2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 30 Return
On the seventh day, the fourth day of officially starting to place orders, they received the order, which was better than Tan Jincheng had imagined.

Since it has exceeded expectations, let's just stay a few more days.

With nine days left until the end of the Canton Fair, it would be good to pick up some leftover orders from others.

When dealing with businessmen from all over the world, there isn't much familiarity or social niceties involved.

If they like something, they'll talk to it; if they reach an agreement, they'll place an order—they're quite decisive.

This is the kind of business model that Tan Jincheng likes. Interpersonal relationships are essential, but it would be even better if there weren't too many.

Meanwhile, in Beicang, Zhang Xupeng arrived early the next morning at Zhang Haiping's factory in Xiaxi to discuss the order for 4.6 pieces. In fact, Tan Jincheng had already called Zhang Haiping before that.

“Xiao Tan called me, I already know,” Zhang Haiping said, scratching his head.

Small factories like theirs have limited production capacity. Even if they operate at full capacity, they can only produce a maximum of 2000 pieces of these two garments per day.

Even with 4.6 pieces and not a single defective one, it would still take 23 days to complete this order of Xiaotan, even if we were to operate at full capacity.

Tan Jincheng's requirement was that it must be completed within half a month; obviously, their production capacity could not meet the requirement.

Tan Jincheng's offer was too tempting for him to refuse. Even if the order volume increased, both the payment method and the unit price could be settled according to the previous small orders.

Aside from being uncompromising on the construction schedule, there were no other problems.

An order of 40 units, if placed during off-peak hours, could cover a quarter's worth of production capacity. Even if it couldn't be completed in half a month, Zhang Haiping had to accept it.

There are plenty of people in Xiaxi Village who can complete 4.6 orders in half a month, and Zhang Haiping cannot afford to lose this order when he has the first-mover advantage.

"Xiao Tan already said that? That's perfect. I was worried I wouldn't explain it clearly. Mr. Zhang, can you finish it in half a month?"

"Yes, it must be completed, even if it's not possible. Don't worry, Xiao Zhang. I'll take care of the existing production capacity in the next couple of days, and we'll start production for you as soon as the contract is signed."

"Are you sure? You can't delay our plans." Zhang Xupeng asked with some doubt.

Recently, he has been coming to the factory from time to time. He may not understand other things, but he knows how much work each machine operator can do in a day.

"Xiao Zhang, if I can't handle it here, I can ask someone for help. I've been in this business for so many years, I still have some friends. Asking a friend to solve a few days' worth of production capacity shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay then, as long as there are no problems, I'll go back and prepare the contract."

"No problem, Xiao Tan is really amazing. She has secured orders worth hundreds of thousands in such a short time. I might have to rely on your orders to make a living in the future."

"Mr. Zhang is joking. We just got lucky. We can't always have such good luck."

Watching Zhang Xupeng leave, Zhang Haiping shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"The fortune teller said I'd have a windfall in the second half of the year. Could it be these two lads who brought it?"

Although he really wanted to take the order all by himself, he knew that the factory's current production capacity was insufficient, and there was no other way but to distribute a portion of the order to other factories.

However, this makes it more difficult to guarantee the yield rate, and you have to keep a close eye on it.

"Xiao Tan has only been in Guangzhou for a little over a week and she's already secured such a big order. Looks like she's got some connections. Should I hire more people next year?" Xiao Tan has officially opened a trading company with all the necessary import and export licenses. Zhang Haiping has also heard about the booth fees at the Canton Fair; it's impossible to get one for less than 10 yuan.

Based on this investment, the two of them would need to invest at least 400,000 yuan; they can't just do one project and call it a day.

If we can establish a long-term partnership with Xiao Tan and Xiao Zhang, and have a stable customer base, our factory's production capacity will be able to steadily increase significantly.

As for Tan Jincheng, who can take on orders worth hundreds of thousands of yuan at a time, it's impossible for Zhang Haiping not to be envious. However, the garment industry in Xiaxi Village is basically dominated by small factories doing OEM manufacturing.

In good years, no one thinks about transformation. Instead of making a large investment, it's better to expand production capacity for workers. Money earned in hand is money.

Don't think Zhang Haiping's idea is strange; the older generation, whether workers or business owners, were mostly conservative, cautious, and had the idea of ​​a guaranteed income regardless of circumstances ingrained in their bones.

Only a minority can truly see the situation clearly and break free from constraints.

Even those as open-minded as Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng's parents are rare, which is one of the reasons why the two of them were successful in business in their previous lives.

This world is ultimately dominated by ordinary people who don't have a long-term vision.
-
In Guangzhou, three days have passed in the blink of an eye. During these three days, Tan Jincheng has received a lot of business cards and also received an order for 1 items, which are still destined for the United States.

The price is better this time, $2.5 per item, and we're still charging a 40% deposit.

After that, Tan Jincheng stopped accepting orders. The current production capacity was insufficient. This order of 10,000 pieces was also because the other party was not in a hurry and the destination was the same as James'.

This makes less-than-container-load (LCL) shipping more convenient.

Less-than-container-load (LCL) shipping is widely used in international trade and transportation. For small-volume exports like those of Tan Jincheng, a single container is naturally not enough, hence the emergence of LCL shipping services.

Goods destined for the same destination are grouped together in a certain quantity and packed into a box; goods from different shippers may be packed together in one box.

The sorting, sorting, consolidation, loading and unloading, and delivery of LCL cargo are all carried out by the carrier's terminal container freight station or inland container transfer station.

These are all issues that Tan Jincheng needs to resolve upon returning.

Tuesday, May 10th.

If production capacity can't keep up, even a lot of orders are useless. Developing new contract manufacturers is not out of the question, but Tan Jincheng has no such plans at present.

You have to take things one step at a time. If you expand too much, and the orders don't keep up, you won't be able to keep up with all those contract manufacturers either.

Moreover, Tan Jincheng had an even bigger plan.

Since that's the case, there's no need to stay in Guangzhou any longer. On the 12th day after arriving in Guangzhou, Tan Jincheng decided to return to Beicang.

Before leaving, Tan Jincheng said goodbye to Lao Zhang and the others. The Canton Fair still had five days left, and they would stay here for another five days.

"Brothers and sisters, I'm going back now. If you have the chance to come to Beicang, remember to look me up. We can have barbecue and beer together then."

"Haha, that's for sure. Xiao Tan had a good haul this time and will get a lot of commission. Have a safe trip."

(End of this chapter)