2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 308 May's Top Seller, Bo Neng is in a panic! (Bonus chapter for New Year's Eve)
The timeline of the rebirth is too long. If there are any things that are difficult to adapt to, besides the sense of alienation from the era, it might be the various rules.

June 1st, Children's Day.

The new version of Zhejiang's traffic regulations has officially come into effect. Lucky license plate numbers are now auctioned off, and the registration and licensing of bicycles has been cancelled, replaced by registration and filing for commercial vehicles.

The maximum speed limit on unrestricted urban roads is 60 kilometers per hour, 90 kilometers per hour on highways, and 20 kilometers per hour within company compounds and residential areas.

In addition, there is a system for awarding points for proactive learning, a maximum compensation of 5 yuan for drivers of motor vehicles who are not at fault in traffic accidents, and the ability to directly claim compensation from insurance companies for traffic accidents with property damage valued at less than 3000 yuan, etc.

In addition, there are regulations such as compulsory traffic accident liability insurance. The new version of the traffic regulations is very close to the era that Tan Jincheng was familiar with when he drove, which has helped Tan Jincheng adapt to a lot.

Take the auction of auspicious license plates as an example. When he applied for his license plate number, Tan Jincheng always thought that these things were for auction. He never thought that they were auctioned these days. He only found out after reading the new traffic regulations.

If I had remembered this earlier, I would have gotten him a few lucky license plates for free.

The new traffic regulations also include the latest management measures for electric vehicles. Due to the explosive growth in electric vehicle sales this year, various regions, including Zhejiang Province, are constantly improving their management measures for electric vehicles.

Nationwide, Zhejiang Province currently has the most comprehensive management of electric vehicles, with very detailed rules that provide a general overview of the development of electric vehicles.

During the meeting, Tan Jincheng also spoke about electric vehicles.

The speech was prepared by the conference organizers and had no highlights. Tan Jincheng just had to read it. However, it was still quite novel. Although it was a non-official organization, it still carried the word "national" in its name and was quite authoritative in this era.

This is the first time I've spoken at such an institutional conference.

After attending the seminar on the 6th Five-Year Plan for Bicycle Development in Shanghai, Tan Jincheng did not linger and prepared to return to Ningbo early on June 2nd.

There's not enough time to stay here. Mr. Jin and Mr. Zhang from Boneng will be going to Beicang tomorrow to discuss the latest cooperation between the two parties.

"Boss, Tianyu heard you came to Shanghai and wanted to ask if you have time to discuss contract issues?" Zeng Jixiang asked.

Zhao Xinyi stayed in Beicang to handle the handover with Sun Yuming. She wouldn't be taken on the business trip for the time being, which also fulfilled her wish to rest at home.

"Please reply that the schedule is already arranged, and there is no time at the moment. We'll have to wait until next time."

Before the promotional activities and fan meetings in July are over, why talk about contract renewal? If the contract is renewed, and you act like a big shot at the fan meetings, you'll lose out big time.

Tianyu is no good.

"Ok."

"Okay, let's pack up and get ready to go back."
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"Boss, should we go there today? Won't that seem a bit rushed? It might put us at a disadvantage in the negotiations," Zhang Yunhua asked hesitantly.

“Not at all. I’ve recently collected a lot of information about President Tan’s activities and his remarks during negotiations. He’s not the kind of person who would take advantage of a crisis.” Jin Chuanling laughed. “Besides, we’re already in a somewhat passive position right now. I heard that Chaowei is also preparing to send people over.”

Chaowei is a leading domestic brand, and its headquarters, like Boneng, are located in Changxin County. Changxin County is an important industrial base for the domestic battery industry, and it is home to many well-known lead-acid battery brands.

Flash Group is now performing exceptionally well, with sales of 5.27 vehicles announced in May, continuing to rank first in monthly sales.

As of May this year, Flash has sold 16.72 electric vehicles, bringing its total sales to over 20, reaching 20.52.

Furthermore, it was successfully recognized as a "Well-known Brand of Zhejiang Province" yesterday, June 1st. With the added support of being an Olympic sponsor, it should be no surprise that it will be recognized as a national inspection-free brand next.

With its sales soaring, Flash has become a force that no one in the entire electric vehicle industry chain can ignore.

At this point, you absolutely must not lose this customer because of concerns about saving face or whether you are in a proactive or passive position.

A year ago, when Shanchi came to the factory to sign an order, Jin Chuanling didn't even want to show up. It was just a small electric vehicle manufacturer with a small supply volume, and even Zhang Yunhua was indifferent.

If we can sign the contract, great; if not, it doesn't matter. We don't need one dispensable client.

A year later, in order to meet with the boss of Flash Group, Wang Yunhua repeatedly confirmed the schedule with his assistant, but they could not meet him throughout May. In June, Flash Group replied that they wanted to wait until the 8th to meet him after he finished his business trip to Hangzhou.

But with the ever-watchful Chaowei beside them, they simply couldn't wait any longer.

"The world is changing too fast. We have to work hard to keep up with the times, or we will be left behind," Jin Chuanling said with emotion.

The power dynamic between suppliers and OEMs is not static. If an OEM is too small and wants to improve quality by finding a large component supplier, it's normal for the component supplier to ignore it.

There is no absolute boundary between Party A and Party B; whoever is stronger is Party A.

