2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 702 Suppliers Conference

January 15th, the first day of the twelfth lunar month.

Once winter arrives, Ningbo enters a period of continuous rainy weather. While it snows in the north, Ningbo is mainly rainy, and the damp and cold weather will accompany the people of Ningbo for about a month and a half.

At this moment, minibuses with out-of-town license plates and bearing the logo of the Flash Group are slowly driving along the road from Ningbo city to Beicang.

These are dealers from all over the country who are preparing to go to Beicang to hold a dealer conference.

That's how the supply chain works. When upstream manufacturers are doing well, suppliers are happy to support them, and may even take the initiative to do so. Conversely, when upstream manufacturers are struggling, suppliers are the first to turn against them.

Are all the suppliers pressing for payment really due to delayed payments? Of course not.

Finding suppliers for Xiaomi phones was extremely difficult at first. Small manufacturers didn't meet the quality standards, and large manufacturers didn't care about the small number of orders. But things changed after the Xiaomi 1 became a hot seller.

The same applies to Weilai Auto. Finding suppliers in the early stages was extremely difficult. Even with Zhang Yong's connections in Futian and the backing of Shanchi Group, many companies were unwilling to accept orders for Yuechi A1.

For example, Mitsubishi, a supplier with which Weilai has a deep partnership, was initially only willing to provide 5000 engine sets.

However, after the Yuechi A1 became a bestseller, everything changed, and suppliers started to approach them proactively.

As soon as the news of Weilai Auto's upcoming parts supplier conference was released, suppliers responded enthusiastically. Even some manufacturers that were not yet Weilai Auto's suppliers called to inquire whether they could participate.

Just like BMW sets battery standards for Jinshidai, Weilai Auto also needs to establish its own supply chain standards.

"Wow, this is pretty convenient, but some features still need to be further developed and enriched to make it even more convenient for everyone to use."

In a suite at the Tiangang Hotel, Tan Jincheng was testing the newly updated procurement supply chain management system platform, a software derived from the supply chain management system platform of Flashpoint Technology.

Currently, both software programs are only available on PC; the app versions are under development, and both are being developed by the Dingding team.

Tan Jincheng has a lot of advanced experience in the digital management of companies. In his previous life, he was a supplier for many large enterprises, including Midea. He could manage suppliers with just a tap on a mobile app, which was very convenient.

The newly updated supply chain management system's main functions include supplier profile management, procurement planning and order collaboration, Kanban management, supplier development and evaluation, procurement quota management, and settlement management.

In the automotive industry, this supply chain management system is already very sophisticated and can be aligned with international giants. Currently, there are over 100 active users on this platform.

The main users are suppliers and purchasing agents of Weilai Automobile. According to incomplete statistics, the annual purchases made through this system in 2010 were estimated to be over 5 million yuan.

"The system is not given to suppliers for free. They pay a usage fee of 10,000 yuan per year, which will gradually cover some of our costs."

Zhang Yong responded with a smile that the boss likes to engage in digital management, something he learned from Flashpoint when he joined the company. This concept is truly ahead of the traditional supply chain model.

Nowadays, many manufacturers still connect with the supply chain by issuing receipts, which involves too many gray channels and is difficult to investigate.

While Flash's digital management model cannot completely eliminate gray areas, it is relatively more transparent, making tax-related issues much easier to handle.

“No problem. We’ve developed such an advanced system, so charging them 10,000 yuan a year isn’t too much.”

This software was developed by Dingding's team, which required payment. There are also ongoing maintenance and updates, as well as the development of the app itself, all of which involve significant investments.

"Boss, Mr. Zhang, quite a few people have arrived downstairs. Should we go down and take a look?"

Zeng Jixiang, who was in charge of on-site reception, knocked on the door and entered while Tan Jincheng and Zhang Yong were talking. There were far more automotive suppliers than two-wheeled electric vehicle suppliers. Apart from some local ones, quite a few out-of-town manufacturers had come over.

