close competition was being fought, with every brand

early days.

fighting to stand out. Among the retailers is a small stall,
GK003, sitting quietly to one side of the arena. This is
39

My last day at the store arrived, and I told Jago I’d be

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leaving him soon. I already had the unenviable honor
of a record-breaking zero deals in five days. On that
day though, I noticed a change in Jago. When I tried to
promote, he came to help me introduce our products.
And when customers were indecisive, he gave them
every selling point to nudge them towards a purchase.
Unfortunately, Jago's newfound helpfulness still didn’t
break my selling duck. Nonetheless, before I left, he
gave me some words of encouragement — “You’ll make
a breakthrough sooner or later." Coming from him, it

began to communicate with him.
Even though I hadn’t the slightest idea what they were
saying, I did see customers nod his head frequently,
which seemed positive. In the end, the customer got up
to his feet and said thanks before walking away — that
scene I’ve seen so many times which breaks the heart
of a salesman.
“Business is business” Nicolas sighed, as he began a
new level on his game.

meant a lot.
Located in a mall of the government district, Putrajaya,
When I hopped out my Uber cab, the bleak surroundings
and rushing cars made me think the driver had taken
me to a wrong place. After checking with the Uber
driver that his GPS wasn’t busted, I headed for the Giant

Thundermatch Alamanda was a highly productive
retailer for us. My colleague, Hubery, had sold at least
three pieces per day there, which was phenomenal. All
the elements for a great selling environment were there.

Hypermarket, where the store I would work at, Maxlink,

The manager there, Roy, was a calm and reserved

could be found. Maxlink is really a magical store. Just as

person, never letting the success go to his head.

its name suggests, it links with many customers, and has
a great look-to-buy ratio even though it resides in the

Roy was a tough person with a well-built physique,

wilderness.

honed from years of training. He reminded me a bit
of Fidel Castro in a strange way. Thus, the first time I

What’s more, Maxlink has an amazing manager —
Nicolas. Nicolas spent most of his time in store playing
the mobile game King of Glory. At one point I even
suggested that he should try to turn professional, as a
rising Malaysia e-sports superstar such as him shouldn’t
be confined to a store. He replied sternly, "No, Neffos
needs me to rescue it”, before immediately turning back
to his games again.
For a long time, Nicolas gave the perfect impression of
a layabout. I had to completely rethink my opinion of
him though after a particular customer approached me.
Because I couldn’t understand the Malaysian language,
the customer didn’t think I could be of help to him, and
was just saying “Selamat tinggal” (meaning goodbye) to
me when, at that moment, Nicolas rushed to my side and
40

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saw him, I couldn’t help but say “Hi, boss!” Since Roy

Malaysia’s sunshine really does make people there very

was a reserved character and always busy with store

hospitable.

operations, I seldom had contact with him.

I still remember on my sixth day at Lowyat GK003, when

One day, after a complaint by a customer, I came to Roy

I had no sales to my name, I turned to Jago and posed a

dejectedly, knowing he would scold me with no mercy.

question. “If a guy always loses, how will he feel when he

To my surprise, he invited me to dinner instead.

gets his first success?”

At the dinner, Roy told me some things about his life. He

“Actually, you will feel nothing. Because you deserve it.”

told me that all of us can fall down, but all we need to do
is pick ourselves up, make up for the mistake and carry
on stronger than before.
In retrospect, though this August seemed to last forever,
the various people I met and things I did kept me
entertained. I’m wondering, as I write this, whether Jago
is mashing in figures on his calculator, Nicolas is winning
his game and if Roy is still fussing over every detail.

Maybe life is just like this. The only thing we should do is
learn from the defeats, and then the success is bound
to arrive.

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Prosperity and Hardship,
Side by Side — Miracle Gao
I was prepared to go it alone, to meet all kinds of

the store. More importantly, he had a beautiful wife, a

challenges and people, to enjoy the bustling world, and

lovely daughter of two, and, I noted a little enviously, a

also to catch a glimpse of life's suffering.

seriously cool Lexus.

When I was in Malaysia, insomnia was like an old friend.

The day I left, he took me out for a drive, taking his

But it was on such nights that I could reflect.

wife and daughter too. We went to a restaurant where

I can’t fall asleep, yet again. I get up and open the door.
I see the empty living room with the soft, blue of the
moonlight seeping through the seam of the curtains.
Listening carefully, I can hear the faint sound of snoring
coming from the bedrooms. I open the fridge and take
out a bottle of milk, sipping it beside the window from
a cup. As the cold milk slips down my throat, I feel
pensive. I pull the curtains away a little, getting a view
of the KL Tower standing not far away. The crescent
moon reminds me of the people I have met at work.
One was a wealthy housewife with five children. She
came to my store with the youngest two, a boy and

they served his favorite fish and, most importantly, we
split half a box of Tsingtao beer. When the beer arrived
at the table, I felt like I was back in China for a few
moments. I closed my eyes, taking in the aroma of the
alcohol before tasting it. When I opened them, I found
I was fighting back tears. My friend laughed at me as
I was so emotional that I could barely hold my drink. I
was wiping away my tears, and admitted sheepishly
that Tsingtao beer was really great.
I swirl the milk around my cup, pulling me back to the
present. I take a swig, as if it was beer instead. By the
moonlight, I can see there’s only a little left.

a girl, both around eleven years old. They were very

I think of the street of bars nearby, awash with alcohol

lively and by expressing their enthusiasm had easily

and hormones. The street was crowded on weekends.

persuaded their mother to buy two Neffos X1max

This is where the city’s workers congregated to let

phones. Perhaps now these little guys lay beside their

their hair down after a long week at the office. We once

mother, lost in sweet dreams.

squeezed our way through the groups of partygoers,

Another was a cleaner in the mall, around 50 years

smelling a myriad of exotic perfumes.

old, who greeted visitors warmly every day without fail.

There was another street not too far from the bar

The thing that stood out most were his eyes, which

street, where sometimes I would stop by after work.

were always filled with joy. He recently got his first

It was a street of long queues. Generous individuals

smartphone and was forever asking me questions

in red t-shirts distributed bread, water and milk to the

about how to use various apps, like a child learning how

homeless people. They even offered a simple medical

to play with his new toy.

examination. I noted that most of these volunteers

There was the shopkeeper too, who accompanied

were ethnic Chinese, which made me feel honored.

me for more than half a month. He was nearly 30, and

Reminiscing is a better method of nodding off than

very talkative. Being a sociable creature, he had great

counting sheep. I shuffle slowly back to my bed,

business relationships with the people around him in

dragging my slippers that don’t fit me, and lie down. I

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cover myself with blankets, raise the temperature of

filial piety, don’t respect or take care of your parents,

the air conditioner a touch, and close my eyes, ready

or you are disloyal, dishonest and unwilling to help

for another busy morning

your brothers, you will be looked down upon and be
penalized under the ‘Family Laws and Rules’ of the Holy

Walking Forwards with Courage
— Joe Zhang

Temple.”

I never thought I would come to TP-Link, and never

is an out-of-date description for these kind of groups.

dreamed I would work in Malaysia for half a year

HongMen is not an underground organization for the

either. Most of all, I never expected to end up making

unruly, but a club where Malaysian Chinese men try

connections with so-called “gangsters” in my new role.

hard to improve their reputation and earn the respect

I spent my third week in Malaysia stationed at a phone
store in Klang, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. The boss,

While listening to his narrative, I realized “gangsters”

of their fellow brothers. No wonder HongMen translates
to “Chinese Freemasons” in English!

let’s call him Ah Kah, wore plenty of gold and silver, and

One day he told me the Holy Temple of HongMen

gave me the impression of a big shot right from the

would be organizing a reunion. Images filled my mind

first glance.

of a cavernous temple in a remote location, lit by

“Chinese! If you can’t sell more than 20 units, go back
to China!”, was the first sentence he barked at me.

candles mounted on red walls, with dozens of heads
turned towards the all-knowing leader. Above the
leader’s head hangs the portrait of the revered founder,

Before moving into phone retail, Ah Kah had joined

together with other legendary figures. I couldn’t contain

a local underground organization. It’s no secret that

my excitement and curiosity, and begged Ah Kah to

70% of Malaysian Chinese were affiliated with different
gangs in the not so distant past. The society my boss
had chosen is called HongMen, famous for its support
of Sun Yat-sen and the National Revolution in China in
the 1910s and 30s.
Though Ah Kah frightened me at first with his less than
politically correct jokes, it was just his way of being
friendly. He took me to taste the traditional food Bah
Kut The, and explained to me the moral codes in his
shadowy society.
“In our company, what gives you authority is not just
the ability to fight, but also morality and virtue. No
matter how high your internal class is, if you don’t have

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take me with him. He agreed.
As is often the way with these things, the reality was

Friends Never Make a Journey
Alone — Kol Liu

a little different. We found ourselves in a gold colored

Three months of overseas training may have gone by

hall, filled with more than 100 tables. It felt more like

in a flash, but there’s one phrase we will never forget —

the venue of a wedding banquet than that of an illegal

only full marks is a pass. The fast pace of our working

get-together. On the front wall was written “38th Ghost

lives forced us to get up to speed quickly.

Festival Monlam (ceremony) of Universal Salvation in
Middle Klang”. Traditional Chinese believe the whole
month of July is reserved for hungry ghosts, so the
title made some sense to me. Then, up came an
emcee onto the stage, also dressed in gold to match
his surroundings. He began the proceedings of what

At first, some of us were too shy to intercept and
grab the attention of customers. By the end though,
we could introduce ourselves and our products, hold
demoes and give out flyers. The biggest progress is
made when you leave your comfort zone.

looked very much like an auction. It finally dawned on

The best part for me was making so many friends and

me why the “headquarters” had gathered all factions

finding a sense of belonging within my new team of

here — they were asking the “subsidiaries” for money

brothers.

so they could hold a bigger ceremony next time.
Coincidently, I witnessed this kind of gathering again in

At the end of our first period of training, two groups

Singapore two weeks later.

were given a physical exercise punishment of 500
“suicide runs” for finishing bottom of the sales rankings.

