Entering China without entity delays

ORBCOMM is a global leader in industrial IoT, helping organizations improve visibility, efficiency, safety, and sustainability across operations spanning shipping, trucking, cold chain logistics, and connected asset management. Customers count on the platform to track assets they cannot afford to lose sight of.

When ORBCOMM identified China as a strategic market, the question wasn’t whether to be there — it was how. The company had no prior in-country presence, no local network, and no template to follow.

ORBCOMM homepage
ORBCOMM is an industrial IoT company providing satellite and cellular connectivity, asset tracking, and fleet management solutions for businesses worldwide.

The brief: one hire, one country, no margin for error

The role itself was technically demanding: an Install Experience Specialist responsible for supporting customer deployments, traveling across APAC, and representing ORBCOMM on the ground. A weak hire wouldn’t just delay deployments — it would damage the brand at the moment of market entry.

For a first hire in a new market, the bar is unforgiving. The candidate has to be technically credible, culturally aligned, and able to operate independently from day one. There is no team to lean on, because the team doesn’t exist yet.

Local nuance is what most international hiring providers miss

The trap in entering a new market is treating it like a market you already know. Compensation benchmarks, candidate availability, expectation-setting in interviews — all of it shifts country to country.

RemotePeople works in China through owned local infrastructure and a recruitment team with direct in-market expertise. That meant ORBCOMM could trust the guidance on what “good” looked like — not just for the role spec, but for the candidate experience and the offer process.

The result: a strong hire who’s already moved the dial

ORBCOMM hired a strong individual who, in the client’s own words, has already made a significant impact. The Recruitment + EOR engagement also meant ORBCOMM could employ the new hire compliantly without first standing up a Chinese entity — keeping the focus on the deployment, not the legal setup.

The Results
First hire in China The first ORBCOMM employee in country, with no prior local presence
APAC-wide remit Role covers customer deployments and travel across APAC
One partner, two services Recruitment and EOR delivered together — no entity setup required
Significant impact at speed Hire described by ORBCOMM as already making a significant impact

Our overall experience working with your team has been excellent. This was our first hire in China, and entering a completely new market was uncharted territory for us. You provided invaluable guidance throughout the process, helping us navigate local nuances with confidence. Beyond the market expertise, the quality of candidates you presented was outstanding, and we successfully hired a strong individual who has already made a significant impact.

Emilie Brown Talent Acquisition Team Lead, ORBCOMM

The Bottom Line

A first hire in a new market is the highest-leverage hire a company will make in that country. It sets the bar for the next hire, the tone for the local culture, and the credibility of the platform with local customers.

ORBCOMM treated it as such — and chose a partner who could match the seriousness of the brief with local expertise and a single integrated workflow for hiring and employment. That’s what enabled the business to enter the market at the speed it needed.

Planning your first hire in a new market? Get a free proposal from RemotePeople.