2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 134 Everything is ready except for the east wind.

Formal contracts are naturally not signed so quickly. A celebrity endorsement contract is much more complicated than a supplier contract, involving many legal clauses, such as various regulations on advertising shooting and post-production promotion.

Although Tan Jincheng had never witnessed firsthand how problematic Jiji Company's contracts were, he had heard of many such cases, thus requiring a professional lawyer to review the contract.

Therefore, both parties agreed to officially sign the contract this Saturday, July 9th, at Tianyu's Shanghai headquarters, at which time Chun Ge can also fly over from CD.

Meanwhile, Tan Jincheng was keeping an eye on the production line of the Flash Series prototypes during these few days.

The parts suppliers scattered across Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces were very cooperative, sending the parts over one after another in an expedited manner. The first batch of samples of the plastic parts has been completed, and the remaining issues are just some modifications.

For more than a month, the R&D department of Shanchi Automotive and the mold department of Zhang Mingcan Factory have been working overtime and even on Sundays to finally achieve the goal set by Boss Tan.

The Flash series comes in only two colors: black and white. The design is angular, with the black version looking very cool and giving off a edgy vibe, while the white version is relatively softer.

Aside from battery capacity, there are no other differences between the high-end and low-end versions. Compared to current modes of transportation, the low-end version offers better value for money. According to the market research conducted by the Flash Auto team, the low-end version should sell better.

Offering a high-end version and a low-end version with different prices is also a way to actually sell the low-end version.

Therefore, in terms of future production capacity, it will be more inclined towards the lower-end version. Currently, the contracted parts suppliers are for 4 sets per year, so Tan Jincheng's production capacity is no longer limited to 3000 units per month.

Because the factory area is sufficient and the previous employees have already been trained, the human resources department is still recruiting. In the future, recruitment will be based on the maximum production capacity that the factory can currently accommodate.

Based on the current situation, it is estimated that the Flash Automotive factory can currently accommodate a maximum monthly production of 5000 vehicles, requiring approximately 150 frontline employees, while the current number of frontline employees is around 100.

With the addition of Tan Jincheng and other senior management, as well as the finance, marketing, administration, and R&D teams, Flash Automotive now had 150 employees.

Planning began at the end of March, and by the beginning of July, the basic personnel framework of Flash Automotive had been established.

With the spokesperson chosen and the marketing plan finalized, subsequent advertising and promotional activities are also being planned.

At this point, Flash Auto Industry was truly ready in every way, only lacking the final push!

The pressure has been put on the production department; they need to assemble at least 20 prototype vehicles within three days!

Today we're testing all the exterior parts. Although exterior parts aren't as important as core components like the battery and motor, they're still crucial for a small electric scooter. First, they need to look good, with perfect fit and gaps, so they can leave a good first impression on customers.

"Not bad. A few more tweaks and it'll be almost done. For a first trial molding, this is already a very good result." Wang Chao looked at the mating surfaces of the product and nodded in satisfaction.

Zhang Mingcan, standing to the side, laughed heartily and said, "I told you, Brother Tan, you can rest assured. We've been making motorcycle exterior parts for so many years. Although there are some differences with electric vehicles, we definitely won't have any problems handling them."

"That's right, I didn't know how to do it, so it's all thanks to you, brother. I'll have to trouble your mold department to coordinate with us and complete the modifications as soon as possible," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

"Don't worry, I definitely won't let you down," Zhang Mingcan assured him.

To be honest, making plastic exterior parts is quite troublesome. These days, machining is only at that level, and the quality of employees is also average. If the two factories weren't so close together, allowing for timely communication, Tan Jincheng wouldn't believe things would have gone so smoothly.

Besides Tan Jincheng, Zhang Mingcan also breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't believed what Haiping had said before, but now that he was working with Tan Jincheng, he realized that this young man was not so simple. He was quick to pay, but working with him was also very stressful.

It was the pressure that Zhang Mingcan had never experienced before when working with well-known motorcycle manufacturers. The time was tight, the task was heavy, and if things didn't go well, they would just throw money at it. It was something that people both loved and hated.

However, it's good that this batch of molds made a lot of money. In addition, it also opened up a new plastic products business for itself. The injection molding machines in the factory before were no different from decorations, except for occasionally receiving test molds from outsiders.

Zhang Mingcan was very envious of the product manufacturing business, which was much more profitable than mold making. However, he had been unable to open up this market. It wasn't that he couldn't get business, but it was just unstable.

Now things are looking up. We've signed a one-year supply contract with Flash, and now it all depends on Xiao Tan's marketing capabilities. Once Flash electric vehicles gain a foothold in the market, their subsequent expansion is almost guaranteed.

When that time comes, I will be able to buy more injection molding machines like Haiping and make more money.

In addition, besides the products they are currently developing, which are internally numbered SC001 and SC002, another product, FC001 and FC002, is also under development. He has seen the renderings, and the molds and plastic products are relatively simpler.

