2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 127 The Company Founder Under 20

Huzhou, Changxin County, Economic and Technological Development Zone.

Located in northern Zhejiang Province, it takes about three hours to drive from Beicang, and then a little further west, you enter Anhui Province.

Two cars, a group of seven people. Apart from Zhang Xupeng, who was just there for show, Tan Jincheng brought Sun Yuming, Lin Yumin, and Wu Zhenping, as well as two ordinary salesmen.

In terms of interpersonal skills, Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping are much better than Tan Jincheng. However, when it comes to vision and market perspective, the two, who have always been limited to small cities, are definitely not as good as Tan Jincheng.

The two complement each other. The strategy for this visit and consultation was that Tan Jincheng would take overall control, while Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping would take care of the details that were not taken into account.

As for Sun Yuming, after Tan Jincheng learned that he was interested in the marketing department, he also brought him along to learn and broaden his horizons.

This was something that had been agreed upon when Tan Jincheng persuaded Sun Yuming to work for him. Sun Yuming would work as his assistant for a period of time during the early stages of the project, and later, if Sun Yuming had something he wanted to do or a department he wanted to join, Tan Jincheng would give him that opportunity.

"Is this the road?" Zhang Xupeng asked, leaning out of his car window as he saw Tan Jincheng suddenly stop his car.

"It should be. Let me make a call and ask."

These days, although in-car navigation systems have implemented city electronic map service systems, they all use offline download service mode, and the maps cannot be updated in a timely manner. Plus, you have to pay for KLD (Knowledge of NavInfo)!

Therefore, it is unrealistic to rely entirely on maps when driving in an unfamiliar city. It is common to make mistakes. Tan Jincheng often made mistakes on city roads when he was on a business trip.

After the call connected and it was confirmed that they hadn't gone to the wrong place, the two cars continued driving forward and soon arrived at the gate of a factory building that covered a vast area.

The entrance is simply decorated, with an electric gate and a low wall on the side, on which are written the words "Strive for Environmentally Friendly Power". Next to it is a guardhouse, which is almost exactly the same as the specifications of Flash Auto Industry.

Sun Yuming got out of the car and walked towards the guardhouse. A moment later, the electric gate slowly opened, and a man who looked to be around 30 years old followed Sun Yuming with a smile as he slowly walked towards the car.

Seeing the BMW door open and Tan Jincheng preparing to get out, the middle-aged man quickly stepped forward: "Are you Mr. Tan Jincheng? Hello, I am Mr. Sun's secretary, my name is Ma Xiangfeng."

"Hello, Secretary Ma, I am Tan Jincheng," Tan Jincheng said, extending his hand.

"Mr. Tan, you can drive the car into the factory area, and I'll lead the way," Ma Xiangfeng replied with a smile.

Tan Jincheng said "okay" and instructed Sun Yuming to follow Ma Xiangfeng. Then he got back into the car. The two cars slowly drove in through the gate. Rows of factory buildings came into view. The factory area was very quiet. Occasionally, workers in factory uniforms would push small forklifts past on the road.

"Hmm, it seems we haven't made any factory uniforms yet. We can have Zhang Haiping find someone to produce a batch. Making factory uniforms really seems necessary; it makes things look much more professional."

In fact, Tan Jincheng didn't particularly like factory uniforms. Back in his school days, he especially hated wearing school uniforms because everyone's clothes looked the same and they were particularly ugly. The main problem was that these things were incredibly expensive.

Tan Jincheng still remembers that even though his family wasn't particularly poor, the first time he bought an expensive set of clothes was his junior high school uniform. In an era when clothes generally cost between 10 and 30 yuan, a set of uniforms cost him 65 yuan.

When Zhang Suzhi brought the clothes home, she was shocked when she touched the fabric. That winter, Tan Lihua bought Tan Jincheng a fur coat with a fur trim, which he had to get from the Northeast, and it only cost less than 40 yuan.

A set of spring school uniforms cost 65 yuan, which was my first high-end expense in my life.

Although the materials used for factory uniforms don't need to be high-quality, and the production is done by custom-made manufacturers, they aren't particularly expensive except for the design, but they are still really ugly.

After the car came to a stop, Ma Xiangfeng first led Tan Jincheng and his group to their company's conference room, where their manager was waiting for them. The person in charge of receiving them was probably someone similar to a production manager or a professional manager.

Also surnamed Zhang. Zhang is indeed a common surname. Since I started doing business, I have seen many bosses with the surname Zhang, big and small. And now another manager, Zhang, has arrived.

Inside the office, Zhang Yunhua was chatting with a subordinate when he heard Ma Xiangfeng talking to someone outside. He quickly got up and peeked out. He saw Ma Xiangfeng walking along and introducing himself to a young man at the head of the group.

A group of eight people walked towards the office in a grand procession.

"So many people have come?" Zhang Yunhua was somewhat surprised.

When the itinerary was confirmed last Saturday, it was Zhang Yunhua who made the contact. At that time, the other party did not say how many people there would be, but now it turns out that there are seven people. It seems that the other party attaches great importance to this visit.

In fact, the reason why Tan Jincheng brought so many people with him was not just for Bo Neng's trip. This business trip was to get all the suppliers in order. If it were just one or two people, they would be a bit overwhelmed.

In addition, after things are settled with Boneng, Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng will part ways here. Zhang Xupeng will go to Zhili, and the two salesmen he brought with him will be there to assist him.