As a newcomer to Malaysia, and a newbie to the

But when they began running we all joined in, giving

gangster scene, I was in for a bit of a ribbing from the

each other high fives at the end. The punishment of

senior members. I just concentrated on drinking my

eight people became a shared positive experience for

beverage cup by cup as these veterans took it in turns

a group of 31 brothers.

to make cutting jokes. They killed me! What gave me
strength at that moment was an idea; I would get all the

When we first arrived we simply ate bread from the

brothers around this table to become Neffos users.

local convenience store as breakfast. As time went

This was entirely possible, for I had strong ally. Ah Yong,

on though, we learned to corporate, cooking delicious

let’s call him, is the son of the leader at this table. He’s

food like noodles, omelet and patties.

16 years old and worked a part-time job at my store.
He thought very highly of Neffos, and was committed
to make the brand a hit in the shopping mall. When my
time at the store was over, Ah Yong took up the mantle
of promoting Neffos.

We did some outings as a team to the imposing
twin towers of KLCC, the atmospheric colonial train
station and elegant Putrajaya. These cultural activities
reinvigorated us, breathing fresh confidence and
energy into our work.
May all young TP-Linkers keep their enthusiasm and,
wherever you are, burn like bright stars that together
form an unstoppable fire.

Highlight

AC5400X Gives Gamers the Router
They’ve Been Waiting For
Samuel Li, Networking BU Product Department
Archer C5400X is TP-Link’s first wireless router that’s specifically designed for online gaming fans, who look
for not only a cool-looking product but also ultrafast network performance. A whole lot of effort has gone into
meeting their unique needs. Here’s the low-down on the stand-out features.

Performance Surrounded by
Fine Crafting
Determined to make a high-level product in every
aspect, we believed that cutting-edge hardware
on the inside should be matched by an equally
impressive outside. To meet the tastes of gaming
users, we sought out US designer Whipsaw to create
the exterior shell of Archer C5400X. Whipsaw came
back with over 10 proposals, of which we selected
one to refine. Five rounds of revisions and reviews
then followed over the space of five months until
we finally arrived at a design we were satisfied with.
Special attention was paid to details such as the

More than Just a Beautiful Shell

color of the antenna, the status shifts of the LED

Whether it’s teaming up with friends on League of

light and the polishing on the thin strips around the

Legends or entering online football tournaments on

edges. Such care guaranteed a better product for our

FIFA, gamers expect an immersive experience; that

customers.

means no lag no matter what else is happening on the
network. To meet these expectations, Archer C5400X
possesses the most powerful CPU ever used in a
SOHO router. It’s a quad-core, 1.8 GHz processor,
capable of handling all the strenuous tasks a network
can throw at it without breaking sweat.
Archer C5400X still excels when you’re taking a
break from battling your friends too. According to lab
data, Archer C5400X achieves a 66% improvement
in throughput compared with that of the previous
Archer C5400 model. Its advanced features are

Showcase

greater in number too. HomeCare not only protects
home networks, but also ensures smoother gaming in
the case of limited bandwidth thanks to QoS (quality
of service). With built-in 16GB storage and available
USB external hard drive, users can secure their files
and access them anytime and anywhere via the free
FileBank app. The security issues and expansion fees
of network disks are a thing of the past. RangeBoost
technology expands wireless coverage, beaming
C5400X’s powerful signal to devices all over the
home.

Every Detail Counts
Every time users buy a router, they have to go
through the initial configuration process. To make
this as painless as possible, users complete the
whole set up simply by following steps on our easyto-use Tether app. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi provide
alternative connection options for set up. Users no
longer need to turn the router over to search for the
default wireless password either. User experience
lies behind every detail.
As users, we know what a terrible experience it is
to spend time installing eight antennas by screwing
them onto a product, not to mention that they still
might need tightening. We knew there must be a
better way, and we came up with one — push-in
antennas. Since it was a new method, we inevitably
met some challenges; several rounds of trial-anderror tests were required before we successfully
found a joint that was suited for both easy
installation and antenna stability. Although it took
a lot of effort, every product engineer was willing
to put in the hours to come up with a workable
solution, all in the name of user experience.

Quality Testing to the Limit
A consistently stable and fast network is what users
generally look for in a router, and that’s no different
here. The Testing Department conducted no less
than 10 rounds of thorough tests on Archer 5400X.
Sample users were selected from TP-Link employees
for product trials. Real users in the US were used for
the beta test. As ever, feedback gave us valuable
insights into users’ concerns and revealed product
deficiencies, including OpenVPN security, initial
configuration guidance, portal functions and others.
We addressed them one by one, with our changes
received positively.
Lastly, I want to express my sincere gratitude to
everyone involved in this project; that includes R&D,
the Testing Department, the project management
engineers and the structural engineers. Thanks in
advance to our front-line salesmen also; I know we
can count on them to introduce Archer C5400X to
the market and make it this Christmas’ must-have gift
for gamers everywhere.

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The Crisis of Trust in Pakistan
Ben Huang, Networking BU Technical Support
"Emergency! A Pakistan sales agent has discovered that the PPTP
dial-up functionality of TL-WR840N V4.0 doesn’t work. More than
4600 products have been involved, causing a large number of
goods to be rejected!"
The technical support team received this alarming news on
February 21st in the early hours. Our nerves were rattled by such a
large scale problem. The situation was serious.

When It Rains, It Pours
We informed our R&D and testing colleagues in the

only solved the problem with the ConnectCom lines

headquarters immediately. By coincidence, there

in the agent’s office. The trouble with FariyaNet was

was a firmware version of TL-WR840N V4.0 currently

still unresolved.

at the test stage, and a probabilistic bug relating to
PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) automatic
reconnection had just been fixed. Without further ado,
we sent this beta firmware to the agent for a trial. The
agent checked the firmware in his office as we waited
nervously – success!
However, the situation was far more complicated
than we had imagined. Problems cropped up one
after another. Considering that the feedback came
primarily from Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, we
asked the agent about the local ISP providers. It
turned out that 80% of local network service was split
between two ISPs. One is ConnectCom and the other
is FariyaNet. The servers used by these two ISPs were
often in close proximity, and even street to street the
servers could be different. This made for an extremely
complex ISP setup.
Both providers gave feedback that the newly arrived
TL-WR840N V4.0 didn’t allow access to the internet
by PPTP dial-up. By utilizing the beta firmware, we had
48

The agent began to lose his trust in us. He was

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worried that we wouldn’t be able to get a solution any

After several tests on ConnectCom lines, we finally

time soon. We completely understood his concern

sorted the issue and by distance training, we taught

of course; it would have taken us at least six months

the agent's technicians how to grab the data packets

to test all servers in town. And during that period, we

through WANs, which turned out to be very helpful

may well have continued to get refund requests from

for the FariyaNet problem. Even more inspiring, our

customers. Apart from the profit losses, the damage

professionalism and devotion gradually regained the

to our brand image would be irrevocable.

trust from the agent.

Faced with the situation, the agent proposed that they

Three days later, the testing user’s fiber cable service

stop selling TL-WR840N V4.0 and go back to the old

still wasn’t up and running. The situation was critical.

version, TL-WR840N V3.0. The regression would be a

We asked the agent for a new testing environment,

huge hit for us. What’s worse, the storm would not only

which was surprisingly agreed to readily. In the

affect 4600 products that had been shipped, but also a

afternoon, the agent told us we could run tests in the

larger amount of goods on the way.

server room of FariyaNet! Being able to test directly

We had no option but to find a way.

Problems Never Come in Ones
We decided to focus on FariyaNet to figure out the
problems as soon as we could. Although FariyaNet
had various servers in different towns, we believed
that once we had a working solution for one case, the
rest would follow.
We asked the agent to find a user who was willing to
help us with the test. When the user had completed
the testing of TL-WR840N V3.0 and was preparing to
test for TL-WR840N V4.0, his optical fiber service was
suddenly cut off due to the overhauling of wiring on the
street where he lived. So no progress yet!
While waiting for the fiber repairs, we continued
the tests on ConnectCom lines with the help of
colleagues from R&D and Testing to figure out the key
cause for the PPTP failure. After all, the last test had
only proved that the new beta firmware could solve
the networking problem in the agent’s office. What
about everywhere else?

in the ISP’s server room gave us huge confidence. It
was a perfect environment for the test!
This time we made extensive preparations. The
agent sent two technicians to the FariyaNet server
room while we set up a WeChat messenger group
and added the R&D and Testing team in order to
communicate. Everything was going to plan… That's
until the server room suddenly experienced a power
cut. Our frustrations almost boiled over. We’d been so
close to the key!
We contacted the guys at FariyaNet and were told
that the server room would be out of action for at
least the next two days.

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Problems never come alone!

were gradually updated with the firmware.

Breakthrough

Follow-up: As mentioned above, the agent worried

Luckily, we had saved all the precious test data in the
notebook computer before the power kindly decided
to out. Based on the data we had on hand, we had a
discussion with the R&D team and through our analysis,
finally shone a light on the fundamental cause. The
internet environment of FariyaNet was quite special
indeed: the PPTP servers and the PPP servers share the
exact same IP address (normally, these are different). In
this special case, the routing entry of TL-WR840N V4.0
becomes erroneous, impeding the forwarding of data
packets.
Immediately our R&D colleagues set to work, preparing
a new beta firmware. Since the FariyaNet server room
was still in repair mode, we tested the new beta firmware
on ConnectCom in the agent’s office, the result of which
couldn’t have been better. However, we weren’t home
and dry quite yet with the solution yet to be implemented
with FariyaNet.
After 48 hours of anxious waiting, the server room finally
had power again! All of us were waiting for the final test
results with bated breath, our complete focus on the
screen in front of us. After what seemed like an eternity,
the agent sent a response. The firmware had been a
success! Our celebrations were muted; we still wanted
final confirmation as to whether our dial-up users could
now connect successfully.
At 2 a.m. on March 8th, the agent sent us a message
in the WeChat group informing us that users had
confirmed that the solution for FariyaNet now worked!
At that moment, every one of us was relieved.
Later, the R&D team released the official version of the
firmware fix, to permanently resolve the problem. At the
same time, other products using the same platform
50

that we wouldn’t be able to solve all the problems
in a short space of time because of the diverse ISP
circumstances. It turned out that as long as we solved
one problem, the others would be solved eventually. I
contacted the agent on Skype today (September 12th)
to confirm whether TL-WR840N V4.0 was still working
normally. The answer was an emphatic YES!