As for the internal structure, we haven't seen it yet; we must get it!
"Okay, you guys continue your research. Zhang, come sit in my office for a bit?"

“No need to sit for a while. I have to go back to the factory and get the parts we just agreed on produced. How about we go out together on Saturday?” “Okay, but I’m not free on Saturday. I have to go to Shanghai.” Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

Zhang Mingcan casually asked, "What are you going to Shanghai for?"

"We found a spokesperson for the car and signed a contract, but I can't tell you which celebrity it is yet, haha."

This matter is currently only known within Flash, and fewer than a handful of people know about it. Although the basic framework for cooperation has been set, it's best not to disclose the information for the time being to avoid any unforeseen changes.

"Huh? Bro, you're going all out? Hiring a celebrity to endorse your product? Hiring a celebrity must cost a fortune," Zhang Mingcan said, somewhat surprised.

"It's alright. It's not a big-name celebrity. You know, a complete car is not like a parts supplier. Without a celebrity endorsement or something, nobody will recognize your brand. There's nothing we can do about it."

Zhang Mingcan quickly grasped the point and couldn't help but sigh, "That's true. It wasn't easy for you to get this factory up and running, brother. The investment was really substantial."

Signing a contract is only the first step. To gain brand recognition, advertising costs are essential, and marketing expenses are substantial.

"Yeah, we took too big a step at the beginning, and now we've messed things up. We should have taken it one step at a time."

"Haha, since you've already done it, don't worry about these things. If you have any funding gaps, you can come to me. I've had some connections in the banking industry over the years. I can easily get you a few million."

Seeing Tan Jincheng complaining, Zhang Mingcan offered an olive branch. Last time, he helped him rent a factory and contact some equipment suppliers. It was really just a matter of talking, but it brought him nearly 400 million yuan in orders, and he didn't even have to haggle over the mold costs.

What does this show? It shows that this kid is sensible and knows how to be grateful.

If there really is a funding gap, Zhang Mingcan can easily help him by talking to him, pulling strings, or even acting as a guarantor. He's not worried about Tan Jincheng not being able to repay the money; he also has two well-run trading companies, so the lack of funds is only temporary.

It's only because this guy is from out of town, hasn't been in business for long, and is too young that banks would be eager to lend him money, even if he only had a factory and nothing else.

A factory with an expected annual output value of 100 million yuan would be highly sought after anywhere. In a poorer county, they would provide land and loans to help you expand your production capacity without any problem.

"That's great! I actually have that need. It would be best if you could help me make a connection, brother," Tan Jincheng said quickly.

Zhang Mingcan patted his chest and looked at Tan Jincheng with a grin, saying, "It's no big deal. Go back and I'll arrange the production tasks and give you an answer in the next couple of days."

The young man is still too inexperienced. He doesn't know how to plead poverty with his superiors. With his two trading companies and this factory, if he really needed a loan, he could easily get a few million by pleading poverty with his superiors.

However, Zhang Mingcan did not point this out. It is a good thing for young people to take things one step at a time. As he said, taking too big a step can easily lead to trouble. His current low debt ratio is not necessarily a bad thing.

Everything has two sides. If you go to your superiors and complain about being poor, you might get involved if something happens to them. Now the factory is built, the prototype is almost ready, and we're going to hire a spokesperson. Once the advertising campaign starts, things shouldn't go too badly.

That's fine too.

Zhang Mingcan did his best to secure the order, and the next afternoon he invited Tan Jincheng to dinner that evening, indicating that something good was going to happen.

This efficiency truly amazed Tan Jincheng, who exclaimed that being a local and having run a factory for many years gave him an advantage. Little did he know that Tan Jincheng himself also contributed to this success. The cost of the two Flash Molds, plus the nearly 400 million yuan order for plastic products, greatly increased Zhang Mingcan's factory's net profit this year.

With this year's efficiency as collateral, Zhang Mingcan can get the bank to provide Tan Jincheng with a loan of 500 million yuan. As mentioned before, Zhang Mingcan is not worried at all that Tan Jincheng will be unable to repay it.

He and Zhang Haiping had discussed it, and Tan Jincheng could receive more than ten million yuan in profit sharing from Jinpeng Trading alone this year. He had also visited Jinyi Industrial, and although it had only been open for a short time, everything was proceeding smoothly.

In addition, Xiao Tan's business capabilities are still a factor that cannot be ignored. With the Canton Fair in October, Jin Yi Industry, which focuses on the export of electronic products, may reach a new level.

Conservatively estimated, these two companies can bring Brother Tan at least 1000 million yuan in revenue this year. Providing him with some assistance while he doesn't have many connections in high places will only benefit me.

Just like investing, Zhang Mingcan saw the potential of Shanchi Auto and Tan Jincheng, and took advantage of the fact that they hadn't yet gained momentum to build up some goodwill.

There may be unexpected gains in the future.

(End of this chapter)