The development of customer-driven technology and customized solutions is essential as we strive to become a global leader in today's rapidly changing beauty market. The Customer Technology Team listens to customers and does its level best with a challenging spirit in this regard. Here we introduce you to the Customer Technology Team, which has contributed to technological growth of Amorepacific for a beautiful future.

Amorepacific has led the beauty market by offering a new paradigm of beauty. What underpins our leadership is the belief that we must maintain a competitive edge in science and technology. Founded in 2007, our Customer Technology Team inherited this belief of Amorepacific. It is responsible for internal and external communication using technology. To go into detail, it grasps constant changes and trends in the world of technology and shares them with the R&D team to promote direct/indirect external communication with the R&D assets of Amorepacific. It explores and discovers technologies required for the growth of Amorepacific, and designs and implements strategies to bring them into Amorepacific as needed.

In other words, the Customer Technology Team seeks newness. The team itself was quite sensational when it was first organized. It was allocated to the HQ building instead of the research center, though it was affiliated with the R&D Center (Unit) with members of different backgrounds, both researchers and marketers. Their diverse expertise covered cosmetics, bio, food, business management, psychology, education and health. The team recently recruited members who studied data science. In short, diversity is an integral part of the team. The many different perspectives of team members contribute greatly to discovering and developing customer-oriented technology.

"The Customer Technology Team is split into two parts: Technology Intelligence and Customer Intelligence. Technology Intelligence involves analysis of technical trends and technology used to make customized cosmetics. Most members are researchers majoring in natural sciences and engineering. Customer Intelligence, on the other hand, works out strategies and analyzes data and retail channels to develop contents for customers by working together with members who have different backgrounds, knowledge and skills."

Team members are individually assigned to a project, but attend meetings together as a rule. It facilitates Group Genius, which helps realize true creative potential through collaboration. Something unexpected, something creative can always emerge from free discussion and the interaction of members, even though their expertise may not be related at all.

"All members of the team go through sources of information available, including science magazines, books and online news, to stay up to date with the latest technology. We have a meeting every day to send at least three important topics to members of the R&D Unit every morning via e-mail. We conduct discussions, report on a weekly and monthly basis, and explore content that's worth developing."

Knowledge is power. Team members share their knowledge, exchange their views with an open mind and communicate freely with each other. This attitude of team members is the greatest driving force behind future-oriented R&D.

The deregulation of Korean customized cosmetic products earlier this year has led to the growth of the related market. Amorepacific will unveil its own customized cosmetics this year. The Customer Technology Team has been working on the customized cosmetics project over the last three years to offer higher quality products and services.

Amorepacific needs to take a more careful approach in order to prove itself as the most reliable contents provider in the new customized cosmetics market.

"Our genetic analysis and customized solution project began two years ago and we expect to see the result by next year. The smart cosmetics project, which started one year ago, is currently in the prototype stage. We also operate a skin DB system (tentatively named AP Bio-Bank) to collect data of skin diagnosis from Amorepacific's nationwide retail channel. This is part of the pipeline for a year-by-year technology based service. Everything may seem to work on its own, but they all are directed toward customers. It is our sole goal to fully understand customers and provide them with the most personalized solutions possible."

The efforts of Customer Technology Team have come to fruition and one of its fruits is the IOPE BIO LAB, which was relocated to Myeongdong, Seoul, Korea in April for R&D and the study of customer contact points. It provides a skin diagnosis service as well as customized skin solutions with the goal of establishing a culture of taking customized skin solutions through regular skin checkups.

IOPE BIO LAB is a place dedicated to research; the world's first and only research center located in a downtown area with researchers in-residence. It listens and reflects the voice of customers into researching and developing products, while providing services using a system designed to measure and consult customers with the help of reliable experts. It operates 100% through advance reservations, accepting about 200 customers on the 20th of every month. It was fully booked within just 4-5 minutes after opening.

"Amorepacific is a market leader in creating a new paradigm of beauty and we always have competitors trying to keep up with our technological advancement. What we need to do is take our own line with leading-edge technology. At the same time, we have to develop and improve the quality of contents, such as IOPE BIO LAB."

The service infrastructure for skin diagnosis like IOPE BIO LAB will be the technological framework for the new customized cosmetics market. That is because accurate skin diagnosis should be made to provide the best possible solutions to individual customers. The structure of the beauty market will change. Up until now, customers have been offered a range of options by beauty companies, but in the future, customers will take control of the market. It also corresponds with the purchasing behavior of the millennial generation.

"The whole market structure, from store management to manufacture, will change. In the future, there may not be display of products in store; we will formulate and provide products as customers ask, right on the spot. Customers will have the sole right of choice."

R&D in the future will be about empowering customers to make their own cosmetics based on guidelines given by companies, as they cook according to a given recipe. In other words, the service will be completely customer-oriented, offering what's best for customers, their skin, taste and preferences, instead of selling "good" famous products. "Customers are like the North Star: they show the direction to which we should go. It is our team's vision to continue our work, making solutions satisfying customer expectations."

The Customer Technology Team is working to prepare a beautiful future. The team knows what really matters in the rapidly changing business environment of today: customer orientation is as important as going fast. The team continues to explore an undiscovered world and bring about innovation with strong belief and vision.