Showcase

Getting Closer To Users
Luo Jun & Yang Minghua, Testing Unit of R&D

Purpose: Respect Users
For the TP-Link International Testing Group, users are
sacred. This not only means user experience, but also
putting users first throughout the whole production
cycle. As we are serving millions of users all over the
world, it's much harder to practice what we preach.
We have to be more stringent and meticulous while
also providing diversity to cater to a wider range of
user demographics.
Regardless of product appearance, performance
and supporting features, for the testers, the user
experience is the only standard we care about. It

How can we take precautions?
It is difficult to solve an unknown issue, since if it is
unknown, how can we predict its presence?
But if we look at this question in another way –
"How do we predict the problems that users may
encounter?" – then we can begin to make progress.
From this viewpoint, the key is to get closer the users
and to accurately grasp their dilemmas when they use
our products.

can’t be denied that in the past things have been
overlooked, either because of the urgency of the
project, the lack of awareness of new staff or other
reasons, causing quality issues that bring significant
losses to the company.
In order to minimize the risk of the above, we have
tried a variety of ways to eliminate sources of
mistakes. Among all the measures put in place, test
cases are by far the most effective way for staff
to learn of issues. A test case is when an issue is
discovered after the product has been released to
users. The products are recalled and the case is
investigated in great detail in order to find a solution.
The downside of this is that test cases come at
a great cost, sometimes thousands of dollars.
For obvious reasons, the information gathered is
regarded as extremely valuable to the department.
Ideally though, we don’t want to have to pay such

Principles: Be More than an Expert
We should take the users' point of view, and stop
thinking like a tech expert.
Thinking as an expert is a trap many technical
engineers have fallen into. Because of the complexity
of the inner workings of these products, it’s easy to
focus obsessively on the technology and ignore the
users' experience.
I remember we were so anxious about the stability
of 3G communications when we tested the first 3G
wireless MiFi products. But once the product was
released into the market, the most common problem
reported back to us was that the shell surface was
easily scratched.

a high price in exchange for problem-discovering;

Since it was the first 3G MiFi product, it was a big

taking preventative measures would be preferable.

challenge to grasp the stability of the relevant

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technology, but we ignored the fact that as a portable
product that would be used outdoors, we should also
concentrate on its durability. Although we had done
a scratch-resistant test on the surface at the R&D
phase and submitted a report that it wasn’t not strong
enough to resist scratches, we didn’t pay too much
attention to this problem, concentrating foolishly on
the high-level tech instead.

Approach: Think as a Customer
When we evaluated our test process a while back, we
found the circumstances in which testing took place
were often far from the environment in which users
usually deploy the product. It’s a common problem. For
example, we used megabyte bandwidth when testing
an ADSL product, but in some African countries the
uplink rate is only 100-200Kbps. This means a single

If we had been closer to the users, in this case we

device can fully occupy the uplink bandwidth, leaving

would have seen that the shell quickly accumulates

the line useless for others.

oily fingerprints and scratches, making it look like an
old product after just a short space of time. Explaining
to customers that our choice of material will cause
these problems does not put us in the best light.
There are many more examples just like this.
In the past few years, we have continually improved
our testing methods. For a totally new product, we
have tried to design a number of UX tests and some
less standard tests without incurring the high cost
of user cases. For product upgrades, we have gone
to online business platforms to collect and analyze
user comments and learn from the experience of real
users in the forums.
With the progress of science and technology, such
as the development of AI, one day we believe we’ll be
able to interact with customers pretty much face to
face. Until that day comes though, it’s important to
reach out to customers as often as we can.

Another example is the English language version of
a router. When it began selling in Russia, the users
couldn’t log in using their Russian web browser. Why
are electronic products limited to certain regions? It’s
because we don’t consider conditions all over the world
when creating it.
Thus, we have to consider the users' circumstances
from every angle. Some ways to do this are to get
feedback from our sales teams on the front-line or
collect users' comments through online platforms.
Moreover, we can keep up with the latest developments
of the major ISP services and then adjust testing
conditions in the laboratory accordingly.
We’ve got a few new tricks for simulating users’
conditions. We can limit bandwidth and change the
language to name just two. For those conditions we
can’t simulate, we can have someone do the tests
locally in what’s either called a Local Test or Beta Test.

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Development: Moving with
the times
We have to keep pace with demand and move

failure and even system crashes. We need to broaden

with the times. In the past, we only installed one

the scope of our testing as much as possible, so

NIC (Network Interface Card) driver on each PC.

that our products can adapt to a variety of terminal

The chances of two NIC drivers conflicting were

equipment.

very small. Today, with the abundance of network
equipment, the probability of users having multiple
NIC drivers on their PC has greatly increased, causing
conflicts that must be resolved immediately.
Keeping up with the times not only means bringing
out new products or features as they are innovated,
but also finding new ways to cope with some old
difficulties. NIC drivers produce a new process when
the installation link is clicked on the PC. The new
process will try to continuously start up if the last
process is running or has stopped due to a bug. An
advanced PC can handle this problem super-quickly,
before the users are even aware of it. It can be a
serious issue in a Pentium first generation PC though
due to its slow processing, leading to installation

The same goes for our app family. When the iPhone
X came out we immediately made a purchase, then
carried out the first trials of Tether, Deco and the rest.
There are many ways to get closer to users. Feel
free to contact us with your own suggestions and
questions. Together, let's take the user experience to
the extreme!

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The Mystery of MiFi —
Mobile Data Tech Explained
Kidd Li, Networking BU Product Department
The History of Mobile Communication
Technology – A Period of Rapid Change

Technical Profile – Different Modes,
Different Standards

Since the advent of mobile communication

There are two major modes in mobile communication

technology in 1980, new versions of protocols

technology: TDD (Time Division Duplex) and FDD

have been continually leapfrogging their older

(Frequency Division Duplex).

counterparts. In the 90s, the maximum data transfer
rate was only 427 Kbps. The 21st century brought 3G
WCDMA, achieving rates of up to 42 Mbps. This, in
turn, was overtaken by the 150 Mbps of 4G LTE. The
current record holder is 4G LTE-Advanced, able to
shift packets at a surprisingly nifty 1 Gbps.

TDD uses the same channel for both uplink and
downlink, but allocates different time slots for each.
This might mean that for every three seconds, two
will be allocated for downlink and one will be allocated
for uplink. The frequently-used B38 band works in the
range 2570 MHz – 2620 MHz. TDD uses channels

The most popular mobile communication technology

very efficiently, with up to 112 Mbps downstream and

on the market now is actually a transitional one.

up to 10 Mbps upstream.

Cat 4 Standard (150 Mbps downstream, 50 Mbps
upstream) is 4G LTE, while Cat 6 (downstream 300
Mbps, upstream 50 Mbps) and Cat 11 (downstream
600 Mbps, upstream 50 Mbps) are usually referred to
as 4G LTE-Advanced.

FDD, on the other hand, uses separate channels
for uplink and downlink. For instance, the B3 band
works in the 1710 MHz – 1785 MHz range for uplink,
and the 1805 MHz – 1880 MHz range for downlink.
FDD provides speed at the expense of occupying
a greater number of channels, with up to 150 Mbps
downstream and up to 50 Mbps upstream.
The previously mentioned Cat 4, Cat 6 and Cat 11
are different technical standards for current 4G
technology, which are distinguishable by the number
of aggregated channels.
Cat 4 uses only one channel for data transmission.
Theoretically, a FDD channel can download data at a
maximum speed of 150 Mbps and upload data at a

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maximum speed of 50 Mbps.
Cat 6 uses two aggregated channels to achieve
higher downstream rates. Two aggregated FDD
channels can download data at a maximum speed of
300 Mbps. Upload speeds are unchanged.
Cat 11 uses three aggregated channels and 256QAM
technology. Theoretically, three aggregated FDD
channels can download data at a maximum speed of
600 Mbps, while the maximum upload speed is still 50
Mbps.

• Supports SD cards to expand storage by up to
32 GB, enabling convenient storage and sharing of
photos, music, videos and other files.
• Easy to use with plug-and-play functionality. The
tpMiFi app means configurations can be changed
with the tap of a button.
M7350 is our superstar product, and is currently
selling well at a high ASP (average selling price).
The average monthly sales are over 10K worldwide,
reaching 25K in some months. Although it only
supports FDD, its flexibility more than makes up for
this, as it can be used in many regions of the world.

MiFi Products —
Better Portal Hotspots

(The Americas, Japan, Korea, and some parts of the

This brings us to a major beneficiary of all of these

Our flagship product, M7650, supports Cat 11 (up to

technologies: MiFi (mobile Wi-Fi) products, which

600Mbps downstream). Its AC1200 dual-band Wi-Fi

are portable access points that accept SIM cards.

can connect to up to 32 devices at the same time. A

Some may doubt the need for MiFi products with the

3000 mAh battery enables M7650 to work for up to

availability of the hotspot function on smartphones,

15 hours. These advantages mean M7650 dominates

but the advantages of MiFi are plain for those who

current market, with only one competitor, Netgear’s

understand the tech.

AC810. According to data by the esteemed Singtel

A professional chip solution not only guarantees LTE
downstream rates, but also provides a stable Wi-Fi
network for a greater number of devices. From both a

Middle East and Africa are the only exceptions.)

Laboratory, M7650 provides 352 Mbps downstream,
while for AC810 it’s only 289 Mbps. One might say
M7650 is still the undisputed the king of MiFi.

stability and coverage point of view, MiFi represents a
massive step up on smartphone hotspots. Moreover,
due to low power consumption and the absence of
other functions, a fully-charged MiFi product has
enough juice to keep on going for a whole day.