A year ago, in the face of Boneng Environmental Protection, even if you were the one paying for the product, you could only be the supplier. Tan Jincheng, who had regained the initiative as the client, was not surprised at all when he returned to the company on June 2nd and saw Jin Chuanling and Zhang Yunhua. He would have been just as uneasy if he were in their shoes.

Those who remain complacent at this point are either overconfident and arrogant, or they lack ambition in running a business.

In Tan Jincheng's memory, he had heard of the brand YZ Battery in his previous life. He didn't know about its market share, but he still remembered it in 2023, which shows that the company is still quite resilient.

"President Jin, President Zhang, I'm so sorry, I was really too busy last month and made you both come all this way. It's my fault, my fault." As soon as they met, Tan Jincheng apologized repeatedly and was very enthusiastic.

Then he said to Zeng Jixiang, "Xiao Zeng, go and get the tea I've been hiding."

A smile is always presentable, and even if a deal falls through, goodwill remains. This kind of humility is quite effective in business, and Tan Jincheng often wins the favor of many people by virtue of this.

Zeng Jixiang looked puzzled. The boss usually liked to drink coffee, so where would he get any rare tea? Besides, why would he drink tea on such a hot day?

Go ask Sister Zhao, she should know.

"It's alright. Mr. Tan has been making waves these past month, and business has been booming. It's only natural that he's busy. When Mr. Tan is busy, we benefit too, and we sell more batteries," Zhang Yunhua said with a smile.

Flash Motors sold 20.52 electric vehicles, all using their company's batteries. These 20.52 vehicles alone, along with the two orders signed, brought Boneng nearly 9000 million yuan in sales.

Sales of 9000 million yuan, achieved in less than 11 months since the establishment of FlashTech, less than a year, is truly astonishing.

Based on the industry forecast and Flash's sales forecast for the entire year of 2006, Flash Technology's cost for batteries may be close to 2 million, and Boneng is capable of handling the entire production capacity of 2 million.

In a booming market, it's incredibly easy for a powerful OEM to support key component suppliers.

"What kind of content will be covered at the Eleventh Five-Year Plan symposium?" Jin Chuanling asked curiously.

"This is my first time attending a seminar like this, so I still need to digest the content, but it's certainly quite novel," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

“Indeed, the first time was more about the novelty, but President Tan should be attending these kinds of meetings more often in the future,” Jin Chuanling nodded.

"I also know that young people aren't very interested in conferences, especially purely academic ones, but as someone who's been there, I still want to advise Mr. Tan once again: don't underestimate these conferences."

Tan Jincheng asked seriously, "Is there any explanation? Please enlighten me, Mr. Jin."

Jin Chuanling smiled and said, "I wouldn't presume to offer advice, but let's exchange ideas. In fact, doing business is all about networking. These kinds of meetings may not necessarily produce any concrete results, but they are great opportunities to meet a lot of people. I bet President Tan exchanged business cards with quite a few people in the industry this time, right?"

Nodding, Tan Jincheng said, "That's true. Besides some seniors I knew before, I did meet quite a few industry veterans this time, and I even had a brief acquaintance with the chairman of Zhejiang Luyuan."

Dong Jinggui and Zhang Congxun both attended, and Luyuan Chairman, who has always been committed to promoting the development of the industry, naturally did not miss this meeting.

However, what surprised Tan Jincheng the most was that he met Zhang Jian, the founder of Aima, at this meeting!

Previously in Tianjin, Tan Jincheng had intended to visit Aima's bicycle factory, but he couldn't find a reason to do so. It would seem a bit strange to make a sudden visit, so he had to suppress the idea.

Born in 1969, Zhang Jian is from Henan Province. In the 1990s, he gave up his secure job and joined the bicycle company founded by his father. In the late 1990s, he and his wife went to Tianjin to establish their own bicycle factory, which became one of the top companies in the industry after five years of development.

In his previous life, there was a period when Aima's stock was doing quite well, which was attributed to the decline in consumption. During that time, Tan Jincheng also learned about Aima's past, which was a typical family business.

In 2009, when the market landscape was already established, Aima was able to carve out a niche for itself with a completely new brand, somewhat similar to Pinduoduo's breakthrough. Besides the founder's ability, this should be largely due to the family's rich heritage.

Private enterprises, especially those operated under a family model, may face serious corruption in the later stages, and the competition for profits can be quite ugly as they grow larger. However, in the early stages, it is the best operating method for achieving rapid expansion.

"The chairman of Luyuan is a truly respectable man. In a sense, we've all benefited from his success," Jin Chuanling exclaimed.

"Mr. Jin is right. We juniors have benefited from the success of our seniors. FlashDrive's rapid development is also inseparable from Mr. Jin's support in providing a stable and reliable battery supply."

Jin Chuanling smiled, indicating that they were about to get down to business.

This is Tan Jincheng's style; he doesn't like too much nonsense. Jin Chuanling has dealt with Tan Jincheng twice, and recently he has collected a lot of information about Tan Jincheng and gathered some news.

"So, Mr. Tan, what are your thoughts on the upcoming cooperation between your company and Boneng?"

I'm releasing an extra chapter early today because it's Lunar New Year's Eve. Happy Lunar New Year's Eve everyone!

I'm still looking for my cat, my cat is lost!

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(End of this chapter)