The sales team members of Flash Auto were all carefully selected by Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping. Their compensation is better than the current market price, with a much higher base salary. In terms of ability, they are definitely not bad.

"Mr. Tan, is this you? Hello, I'm Zhang Yunhua." Although Zhang Yunhua felt that the other party had a rather large entourage, he quickly realized what was going on and came out of his office to greet them.

However, this boss was really too young. Although he had a strong presence, it couldn't hide his youthful face. "Hello, Manager Zhang, I apologize for the intrusion and for disturbing you."

Zhang Yunhua said with a smile, "Not at all, it's our honor, and we hope to have the opportunity to cooperate with your company."

After entering the office, the two exchanged pleasantries and compliments before discussing the current state of the lead-acid battery and electric scooter industries. Electric scooters are booming all over the country, so batteries are naturally in high demand.

Tan Jincheng was well aware of this; it was simply a way for both parties to negotiate. Although I wasn't well-known, I had no trouble selling my products.

However, Tan Jincheng also learned a reality: although 72V batteries are currently in use, they are not the mainstream in the market, and very few electric scooters are equipped with 72V batteries.

Currently, most electric scooters on the market are 48V, with many 20V models available. Their battery life is generally average. 72V models are not widely used, so their production capacity is naturally limited, and there is not much room for price adjustment.

Tan Jincheng had done his research on what mainstream electric scooters on the market used, and he naturally knew that. He originally wanted to go all out by upgrading the battery to 72V and adding a price of over 2000 yuan to create a disruptive impact on the market and quickly capture market share.

It seems that 60V can achieve the same effect without 72V?

Since that's the case, let's not use 72V for now. Anyway, we've used three design options for the battery compartment: 72V, 60V, and 48V. We only need to change one insert in the mold to create a completely new product.

Tan Jincheng quickly adjusted his plan in his mind. 72V was not out of the question. When the market mainstream changed from 48V to 60V in a few years, he would raise it to 72V. This way, he would always be one step ahead of the market, and the brand effect would be achieved.

Moreover, once lithium battery technology matures, we can use lithium batteries. At that time, we can research lithium battery technology on electric scooters, conduct a number of related professional projects, and set up a design institute like Lao Ma did.

Okay, that's settled then. We'll start with 60V and 48V to reduce costs!

Having made up his mind, Tan Jincheng smiled at Zhang Yunhua and said, "I wonder if I could visit your company's workshop?"

“Of course, I’ve already made all the preparations,” Zhang Yunhua said with a smile. Visiting the factory was part of the trip, so Zhang Yunhua naturally wouldn’t refuse.

However, Zhang Yunhua originally planned to have Ma Xiangfeng lead the group on the tour. Since the other party attached so much importance to it, brought so many people, and showed great sincerity in cooperating, Zhang Yunhua did not mind putting aside his work and accompanying them.

Who could refuse a client who designs an annual production capacity of 36000 electric scooters?

In addition, during the conversation, Zhang Yunhua vaguely sensed that the company's annual production capacity of 36000 units was just the beginning. Tan Jincheng did not disclose this information; it was merely Zhang Yunhua's feeling.

I could tell from Tan Jincheng's speech, demeanor, and eyes; it has to be said that sometimes a man's intuition is quite accurate.

"If the other party continues to expand its production capacity, then the next time we'll be hosting their CEO, it'll be my own boss instead," Zhang Yunhua thought to himself as he walked.

"President Tan looks very young. May I ask how old you are this year?" Zhang Yunhua asked tentatively.

"How old do you think I am this year, Mr. Zhang?" Tan Jincheng did not answer directly.

"I guess he's no more than 25 years old. Mr. Tan looks very young, and it's like I've seen him somewhere before, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've met him."

At this moment, Ma Xiangfeng whispered something in Zhang Yunhua's ear, and Zhang Yunhua suddenly realized what was going on.

"Oh, right, right, Yang Guo, Yang Guo, haha, he really does look a bit like him, only the hairstyle is wrong."

Accompanying him all the way, Ma Xiangfeng had already been thinking about this question. This guy really does look a bit like Louis Koo. If he had a classic Hong Kong star hairstyle and some makeup, he would look even more like him.

Tan Jincheng didn't answer, but turned to Zhang Xupeng and raised an eyebrow, to which Zhang Xupeng responded with a smirk.

When they were in school, classmates often said that Xiao Tan looked somewhat like Bai Gu, but Zhang Xupeng vehemently denied it, saying that he at most looked like a pheasant.

As for himself, he compared himself to Chen Haonan of Yicheng.

Sometimes, the boss's appearance is also a reflection of the company's image. Some people have an unusual appearance like Jack Ma, which makes them easy to remember. Among internet companies today, Li Keqiang of Baidu is a prime example; he's quite good-looking.

This company, which had been heavily influenced by Fitch, declined after the advent of the mobile internet era. However, before its rebirth, Tan Jincheng knew that the company was deeply involved in artificial intelligence and its attitude towards AI was one of the more steadfast among internet companies.

Sun Yuming glanced at Tan Jincheng and saw that his boss was exchanging glances with Boss Zhang, but he didn't know why.

However, to avoid an awkward silence, he quickly responded: "Our CEO Tan is not yet 20 years old."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yunhua was taken aback.

(End of this chapter)