Looking Ahead —
Faster Speeds, Similar Prices
The global map of highest LTE-Advanced commercial

TP-Link has released five 4G MiFi products. Here’s

traffic speeds is shown below, constructed according

what they have in common:

to data collected in April 2017. Speeds exceed 300
Mbps in most countries, which is faster than the

• Embedded Qualcomm chips to provide a wireless

speed of VDSL networks and comes amazingly

network for up to 32 devices.

close to that provided on fiber networks. It’s no

• Embedded 2000 mAh/3000 mAh battery that works

exaggeration to say that a wireless network is faster

for 8/15 hours.
55

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than a wired one today.
Although mobile communication technology is highly
developed now, there’s still room for improvement in
two aspects: speed and cost.
First, the speed – 5G technology is coming, able to
reach an incredible pace of dozens of Gbps, as shown
by Huawei’s laboratory test data below.
Then there’s the cost – the need is growing for IoT
technology that’s low-cost, low-energy consumption
and compact. IoT devices don’t actually require
great speeds (no more than 1 Mbps), but energy
efficiency is paramount. Cat M or Cat 1 technology,
overtaken years ago, suddenly becomes relevant to
the conversation again. Cat M or Cat 1 technology
use energy at such a low rate, in fact, that two AA
batteries could be run for up to 10 years.

Who

Strengthening the Foundation of Our
Company
Manufacturing Engineering Department, edited by Isaac Xin
The development of a company not only depends on

thought of a challenge and an opportunity to apply his

the strategy and planning of executives, but also lies

impressive logical thinking and technical skills.

with the staff's dedication and commitment. For TPLink, the factory is an essential part of operations; it
has the largest number of employees and the largest
density of personnel of any department. Thus, its
development and improvement require the staff to
devote their time, energy and intelligence to optimizing
working methods and boosting efficiency. In recent
years, there have been a range of measures to
reduce costs and promote micromanagement in the
factory, which have significantly enhanced production
efficiency. Complementing this, of course, are the
continued contributions of exceptional employees.
Among these devoted and low-key staff, Peng
Chuan, part of the Project Optimization Group in the
Engineering Department deserves a mention. In
the eyes of his colleagues, Peng is a shy and quiet
character. When it comes to technical issues, however,
he becomes someone else; his eyes light up with
57

Of course, such excellence is not intrinsic; instead,
it is gradually acquired through experience. After
joining the group in 2013, Peng developed a program
comparison system and an anti-error scanning system
for SMT segments, reducing human input and the
possibility of errors. In 2016, he was commissioned
to develop an SMT line-side stock scanning and
tracing system and warehouse scanning reconciliation
system, as well as integrating the subsystems into
a unified MES (manufacturing execution system)
to enhance the overall informatization level and
production efficiency of the factory. These projects
save more than a million RMB per year.
It’s normal to experience teething issues when
implementing new systems, so Peng often works
overtime to deal with anomalies. His commitment to
his work never seems to wane; he even rushed to the

Who

factory at 3 a.m. one night after receiving an urgent
call. Peng harbored dreams at one point of moving to
the city center to experience the delights of an urban
existence, but in the end it was convenience that won
out; he ended up moving to a place a leisurely 10
minute stroll from the factory.

which there are only a few in the factory.
Always occupied with the next challenge, Pang
feels his 10-year stay at TP-Link has gone by in a
flash. He focuses on capably dealing with things at
hand every day, making him a trusted and reliable
colleague to others, and seldom gets irritated about

Most of the projects here have no hard deadlines,

the trivial things. His attitude can be summed up in

and the completion of work largely depends on your

one word: stability. For example, when responsible for

own drive and organization; Peng could have given

transferring units from the saddle stitch cartons to

himself a little slack. On the contrary, he has become

cementing cartons, he drove the program forward at

a workaholic. If he can work overtime for 10 hours

a steady, sustainable pace. From the smallest network

to make a process more efficient and put in place

adapter to our most complex products, each device

automation to reduce human input, he will feel great

was tested individually and only after confirming there

satisfaction, comparable to the happiness he feels

were no defects were they given the OK. Products of

when he overcomes a tricky technical challenge.

every kind were successfully packaged by cementing

Peng has a few hobbies, but delving into technical
issues remains his greatest passion. When he’s not
taking part in software development, Peng also finds
time to self-develop hardware. A furnace temperature

cartons at high accuracy. Due to the massive lot
size and complexity of the process, the methods
implemented had to be mature and sustainable to
ensure the quality of the products.

tester is his proudest creation. Starting from the

Stability is not his only characteristic. Equally important

analysis of the internal structure, he grasped the

is Pang’s ability to keep calm under pressure. It was a

engineering principles and then procured the materials

big step up for Pang when he was promoted to squad

to assemble it by himself. It’s not just a great personal

leader in 2008 and then again when he switched to

achievement either; the company saves 500 000 RMB

being a technician two years later. When his ability

per year thanks to this piece of ingenuity.

was questioned, Pang’s reply was simple: ‘’Give me a

Speaking of workaholics, it would be a glaring omission
not to mention senior technician Pang Bangqi. The
factory is his second home and is where he spends
the majority of his working time. He may look ordinary,

month, and I’ll get it right.’’ Over the following days and
weeks, he gradually became familiar with the tasks and
ultimately achieved satisfactory results, proving his
point.

without any distinctive features, but his experience is

Stability also refers to exploring problems and

anything but average. Having joined TP-Link in 2007,

proposing measures for improvement, rather than

he served initially as an employee in the assembly line.

just being satisfied with the status quo. In 2006, Pang

He quickly ascended to squad leader of his group, and

began to implement a project to reduce the defect

then successfully transitioned to a technician role in

rate of 11AC products by changing the process of

the Engineering Department successively. Eventually,

assembling the protecting foam of the indicator lights,

he was promoted to the level of Senior Technician, of

which 100% avoided the problem of them getting

Who

damaged. This excellent work earned him the recognition and respect of his peers.
Cost optimization and improved efficiency within the factory stems from the joint efforts of all those who devote
themselves to their work. In addition to the projects mentioned above, engineers and technicians have innovated,
among other things, an automatic MAC address writing device, a rotating shielding box and an automatic cutting
machine for tins. Measures have also been taken to cut out redundant work in order to reduce labor costs. A
sense of responsibility and willingness to put in the hard work ensures there’s a nice rhythm to the processes and
the quality of production stays consistent. If the factory was a machine, the dedicated technical staff would be
the engine, driving it relentlessly forward. They are the foundation of the factory’s continued evolution, and of TPLink’s.

Who

Keep Calm and Call HR
Queenie Tse and Samina Fung, TP-Link Canada
TP-Link Canada’s team has grown from a fiveman organization wearing multiple hats to a mature
company with separate departments consisting of
over 30 people. As our business continues to grow in
the land of the maple trees, there’s one department
that tends to get overlooked but is no less vital for the
daily workings of the office. I am, of course, referring
to Human Resources.
Take out infrastructure, systems and inventory;
people are the backbone of all we do. They are the
engine that operates, controls and manages it all.
As we commemorate seven years of presence
in the Canadian market, we sat down and had a
candid conversation with Samina Fung, human
resources manager. Samina has worked with
several multinational corporations, with experience
in expatriate staff relocation and changes of
management due to mergers and acquisitions. She
continues to invest in her professional development
by taking part-time human resources management
and policy studies. On the weekends, she enjoys
spending time with her family and trying out new
recipes in the kitchen.

Samina Fung, Human Resources Manager of TP-Link Canada

Samina Fung, Human Resources Manager: Since
Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world,
we first needed to [as an organization] promote core
values, diversity and inclusion while implementing
structure. Since 2015, we have developed and
implemented new policies, streamlined and improved
HR services and made organizational information more

Although Samina arrived with a wealth of experience,

accessible to employees. Ultimately, my goal was to

establishing a new department and implementing

ensure a positive work environment while continuing

structure into a historically unstructured team still

to attract, recruit and retain quality employees from

comes with its challenges. Here, Samina gives an

the market. In the HR department, we have a set of

insight into what she’s experienced since establishing

best practices we refer to regularly and will provide

the Human Resources Department in 2015.

recommendations to management when it comes to

Queenie Tse, Marketing Manager: What were your

conflict management, employee motivation and hiring.

goals when you founded the Human Resources

Queenie Tse: That is a big task. Can you tell me more

Department back in 2015?

about your approach to conflict management?

Who

Samina Fung: Conflicts can be avoided if we set

Queenie Tse: What are some of the criteria you use

reasonable expectations and communicate goals

to hire employees, or should I say, select your family

and objectives clearly to our employees. The result

members?

of facing a challenging problem is resolution and we
encourage employees to learn by taking ownership of
their conflicts. Developing our employees’ problemsolving skills leads to greater job satisfaction and
makes them more equipped to work with vendors,
partners and suppliers.

Samina Fung: Attitude and enthusiasm are very
important. Both of these qualities are contagious
and rub off on other employees and customers.
Employees who demonstrate all the qualities of
an entrepreneur are often highly successful in any
organization they enter; they are proactive, willing

Queenie Tse: What are some of the ways to motivate

to learn, help others, go the extra mile and take

employees?

ownership of their work. At TP-Link Canada, we

Samina Fung: Sometimes we see our colleagues
more than our families and we try our best to

believe everyone makes a difference and contributes
to the growth of the business.

create an inclusive environment where we support

Queenie Tse: Thank you for your time and insight into

everyone’s professional and personal goals. We

the HR department. Before we end, can you provide

encourage feedback and suggestions and celebrate

one final piece of advice to our global

milestones like birthdays, work anniversaries and

TP-Link employees?

holidays like you would with your own family. I find
team sports and activities outside of our core work
responsibilities to improve communication and
promote teamwork. We have weekly badminton
meet-ups and do fun activities like a pumpkin carving
contest at Halloween where employees can team up
with colleagues outside of their own departments and
make new friends.
61

Samina Fung: My advice would be: don’t confuse
movement with progress. We must continue to
progress and improve. Continuing to work hard and
plan [as a team] are small progressions towards a
larger organizational goal.

