2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 219 Enterprise Management System
"Yiwu's main urban area is located in Choucheng Street. It is not very large, and it is not very lively during the Spring Festival. Most locals gather in the countryside, while more people from other places stay in the city."

"Yes, these days everyone likes to spend the Spring Festival in the countryside. My family goes to the countryside every year for the Spring Festival."

It is also related to the development of the city. Although the city developed rapidly at the beginning of the century and there were more and more rich people, there were actually more poor people. There were many families with a monthly income of only a few hundred yuan and a year's savings of only two or three thousand yuan.

Even without going back three generations, people like Tan Lihua and Gu Hongshun are all from farming backgrounds. It's hard to change the habits they developed as children, so it's normal for them to like going back to the countryside for the New Year.

The reason why Tan Jincheng's companies dare to offer such high salaries is that, on the one hand, both of his trading companies and Flash Technology are in highly profitable industries.

Needless to say, trading companies are profitable, but Flash Technology was able to make a profit in its first year, which is considered a highly profitable industry in the context of heavily invested factories. For most medium-sized factories, it's not considered particularly impressive if they can break even within four or five years.

Making money wasn't difficult for Tan Jincheng. He also had some of the mindset and habits from his later years, and he didn't mingle in any circles, so he dared to pay high salaries to his junior employees. This not only allowed him to recruit people more quickly, but also left him with a good impression on the government.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, Tan Jincheng, who had witnessed the ubiquitous delivery drivers and Didi drivers during the economic downturn of later generations, still harbored some "saintly" thoughts, even though he was powerless to change them.

However, paying his employees higher salaries so they can enjoy a few years of good living is also beneficial to the company's development. This is one of the reasons that influenced Tan Jincheng's decision on the salary system for his companies.

Perhaps, among these 600-plus employees, a large portion of them are now considering buying a house, taking advantage of their relatively high income. For example, Zhang Xuhui, Sun Yuming, and the Li Yanning sisters have all considered buying a house, and even Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping have this idea.

Even if you work hard for a house price of three or four thousand for a few years, and then sell it to retire in your hometown, you'll still have a considerable profit. This can be considered as Tan Jincheng changing the fate of some people in an intangible way.

It was a bit embarrassing to be drunk on my first visit to pay New Year's greetings.

When Tan Jincheng woke up, it was already six o'clock in the afternoon. He had slept for about four hours. When he went out of the room, he saw that there were not only no fewer people in the room, but actually more people than at noon.

Gu Qingqing's cousins ​​also returned. The moment Tan Jincheng walked into the living room, everyone in the room turned their attention to him. At this moment, Boss Tan, who had never changed color in front of five or six hundred employees on the stage, was actually a little intimidated.

"You're awake? Dinner's coming up soon. Your aunt's cooking. Want to play cards?" Gu Hongshun and the others were playing cards when he casually asked Tan Jincheng.

The brothers teamed up at noon to get a junior drunk. It felt great at the time, but they felt quite embarrassed later. It was clearly bullying, especially since the junior had brought them a New Year's gift.

However, they could simply shift the blame to the second brother (Gu Hongshun), as he had given them the signal. In the afternoon, the group didn't go anywhere else; they just stayed home to play cards and wait for Tan Jincheng to wake up. They waited until evening.

"No, uncles, you guys play, I'll just watch for a little while." Tan Jincheng smiled and walked towards Gu Qingqing.

Gu Hongshun's eyelids twitched: "You kid, your alcohol tolerance isn't good either. Don't you have to drink with people when you're doing business?"

"It's alright. When I first started my business, I sometimes had to spend time with clients, but now I basically don't need to anymore," Tan Jincheng said casually.

Business deals aren't made over drinks, but you can't do without them. However, Tan Jincheng's business is more client-oriented, so he doesn't have many opportunities to ask favors, and therefore, there aren't many people who can get him drunk.

Compared to his previous life, Tan Jincheng's alcohol tolerance is much lower in this life.

Upon hearing this, the three Gu brothers looked at each other in bewilderment.

Gu Qingqing chuckled as she sat down next to Tan Jincheng. She had attended banquets with Tan Jincheng before, and apart from a few employees who egged her on during the annual meeting, very few people dared to force her to drink. Perhaps this was a symbol of status.

"Dinner's ready. Don't drink tonight, or if you do, drink less." Li Jinzhen's voice came from the kitchen.

Tan Jincheng was about to get up and go to the kitchen to help, but Gu Hongshun stopped him.

Soon, Li Jinzhen came out of the kitchen, carrying a bowl of poached eggs: "Xiao Tan, come here quickly and eat this first."

"Oh, okay." Although Tan Jincheng was a little confused, he still followed the instructions and went to the dining table.

"You have to finish all the eggs in your bowl, don't leave any. You don't have to drink the soup." Li Jinzhen gave Tan Jincheng a meaningful look.

"Okay, no problem. I'm actually a little hungry. Don't worry, Auntie."