Who

A Mother’s Story
Tatianna Vasconcelos, TP-Link Brazil
Today I want to introduce Danielle Souza da Silva. For us, her colleagues at TP-Link Brazil, she’s our trusted call
center analyst, but outside of work she’s so much more — a remarkable woman fighting to save a
child‘ s life. This is the story of Danielle and a baby named Sandra.

When an Angel Found Home
Two years ago, one evening after Danielle arrivied
home from work, her mother showed her a newborn
baby that a neighbor had left with her. Danielle
carefully picked up the baby, cradling her in her arms.
The baby was so small and fragile. As she held the
baby close to her chest, bright eyes looked back at
her. “What an angel!”, Danielle said to herself. In that
moment, Danielle felt completely attached to the
baby. It was the beginning of a beautiful story.
That baby’s name is Sandra, now a two-year-old
infant. Sandra‘ s biological mother suffers from drug
addiction, and did not stop using drugs during the
pregnancy. Tragically, this meant that Sandra was
born premature at just seven months, with nine
different deseases including drug addiction in a public
hospital in San Paulo. With almost no blood in her
veins, she received a blood transfusion immediately
after birth. Her mother left the hospital after recovery,
abandoning the baby in the intensive care unit.
Sandra’s grandfather went looking for her. He’d heard
about his daughter going to the emergency room
and wanted to take responsibility. He appeared just in
time; the baby would have been given to the state for
adoption if he hadn’t arrived before a set date. Sandra‘
s grandfather was given temporary custody, while
Sandra stayed in intensive care for 30 days.

As a “Dinda” to the Angel
Danielle volunteered to take care of little Sandra
from the day they met. After a while, Sandra’s
grandfather asked Danielle if she would like to be
Sandra’s godmother. Danielle’s reply was an emphatic
“yes!”. Since then, Sandra spends half her days
with her grandfather and half with Danielle. Sandra’s
grandfather doesn’t have much in the way of finances,

Who

so Danielle provided food, clothing and medicines for
Sandra. She fed her, played with her, spoke to her in
soft tones, watched her as she began crawling on the
bed and made her soapy bubble baths at bath time.
She watched her take her first steps and begin to call
her “dinda”, which is godmother in Portuguese.

A Mother’s Selfless Love
One day, Sandra began vomiting. The doctor
suspected pneumonia initially, but when looking at
the X-ray scan found something very different. One
side of Sandra’s lungs was paralyzed, working at only
at 20% of its capacity. The doctor explained that
the capacity would lower further as she grows up. It
was heartbreaking news for Danielle. What’s worse,
Sandra‘ s grandfather lost his job around the same
time and had no choice but to live in another city

Tracing Roots for Her Daughter

three hours away by car from San Paulo. He brought

Danielle has searched for Sandra‘ s biological mother,

Sandra with him in the hope that the superior air

in order to know where she comes from. She tracked

quality would be good for Sandra’s health.

down the mother’s house and was crushed by what

During this period, Danielle went to see Sandra every
other week, making a six-hour round trip each time.
Meanwhile, Danielle bagan saving up money for
Sandra’s surgery. She worked harder, putting aside
most of the money for Sandra. For Danielle, Sandra
is her own daughter. A mother will do everything she
can for her baby.
On December 14th 2017, Sandra had the surgery. It
was a complex operation, taking a full eight hours,
during which Sandra’s left lung was taken out. Danielle
is looking after her, waiting for her baby to become
strong enough to leave the hospital. When that day
comes, Sandra will go home and stay with Danielle
for eight months, enough time for her to make a full
recovery.
63

she found. The girl, now 22 years old, the same age
as Danielle, has 1-year old twins. Both have the same
problem Sandra has. Their living conditions are very
poor; one baby sleeps in a crib and the other in a car
seat. They receive food via donations from a neighbor.
She refuses to accept Sandra as her daughter and
still uses drugs even after giving birth to the twins.
Danielle is a commited TP-Link worker and serves
as an inspiration for all of us. Each day she displays
a heart of purest gold, offers encouragement and
guidance to others, shows bravery in her decision
making and is a credit to the company as our bubbly
hero.

Who

Hail to the Bus Driver
Interviewee: Wu Tao, HQ General Affairs Department, edited by Layla Cai
and Karen Luo, HQ Office
Night is closing in, the last remnants of sunlight on
the horizon having been eclipsed by the regular
illumination of the streetlights. Mr. Wu still holds a firm
grip on the steering wheel, expertly pulling it to the
left, guiding his bus in a tight U-turn, back towards the
factory after the last shuttle. He switches off the lights,
cuts the engine and hands the keys to the guard in
the security booth. Another day over. On weekdays,
Mr. Wu accompanies his vehicle from dawn till dusk.
A forty kilometer route, traversed back and forth what
must be approaching ten thousand times.
“I've crossed the mountains and the seas, and I've
crossed many lives.” The lyrics to the song “Ordinary
Road”, a big hit in the Chinese pop charts, feel like
they were written just for Mr. Wu. Before this job, Mr.
Wu was in the haulage business for several years.
From Shanghai to Xinjiang, a man and his truck shared
the road for four thousand kilometers. In 2009, Mr. Wu
left his hometown of Wushan in Anhui province and
began working in Shenzhen. Introduced by his friends,

front of the TV and becoming a “couch potato” like
some office workers, Mr. Wu puts on his fitness gear
and heads to the gym.

he joined TP-link as a company shuttle bus driver, his

Introduced by our mutual colleagues in general affairs,

occupation for the last seven years.

we caught up with Mr. Wu to find out more about

Every working day from 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Mr. Wu
transports employees and items between five stops:
Building 24, Building 5, Hongfa Factory, Export Factory
and Domestic Factory. Mr. Wu even clocks up miles
at the weekends, shuttling workers doing overtime

his attitude to work, the universe and everything in
between. His relaxed, fun attitude to life is immediately
apparent; “Do what you want to and be happy doing
it”, he tells me. We ask some questions to delve a little
deeper.

between factories. He’s proud of his reliability, barely

Editor: Why did you leave your hometown of

asking for leave over the 365 days of the year.

Dangshan in Anhui province and take a job in

Statutory holidays are the only time he hangs up his

Shenzhen?

driving gloves.
Wu: I used to drive long-distance trucks, and it was
After finishing a day on the road, instead of sitting in
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risky, to be honest. My family worried when I was out

Who

at work each day. My parents asked me to quit the job,
which I did and then sold my car for some additional
cash. My sister lives in Shenzhen, so I thought I could
come over and we could take care of each other.
Editor: Was your first job in Shenzhen as a bus driver?
Wu: I drove a concrete mixer for over a year when I
first arrived here. Although the wages were high, it was
messy work shifting the cement. I’m the kind of guy

company?
Wu: Yes, I have been living in the factory dormitory
since 2011. I have my own room because I drive the
regular bus and my schedule is different from truck
drivers. Their work starts at 8 a.m., but I must get up at
6:00 a.m. every morning. Good sleep is very important
since it’s dangerous to drive a bus full of staff if I
haven’t slept well and feel tired.

who prefers to be clean and I don’t like mucky work

Editor: It’s exhausting to work over 300 days every

too much. In 2010, my colleagues recommended me

year. How do you keep yourself in such a good

to TP-Link and I thought this job would suit me. At that

condition?

time, the factory was in Honghualing Industrial Park,
and the HQ office was in the R1-B building. Only two
buses ran between the HQ office and the factory.
Editor: What’s your current job like?
Wu: I get out the door at 7:00 a.m. and follow my
morning route, going from Jiazitang Community to

Wu: Happiness and motivation are the most important
things for a worker. I have been working at TP-Link
for many years, I am familiar with everything and I feel
happy. I try my best at work and try to do things well.
Sometimes I feel tired, but I have a good mentality,
and never say things like “oh my god, I’m so tired”.

Pingshan Village before reaching Building 24 in the Hi-

Editor: As a bus driver you come across many people.

Tech Park at 8:10 a.m. I have breakfast there then set

Do you have an interesting stories?

out for the factories (Hongfa, Export and Domestic) at
8:50, arriving at almost 10:00 a.m. After a short break,
I drive back to Building 24. I get there at 11:50 a.m.,
take lunch and then have a rest until 13:30 p.m. When
it hits 13:30 p.m. it’s time to pay a visit to Building 5,
before making a run back out to the factories. I need
to run a trip every hour from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The last bus to the factory is at 7:30 p.m. After that, I’m
off work. I make eight runs per day from Building 24 to
the factory. That’s almost 300 km covered every day
from Monday to Friday.
Editor: What about your weekends?
Wu: Generally, I provide service to the Xili area on
weekends for overtime workers at the factory, both in
the morning and evening.
Editor: Is your accommodation arranged by the
65

Wu: Every time I leave the bus, I’ll ask, “Is there
anybody on the bus?” Usually there’s a few who’ve
forgotten to get off because they’ve fallen asleep,
were chatting or have been playing on their phones.
One memory still stands out in my mind. At about
8:00 p.m. one night, after I had already locked the bus,
handed in the key and taken a shower in the dormitory,
I suddenly got a call from the Administrative Section:
“Hurry up Tao! Pick up your key and get to the bus.
There’s still someone on board.”
I answered, “How could that happen? It’s 10 o’clock
now.”
“He fell asleep and just woke up…”
I burst into laughter at that point.
Editor: Does this job make you feel proud and

Who

different from other people?

your expectations for your children?

Wu: When someone asks me where I work and I say

Wu: My wife lives in Bao’an District. Because I only

TP-Link, they’ll reply “Wow! TP-link is very nice. A huge

have to make two journeys during weekends I will

company with a lot of people”. I feel so happy to hear

be free during the day. We usually have our meals

that.

together. Both of my children were born post 95s. I

Sometimes, I’ll say something good about TP-link in
my WeChat circle. For example, I’ll post a short video
to show our domestic and export factories or our
world’s No.1 status in the shipment of routers. Other
people will comment that I’m showing off again. So
yes, I am very proud indeed.
Editor: Have you changed while working at TP-link for
so many years?
Wu: I used to be mischievous and have a bit of a
short temper when I was at home, and I liked hanging
around outside. I had a lot of experience as a longdistance driver, and not all of it was positive. It’s quite
nice working here. I am a more rounded character
now. I got mad easily when I met some troubles
before, but now, I can make myself calm down.
Editor: What do you like to do after work?
Wu: The gym is my passion. After work I will go back
to the dormitory, change clothes and then do exercise
for an hour and a half. Later I will go home, take a bath
and eat dinner. I hit punchbags every day in the gym
instead of using exercise equipment. I’ve practiced
martial arts and “san da” [a military martial arts style
developed for use by the Chinese military] since I
was a child. I love to keep active and will feel sluggish
without exercise every day. My weight has remained
at 55-60 kg from 16 years old until now. Sometimes
I also like to drink and chat with my colleagues and
friends, but I never drink a lot. I won’t drink a single
drop if I’ll drive either. I have strict self-control.
Editor: How do you find time for your family? What are
66

don’t have any great expectations. It’s OK for them
to do as they like and discover things for themselves.
The post-90s children are often thought to be quite
dependent on their parents in China and so are my
children. They ask parents or others for help when
they have troubles, which wasn’t the case in my day. I
hope that they can be more independent and strong.
Editor: Do you have any big plans for the future?
Wu: Nothing special. My hometown is a so-called
"Capital of Fruit" and my family has invested in
cold storage while I also have two vehicles running
logistics operations in Dongguan, so I don’t need to
worry about the income. My family once said to me
that this work might be too tiring for me and they
wanted me to quit. My own experience is that there’s
nothing to do back home and I’m happy to do a few
more years here in Dongguan and Shenzhen because
I’m familiar with the area and have a comfortable life
here.
Though to the outsider his daily work may seem
repetitive, Mr. Wu is satisfied with the way things have
turned out and keeps his spirits high on the journey of
life. A positive attitude means he’s able to travel every
road with the same enthusiasm and self-discipline.
Editor's note:
For every TP-Linker in Shenzhen and Dongguan,
each working day begins and ends with a ride on
the company bus. These transport links make our
commuting more comfortable, convenient and safe.
The company has been providing shuttle services for
over ten years now, and has been invested more than

Who

10 million RMB every year into it. There are currently 43 drivers and four managers involved in the large-scale
operation. The bus routes cover all
TP-Link’s office locations including those in Nanshan, Guangming and Dongguan. Bus routes for daily commutes
cover almost every urban area in Shenzhen where employees reside. The easternmost stop is the Longgang
Ailian Station, while to the west you can get all the way to Bao’an Sanwei Junction. The northernmost location
you can reach is our factory in Dongguan.

Who

Become Your Own Personal Lead
Georgiy Bessalov, TP-Link Russia
These days, when you see a headline mentioning Russia and its "lead" or "unsung hero", it will most likely be
about Vladimir Putin or the anonymous hordes of Russian hackers accused of interfering with foreign election
campaigns. This article, rest assured, has nothing to do with either. It’s a brief story about a localization specialist
who, for several years now, has been expanding his horizons, following his interests in the field of marketing.

Entering the IT Industry

Never Stop Learning

In today’s Russia, people are crazy about technology.

People might ask – how could you do such similar

The internet is essential, and the IT industry is hip and

work for four years and not get bored? As far as I

vogue. In 2013, when a former colleague contacted

am concemed, I found the solution in professional

me and asked if I would like to work for a company

development and the accumulation of knowledge in

that makes Wi-Fi devices, I jumped at the chance.

marketing and management. I decided to become

At that time, I had been working as an interpreter

"my own personal lead". It motivated me to take a

at the notary office in the center of Moscow and

postgraduate course in project management in 2014,

played regularly in a band. I remembered how I had

a course in creative writing in 2016, and a course in

bought my first Wi-Fi router back in 2007, and how

digital marketing in 2017. If I plan one for 2018, it will

I was fascinated by the technology that transferred

probably be web-design or a programming language.

hundreds of gigabytes of data over the air as if by
magic. I thought I should join the trend and discover
more.

New knowledge and adding to my work experience
have led me to two conclusions: one should never
stop learning, and that entrepreneurial knowledge

I started as a localization specialist, taking advantage

and soft skills are crucial. New knowledge allows

of my major in linguistics. For the four years I’ve

you to find settings for your ideas, which may grow

worked at TP-Link, I can recall numerous documents

into valuable projects (especially if they focus on

I have painstakingly translated; at first it was mostly

implementation of a new technology or business

firmware and technical documentation, then later

process optimization), and soft skills allow you to

came website content and PR copy. When I count up

build stronger ties with colleagues and partners. In my

how many pages I’ve written up till today – it would be

opinions, well-established communication is the key

the equivalent of all four volumes of War and Peace.

to joint efficiency.

Who

Not Only a Localization Specialist
Applying a proactive mindset allowed me to eventually

to configure Mail Chimp – a free newsletter service

turn my focus to digital marketing work in the

which can track subscriber behavior and engagement,

company. For several years I have been responsible

plan future mailing and produce easy-to-read yet

for updating content on the website : adding new

informative reports. Several more features have been

models, updating product resources, changing

added in the areas of event registration and online

banners and various other information. I got interested

reputation management. Equally valuable have been

in searching and applying different internet marketing

the suggestions I’ve received on how to improve the

tools – I focused on e-news, web analytics, website

TP-Link Russia website and the local Partner

usability, SEO and online reputation management.

Portal. Additionally, the website support from the

Within the last six months I’ve been able to get a good
grip of Google Analytics to monitor the behavior of
the website users. Besides ensuring that their number
is increasing every year, it has also allowed me to

team in the headquarters cannot be passed without
mention (guys, you are great!). Most of the above was
beyond my regular content localization duties – and
this made it more challenging and captivating.

monitor how many people visit the newly launched

So, what's the moral of this story? In Russia, there’s

promo page dedicated to the Archer series. To

a proverb – live a century, learn a century. This is

improve the process of sending e-news I was able

the fundamental principle for those who want to be

Who

proactive and become a "lead" for him or herself. I
once read an article in Scientific American, explaining
four habits that improve performance and motivation:
challenge yourself, think creatively, do things the hard
way and network. This attitude has helped me for
sure. I am coming to the end of my diploma in digital
marketing, which focuses on website promotion
strategies. I hope that the knowledge gained can
find fruitful application in my current work. And for all
TP-Linkers, I wish you the same – find your source
of knowledge and inspiration and strive for the best
results possible!

Who

It’s Not Just Santa’s Elves Working
Overtime in Q4
Emma Lattimer, TP-Link UK
While you’re picking the perfect gift for loved ones,

happy. However, Kenny and his crew have to think

the Warehouse Team are picking Black Friday and

one step further down the supply chain to the

Christmas orders ready for the busiest shopping

requirements of the retailer or e-commerce platform.

season of the year. With Amazon offering same-day
deliveries and a general expectation that all online
orders arrive next day, spare a thought for the people
who make this shopping magic happen.

Take pallets, for example. Surprisingly, not all pallets
are the same. Many of our e-commerce and retail
customers have different and very specific pallet
requirements that TP-Link has to accommodate.

Under the watchful eye of Kenny Rice, a six-strong UK

This results in a massive amount of manual picking,

Warehouse Team receive, process, pick and dispatch

restickering and of course repacking before we

between six and eight containers each week. With

can fulfil each order. By reviewing and optimising

more than 200 SKUs (stock keeping units) to keep

processes, the Warehouse Team is carefully calibrated

track of, often with similar SKU codes, the team is

to ensure that each order is correct and reaches the

a well-oiled machine that processes lorry loads

distributor within the pre-agreed 1-hour delivery slot.

of products every day. At first glance, it may seem
straightforward to keep our four main distributors
71

“We are the final piece of the puzzle. The sales teams
generate the orders and it’s up to us to fulfill them so

Lives

the Accounts Department can send the all-important

transparency, so that with a few key strokes Kenny

invoice”, Kenny explains. “If we make mistakes, it has

and the team can accurately track the whereabouts of

a knock-on effect throughout the supply chain which

any given consignment. This level of visibility means

could result in empty shelves at Maplin, Tesco or one

that valuable stock can be located instantly and

of the other high street stores. Ultimately, the job is

distributors given an accurate time of arrival in the

about customer satisfaction. Experience shows that

event of a problem.

keeping our processes simple and transparent can
dramatically reduce errors and if there is a mistake,
it can be easily rectified. At the end of the day we do
what it takes to make sure the customers get their
orders.”

To alleviate some of the pressures associated with
the massive increase in order volume during the Q4
peak, Kenny plans to implement a shift system which
would a) increase the number of hours in the working
day, b) provide flexible working options and c) ensure

As testament to Kenny’s careful planning and

the team remain fresh and motivated during this

attention to detail, in the last 12 months there have

particularly demanding time of year.

been just 5 mis-picks out of 3,261 shipments.
Considering that there are multiple deliveries leaving
the site in Reading each day, that represents a
miniscule margin of error. It’s this level of service
and commitment that builds strong and profitable
relationships with our customers.

“There’s no doubt that Kenny and the team are on
Santa’s nice list this year. They’ve done an amazing
job processing hundreds-of-thousands of pounds
worth of stock and making sure it gets to the right
customer at the right time. Without their dedication
and attention to detail, the knock-on effect would be

Regarding the Warehouse Team, Distribution Channel

massive, not least on timely invoicing. I’m sure they’ll

Manager, Kieran Vineer, said “Getting the right

get a visit from Santa this year”, commented Will Liu,

product mix to the right place, at the right time and

Country Manager, TP-Link UK Ltd.

on the right pallets is a logistical feat. And distributors
recognise the complexity of the task, especially
during the peak period in November and December
when orders are at their highest. They especially
appreciate our flexibility in offering direct customer
shipments, a service that our UK competitors cannot
offer at competitive prices.”