There were four poached eggs in the bowl, cooked in brown sugar water. Yiwu brown sugar is quite famous. Tan Jincheng didn't quite understand what this meant, but his mother used to cook this for him often when he was in school. Four poached eggs were easy to deal with.

Gu Qingqing's cousin, Gu Yanning, didn't witness the scene during the day, but before dinner, she surprisingly served boiled eggs and said to Gu Qingqing with a smile, "You've taken a liking to her, when are you going to have the wedding?"

My cousin also looked surprised, his eyes constantly shifting between Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing.

"No way, my dad got him drunk at noon, and my mom is just warming his stomach for him," Gu Qingqing denied.

The two spoke in Yiwu dialect, which Tan Jincheng couldn't understand anyway. Gu Qingqing was still a little shy and didn't want to admit it directly, but she was very happy that her boyfriend had gained the approval of his family and relatives.

Dinner was harmonious, and the drinking was just a small affair. The discussion at the table focused more on the differences in New Year customs between Yicheng and Yiwu, as if everyone were treating a newly arrived son-in-law.

After the meal, the older folks dispersed, while Gu Qingqing's cousins ​​led a group of children to set off fireworks. In an era when fireworks and firecrackers were not prohibited, the festive atmosphere was truly authentic.

In the open space, bursts of fireworks shot into the sky with a whooshing sound, blooming in the dark night sky and eliciting cheers from the children.

"Do you want to set off a few sky rockets?" Gu Yuxin asked Tan Jincheng with a smile.

My cousin Gu Yuxin is 25 years old this year. He runs a clothing wholesale business in Hangzhou, mainly in the Sijiqing Wholesale Market. Like Tan Jincheng, he also started working after graduating from high school.

My cousin, Gu Yanning, is 22 years old and currently a senior at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Hangzhou, majoring in computer science. Gu Qingqing often consults her about professional knowledge she doesn't understand.

"You only go to university after you graduate. When I went in, it was called Hangzhou Electronic Industry College. I guess I got a good deal, haha."

The transformation of colleges into universities was not uncommon in those days, and many students actually benefited from this. If Tan Jincheng hadn't gotten into trouble, he would have been lucky to study at Anhui University.

After all, by the time he graduated, Anhui University was already a legitimate 211 university, while it wasn't when he was admitted, giving him a significant advantage in terms of admission scores.

"Is my cousin currently in her internship?" Tan Jincheng asked casually.

"Yes, is my brother-in-law trying to introduce me to a job?" Gu Yanning asked, staring at Tan Jincheng.

Tan Jincheng neither confirmed nor denied his form of address, and then asked, "Which company? Can you develop enterprise management systems?"

FlashTech's current office system is rather disorganized, and its management is also quite chaotic. Although it has reached the scale of a medium-sized enterprise, it is actually still managed like a small factory. For any major decision, the management needs to consult with Tan Jincheng.

Sometimes when Tan Jincheng is away on business or attending important meetings, he can't answer the phone, which can cause delays in handling urgent matters. Although it may not have a significant impact on the company, it does affect efficiency.

Currently, the factory area is not large, and the management personnel are few, all of whom were recruited and promoted by Tan Jincheng. For now, it can still cope, but FlashTech is destined to continue to expand its scale, and having its own enterprise management system is essential.

Software such as ERP, SCM, and CRM must be established as soon as possible to enhance the capabilities of Flash Technology through software. This way, when leaders visit in the future, it will look like a large enterprise.

As for the hardware, we need to take it one step at a time. To be honest, 150 acres of industrial land for the industrial base seems a bit stingy for FlashTech's future plans. In fact, even without launching the battery project, 1500 acres of land would not be excessive for the electric vehicle business alone.

The factory area is not just a workshop, but also an office building, an employee canteen, and all kinds of warehouses. The required area is enormous, but there is no other way. The government can just approve thousands or tens of thousands of acres of land for you right away. No other government would dare to do that.

Take several leading private enterprises in Beicang District as examples. Their factory development process was not achieved overnight. Shenzhou Group was originally a small factory. Tuopu, an important component supplier for Tesla, also had only a small workshop when it was established in 2004.

Without money, strength, and background, the government is unlikely to offer large tracts of land to you, even in impoverished counties, let alone in a relatively land-scarce area like Beicang.

Who wouldn't want to be like the protagonist in an online novel, with a single command that commands respect from all sides, able to obtain whatever they desire and conquer vast territories in one fell swoop? But that's impossible!
Hardware capabilities can only be built gradually. After the first phase of the industrial base goes into production, we can then apply to the government for land. At that time, we will be able to obtain larger plots of land. However, we need to build up our software capabilities little by little from now on.

"You want to implement an ERP system? Your company needs it now? How large is it?" Gu Yanning asked, somewhat surprised.

After saying that, he couldn't help but glance at Gu Qingqing, seemingly underestimating his brother-in-law.

(End of this chapter)