Out of the Box: To build strong working relationships
and encourage genuine friendships that smooth the
cogs of a well-oiled machine, the team make a point
of going out together once a month. Conversation
may cover work issues in an informal setting but
generally the talk always drifts back to one topic:
football. The friendly rivalries between fans supporting

In his quest for continual improvement and cost

teams as diverse as Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester

savings, Kenny regularly reviews the service levels

United and Reading F.C. makes for lengthy animated

from suppliers and internal processes including

conversations.

health and safety procedures across the company.
Through this review process he has negotiated an
exclusive contract with a single hauler. Price was not
the only driving factor; Palletways also provide 100%

Lives

An Encounter with the Kitten Family
Zhu Haiming, R&D
For new employees, the dining hall of the Fifth

kittens to the corner of the staircase, then bask in the

Building in Shenzhen only exists in folklore. For more

warmth of the concrete platform under the banana

experienced staff such as myself, pangs of nostalgia

leaf. The two kittens would either play with each other

are still common when we think back to those good

or suck milk from their mother’s wizened breasts. The

old days.

mother is a dragon li breed, with milky white, slender

The Liu Qian restaurant is no more, but the tables
and chairs remain, a constant reminder of the
banter shared among the piping hot dishes. Like
most colleagues, I loved having my breakfast there,
catching up with the latest news and enjoying a
pleasant chat before the start of a busy day.
After the restaurant went, I assumed the area would
remain undisturbed, with only the scuttle of a rat or
cockroach breaking the silence occasionally. One
otherwise unremarkable morning though, everything
changed. Something was stirring in the dining hall, as
three figures loomed into view. This is the story I want
to tell. What was in the hall? Why were they making a
commotion? And how did they capture my heart?
OK, so I exaggerated a bit when I said commotion, for
they were actually very quiet. A louder noise source
was me in my excitement to find them - a mother cat
with her two kittens. They were lying under a banana
leaf at the staircase, enjoying the warmth of the
sunshine.
Since my serendipitous discovery of their shelter,
a precious haven in vagrant lives, I couldn’t help
but observe the family through a window from the
second floor in my quieter moments. After a week’s
observation, I had their daily routine pretty well sussed
out. Every morning, the mother would lead the two

limbs that remind me of a ballet dancer. One kitten
closely resembles the mother, while the other kitten
has orange fur, perhaps taking after the father. The
orange kitten was slightly stronger than the other.
Considering their housing situation, neither had a
chance of becoming plump. I read later that a female
cat usually gives birth to a litter of five to eight kittens,
which made me wonder about the others. I couldn’t
imagine what this mother had been through, but knew
she must have had some distressing experiences.
Each day I found myself stopping by after breakfast,
watching them with endless curiosity. Sometimes
the mother’s eyes would dart around, meeting mine
for an instant. I could see that a wondering life meant
extra alertness. I didn’t dare to come closer, for fear
of frightening them away. I could see perseverance in
the mother’s gentle eyes. They could survive without
my help, thanks to her dedication.
What’s the biggest threat for vagrants in Shenzhen?
It’s not food shortages, but typhoons, which regularly
tear through the region in the summer months. The
day arrived when typhoon Hato broke the peace. I was
at the office when it happened, and couldn’t help but
worry about my feline friends. Were they OK? Did they
have shelter?
I knew better than anyone that the exposed staircase

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wouldn’t offer protection from a heavy storm. Wind

so intimate and natural. Finally though, I knew the

hit the window like ping pong balls, and rain drops the

time for action had come. I could bear it no more! I

size of beans were pelting the glass behind me, with

bounded down the stairs and scooped up the kitten,

a sound like a drummer striking his kit. I felt as if the

lifting it from the depths of hell. I dried its body with

rain drops were hitting the back of my head, again and

tissues in the dining hall. To my surprise, the little

again.

kitten wasn’t afraid of me at all, or maybe just had no

I could wait no more. I dashed downstairs, just in
time to see the mother dart through the fence,
with the orange kitten dangling from her jaws. The

strength left to feel fear. I put it in a paper box hidden
at the corner of the stairs, and decided to take it
home after work.

other kitten was left behind. Poor thing! Without the

The kitten’s fighting spirit surprised me. Later that

mother’s protection, rain drops mercilessly beat its

night it seemed somewhat revived, and even started

undeveloped body, as if trying to blow it down the

meowing shyly. The following morning, the mother

stairs. It didn’t seem to notice what was going on, after

and her orange kitten were nowhere to be seen.

all, it had only entered the world barely a month ago. It
couldn’t have been more obvious that this poor kitten
had been abandoned by its mother. In a time of grave
danger, the mother was faced with a choice, and was
experienced enough to rationally choose the stronger
kitten and therefore the one with higher survival rate,
escaping from danger without turning back.
Finally, the lingering kitten seemed to wake up to
its situation. It was being battered by bitter winds,
drenched with rain, and more importantly, was
separated from its mother. Out of fear, it shivered,
trembled, and hopelessly called out for its long-gone
mother. A strong gust of wind blew through. The kitten
was thrown down the stairs. On its way, a sharp piece
of steel ripped its ear, which was instantly bleeding.
It struggled to stand up, caught between two broken
concrete slabs. Weak as it was, it couldn’t even open
its eyes, but still its mouth opened, as if silently calling
to its mother. It was heart wrenching stuff.
I’d watched this family for the past two weeks without
ever interfering, not wanting to intrude on something

Update: The kitten made a full recovery from its ordeal
and now lives happily in the author’s home. It hasn’t
been out in any more storms.

Lives

Triumph in the Skies
Yuriy Polishchuk and Ralph Zhou, TP-Link Ukraine
“Hey Ralph?”
“What’s up?”
“I have an idea. I want to make TP-Link fly.”
“Let’s do it!”
I am Yuriy Polishchuk, head of the Distribution
Department at TP-link Ukraine since 2012. But that
isn’t what I want to talk about today. Today I want
to introduce you to the other me, the creator of
unmanned aerial vehicles. These things aren’t just
pretty models; the real deal is a complex piece of
engineering, able to take off at any moment, reaching
up to the skies.
As an experienced fanatic (I took up the hobby
several years ago), I have built my own workshop,
crammed with every component a vehicle could
possibly need, and complete with 3D printers. In the
early days I learnt by consulting specialist websites
and forums, poring over the information I found there
to discover how to realize my designs. Now, the vast
majority of my aerial vehicles are designed and built
by me alone. From the initial ideas, system design,
component printing and assembly, to the final coding
and debugging, everything is done by me. They are
complicated projects, which require a systematic
approach. Each vehicle usually takes several months
or longer from concept to flight. Others may think it’s
boring and time-consuming, but for me it’s heaven.
When I gaze up at one of my planes gliding with a
backdrop of blue sky, the excitement I feel more than
repays my efforts.
It’s no mean feat to fly these contraptions. Crashes
and wreckages are common. I still remember my first

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plane. For a magnificent 45 seconds it soared like an

linked a Linux micro-computer and preconfigured

eagle, and then, like a kite let loose, plummeted down,

camera with our TP-Link network adapter system.

breaking itself into pieces along with my heart. But

We received real-time video signals through the

where there’s a will, there’s a way. With continuous

new system after initializing it. So far so good. But

learning and a little perseverance, I became more and

after I moved around the corner, out of range of

more adept at designing and manufacturing. These

the antenna, some frames went missing and the

days I can independently create aerial planes with

feed became laggy, illustrating the limitations of a

up to 2 meter wingspans, and have even had a go at

directional antenna. The poor performance in closed

quadcopters. What’s more, I can write code to guide

spaces shouldn’t be too big an issue though. In a wide

them to any destination through GPS and an autopilot

outdoor space, a directional antenna can cover longer

cruising system.

distances and gives wider coverage, which should let

I’ve also worked out how to view a live HD video

us receive real-time transmission of the video signals.

feed from the air. My first thought was to simply buy

The Saturday after the trial, Ralph and I hit the road,

a ready-made system. The low end off-the-shelf

ready to make our maiden flight. We drove out of Kyiv

standard analog solutions are low quality though,

and headed to an open area. We got lucky with the

while HD video equipment is crazily expensive.

weather - perfect flying conditions, with just the right

There had to be a better way. And that’s when it

amount of wind. We finished the assembly on the

occurred to me to try Wi-Fi. After much research and

grassland, strapping our antenna to the right wing with

experimentation I settled on a workable solution:

rubber ties and glue. To receive the signal, we placed
a directional antenna on the roof of my car where the

-On the transmitter side (in the air), TP-Link’s very own

coverage should be best.

TL-WN722N wireless adapter with a 9 dBi antenna
is connected to preconfigured small portable Linux

After a double check of the body, our plane was ready

computer with a camera.

for takeoff. It took to the air gracefully and began its

-On the receiver side (on the ground), another TL-

TP-Link logo on the grassland - we planned to take a

WN722N wireless adapter is connected to a powerful

picture of it from the air to put our Wi-Fi solution to the

homemade antenna, and linked to my notebook

test. After stabilizing the vehicle, I started to steer it

computer running Linux. TL-WN722N’s standard

over the flag area via the remote controller. To catch a

antenna just wasn’t going to cut it here for the kind of

better angle for a photograph, I made several passes.

range I needed, so I set about constructing my own

Our computer started to receive signal from up above

out of aluminum and copper. By taking into account

in real-time. As expected, the transmission distance

the wavelength of the

of the directional antenna increased dramatically in

Wi-Fi signals, I was able to calculate the optimum

this open area. Even out at a kilometer, we could still

dimensions for receiving the waves. I could now

achieve a clear connection without delays.

watch aerial footage from over 2 km away in beautiful
definition.
To check the efficiency of the Wi-Fi solution, I did
a
trial in our office before Ralph and I headed out. I
76

journey. Ralph placed a flag with the

Lift off!
Our TP-Link eyes in the sky provided us with a
spectacular view. A distant forest, some luxury

Lives

housing, a swimming pool in someone’s yard — all

As proud TP-Linkers, we couldn’t accept a blurry

was displayed in front of us.

picture as our final one. So we decided to fly again.

After a while I set the plane to loiter in autopilot
cruising mode, then passed the controller to Ralph.
“Try it! Try it!”
In this mode the plane can keep a steady course by
itself, but the pilot can take over at any time with the
remote controller by sending an overlapping signal. I
wanted to give the fresh hand a chance to control it
while still guaranteeing the safety of the plane.
Ralph was a little nervous at first, making tentative
movements with his thumbs. But after several minutes
of observing the plane’s responses, he became a little
braver and started to attempt some maneuvers. From
the trees, to the field, to the houses the plane went —
his eyes fixed on it, expressing nerves and excitement
in equal measure. I could tell he loved it.
It’s a successful landing that really puts the icing on
the cake for a flying session. Landing is by far the most
difficult part, and most crashes happen during this
critical stage. Even an experienced pilot can get nervous,
their hands shaking as they grip the controller anxiously.
I made some adjustments to the controls and then
started the landing process, moving the aircraft in slow

To avoid over-exposure, this time we would place the
flag on the rooftop of my car. The higher contrast
between the light flag color and a black car, instead of
the green grass, may just do the trick we reasoned.
I also wanted to optimize the Linux camera for our
particular environment. Unfortunately, a sequence of
system bugs rendered the camera useless even for
normal usage. I kept coding till the 3:00 in the morning
to recover the system.
There were other differences for the second flight too.
We didn’t have the computer to check the footage
this time and the sunshine was so dazzling that we
weren’t able to check the camera’s status light either.
We decided to push ahead anyway and see what we
came out with.
To capture a clearer picture, I attempted to reduce
the speed of the plane as much as possible, even
hovering in the wind for a short time.
We drove back to my flat immediately after the flight,
eager to view the result. We were still anxious about
the uncertain status of camera as we opened the
video files on computer. We got lucky again.

circles, spiraling downwards in the same way an eagle

And this time, we had pictures from a whole bunch of

comes to ground. It took great patience. This time the

different angles.

plane landed on the grass without a speck of damage to
the plane’s body.
Perfect!
Our first flight had gone well, but we still had to check
the video footage to find the picture we wanted. And
that’s where we ran into a problem. The white part
of the logo on the flag had become a blur because
the light was too bright, making the TP-Link letters
indecipherable.
78

Lives

Life Through a Lens
Anjol Zhou, Networking BU Marketing Department
There are moments in life that raise the corners of our mouths a little, as we break into a smile. I used to think
about how to preserve these images, whether intentional or unintentional. Fortunately, as a photographer
and image editing lover, I can put beauty in my pocket via a lens.

The Spice of Life
I have a group of like-minded friends with whom I
make amusing video clips in our spare time. Intriguing
ideas are regularly thrown around and duly recorded
as they come up. The dialogues and plots emerge
organically and are often very distinctive, tending to
thrill and build suspense. After a brainstorm, we will
promptly divide the script into scenarios, which will be
presented through frames.
We once made an adaption of the Cantonese classic
Love off The Cuff, in which the actress Yu Chunjiao
and the actor Zhang Zhiming pretend to be Japanese
and Korean lovers to escape fines. In order to get
closer to the original film, we sourced costumes that
were as authentic as possible, even dressing the
female lead as Madonna in a golden corset for one
part. The male actor looked convincing while sporting
a police uniform; however, his strong northeast accent
and less than fluent Cantonese gave him away. In
order to recreate the well-known police chase scene,
we had some fun tearing through the empty streets
in full costume, without a thought for how strange we
must have looked.

Photographer Anjol Zhou

heart”. When discussing the details of the play, we
put ourselves in the shoes of a maid who wants
to become the lady of the house by any means. In
line with the principle "do not deviate away from the

Last year, we attempted to film a thriller, The Maid,

main story line", and that you should "do the horrible

which was written, directed and cast by ourselves. It

things", we composed a script so dark that it gave us

was a brand new experience for us. There is a saying,

the chills even as we put it down on paper. In order

“the only thing more terrible than ghosts is the human

to create a creepy atmosphere, we fixed the location

Lives

at an abandoned factory in Guangzhou. The factory
corridor is long, the wall is mottled, and the damp
floor is dotted with moss. We entered in trepidation.
Although the individuals cast as the main characters
were chosen from our circle of friends and weren’t
professionally trained, they performed admirably. For

Let Photos Speak for You
I have an idea that I’d like to hold a photography
exhibition in ten years’ time, so that I can convey my
attitude to life and share my experiences through
images. I'm currently working on taking portraits

example, the maid was played by my friend’s sister,

of everyone around me. Whenever the scene is

who wore long straight black hair. When fully made

interesting, I will press the shutter button to capture

up and in costume, her glance made the hairs on our

the moment without a second thought. Many

necks stand on end.

photographers have a revered artist in their heart, and
I’m no different. Xiao Quan, who is known as the best

Whether imitating classics or creating short amusing

portrait photographer in China, is a master of life and

videos, we can find surprises and joy in ordinary life.

a hunter who captures light and shadow, recording

Everyone is the director of his own life, and the fact

the beauty around him.

that we can experience and record ours is the best
thing in the world.

I am fond of traveling and taking in the scenery of the
journey. My hobby has realized my ambition to go to
Tibet, culminating in my shots of the “Snow Mountain
of Sunrise”. There is a movie from my collection that
still captures my imagination called One Mile Above,

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which tells the story of a young man named Zhang

came to the mysterious Meili Snow Mountain, the

Shuhao. He suffers the misfortune of his brother dying

Snow Mountain of Sunrise located in Deqin County.

in his senior year. During this confused time, he come
across his brother’s cycling diary. He learnt that his
brother’s ambition was to ride the Yunnan-Tibet road
and decides to realize his brother’s unfulfilled dream.
Before that, he has never cycled.

On the road to Tibet, I'd heard stories of a Meri Snow
Mountain. Although not as lofty as Mount Everest and
the Himalayas, no one has succeeded in reaching the
peak. One mountaineering team disappeared without
trace after attempting to conquer it. A few years later,

Although the movie was released three years ago, the

their frozen corpses were finally found. We’d heard

panorama of the snow-capped mountains still brings

a tale about Meri on our way to the natural wonder;

the movie to my mind. The film One Mile Above gave

although all visitors to Tibet wish to see the Meri

me an idea to do that trip to Tibet and record the

Snow Mountain with their own eyes, many never do.

journey with snaps. I was a bit timid but wanted to

One who sees this majestic natural wonder covered

prove myself, so I invited two friends to come along

by sunlight for himself will have good luck for a whole

who had a sense of adventure. We started our Tibetan

year.

voyage on July 11, 2013.

When we arrived at Deqin County it was already 7 p.m.

National highway 210, better known as The Yunnan-

With the light dying, we knew we’d lost the chance

Tibet Line, stretches 2320 km from Kunming to Lhasa.

to see it for today. Everyone was exhausted by the

The first stop was Dali, Yunnan, followed by Lijiang

journey so we collapsed gratefully onto our hotel beds

after 145km → Zhongdian after another 152 km →

to recharge ourselves. Morning came, and with it an

Deqin 103 km → Yanjing 111 km → Mangkang 359 km

unbelievably dense fog. I was enveloped by it, feeling

→ Busu 450 km→ Nyingchi 406 km → and finally
Lhasa. After a 13-day, 4,980-kilometer journey, we
82

buried. We squeezed to the front of the crowd where
a group of tourists were gathered, asking an old chap,

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"Is this Meri Snow Mountain really so magical? Is a

giant gold mine seemed to have been unveiled before

glimpse of the Snow Mountain of Sunrise so rare?" He

us thanks to the color of the early morning light. I

replied in a regretful tone. "I have been here twice. This

felt so privileged to encounter and photograph this

is the third time, but I’m yet to see it." With this news I

elusive scenery at last. At that moment, I was the

slinked back to the hotel feeling dejected.

luckiest guy in the world, and I really believed that luck

We reluctantly made plans to leave for the next
spot: Salt Village. However, with our bags packed

would continue for a whole year, just as we had been
told.

and supplies ready, one of my fellow travelers

When I press the shutter, the camera lens can record

began to develop a nasty headache caused by the

every changing moment, all the pains and joys. There

altitude which refused to subside in a hurry. With our

are stories behind every video and photo. Maybe it’s

companion out of action for now, we decided to wait

about a journey of the soul or a fantastic experience.

it out, spending one more night in the mystical Deqin

Maybe it’s a feeling evoked when I walk down the

County.

street and find an interesting shadow on the wall. The

On the morning of the third day, I was awoken by
shouts. I had a vague recollection of hearing "Tashi
delek, Tashi delek..." We got up to see what had
happened. It turned out that the evasive Snow
Mountain of Sunrise had decided to make an
appearance at last. And what a sight it was. I roused
my friends in excitement then went back to the
scenery, capturing the dramatic moment with my
camera. It was glorious, taking the breath away. A
83

camera reminds me that I need to experience more,
taste more, follow my heart and create and appreciate
beauty in daily life.

Editor-In-Chief:
Ann Zhou (ann.zhou@tp-link.com)

Deputy Editor-In-Chief:
Anthony Merrington (anthony.merrington@tp-link.com.cn)

Executive Eidtors:
Jianxiong He (hejianxiong@tp-link.com.cn)
Isaac Xin (isaac.xin@tp-link.com)
Huiling You (youhuiling@tp-link.com.cn)
Mandy Sun (mandy.sun@tp-link.com)
Karen Luo (karen.luo@tp-link.com)
Estela Ji (estela.ji@tp-link.com)
Layla Cai (layla.cai@tp-link.com)
April Yang (april.yang@tp-link.com)

Designer:
Shangchen Zhang (chen.zhang@tp-link.com)

Website Engineer:
Jimmy Chen (jimmy.chen@tp-link.com)

Dear TP-Linkers,
If you would like to share your own writing, photography or suggestions for our next
issue, please email us at pulse@tp-link.com. We look forward to working together
on future articles, as we continue to tell the stories that matter most to TP-Linkers.
Sincerely,
The Pulse Editing Team

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