Weilai's supply chain sales management is similar to other companies, also divided into three levels. The first level is of course the economically developed coastal provinces, centered on Ningbo.

The second-tier network is centered in Xiangcheng and covers the secondary markets in central and western China. As for the third-tier network, it is currently centered in Chuzhou, and a branch office may be established in Sichuan Province and other places to build a channel network in the future.

"Shall we go down and take a look?" Zhang Yong asked.

"Alright, let's go down and take a look around. It's the first supplier conference, let's make a good impression on them."

The service arrangements for this supplier conference at Weilai are absolutely perfect. There are minibuses to pick up and drop off passengers at the airport, bus station, and train station. For those who drive themselves, there will also be someone to help them.

The entire Tiangang Hotel was booked by Weilai Motors during the conference, and there were just enough rooms available.

The owner of Tiangang Hotel volunteered to help with reception in the lobby area on the first floor. He liked Tan Jincheng very much. Over the years, the reception tasks for the Shanchi Group hotels have all been handled by Tiangang Hotel, and the consumption of official receptions accounts for a large part of their hotel revenue every year.

"President Tan, President Zhang, Secretary Zeng, there are quite a few people here." The manager, who was observant and attentive to his surroundings, immediately came forward to greet Tan Jincheng and his two companions as they came down from the lobby.

"Haha, nearly 200 suppliers will be coming, so there should be quite a few people. Thank you for your hard work, Manager Liu."

"It's not hard work, it's what we should do."

Manager Liu responded with a smile that, in addition to the supplier conference in January, the various subsidiaries of the Flash Group, which are planning to hold a big annual meeting this year, will also have many other activities, a large part of which will be held at the Tiangang Hotel.

It's fair to say that before the Lunar New Year, Flash Group was the biggest client of Tiangang Hotel. How could Manager Liu not serve this big spender well?

"President Nagasawa Yu should be arriving soon."

Zeng Jixiang whispered to Tan Jincheng that Mitsubishi was a first-tier supplier for Weilai, but he hadn't expected Nagasawa Yu to come. It was Nagasawa Yu's secretary who called him. By this time, they had already entered the area of ​​the cross-sea bridge.

Seeing Zeng Jixiang's posture, Manager Liu consciously walked away.

Tan Jincheng was also surprised: "Huh? What's this old guy doing here?"

Holy crap, this guy also likes to launch surprise attacks. As Mitsubishi's top executive in China, his travel arrangements are definitely much more sophisticated than those of a country bumpkin like Tan Jincheng. He receives high-level treatment wherever he goes.

This old bastard is playing these tricks; isn't he just making trouble for Tan Jincheng?

"Yes, they just notified me. They said it was a spur-of-the-moment decision."

Tan Jincheng and Zhang Yong exchanged a glance and couldn't help but laugh. Zhang Yong smiled and said to Zeng Jixiang, "Hurry up and inform the district. Chang Zeyu is probably here mainly to inspect the Mitsubishi Ningbo factory."

It's just a supplier conference; it's not like he needs to come all the way here. He's not exactly bored.

"Yeah, let's notify them and let the district make preparations. That old guy really knows how to cause trouble."

Mitsubishi's Yongcheng plant and Weilai Motors are both located on Meishan Island, and construction is progressing rapidly. They will soon be officially put into production. The performance of the Yuechi A1 over the past few months has made Mitsubishi very envious.

Nagasawa Yu's impromptu visit was certainly not to discuss supplier orders, but rather to urge them to speed up the process again and quickly launch the domestically produced Outlander to the market. In addition to his inspection in Ningbo, Nagasawa Yu will also make a trip to Changzhou.

Mitsubishi headquarters was now filled with regret. Had they known that the Chinese auto market would perform like this in 2009, they wouldn't have dragged out negotiations with Weilai Auto so long, starting in October 2008.

If things go smoothly, the Outlander and ASX could at least survive for two months at the tail end of the car market, with each model selling several thousand or even tens of thousands of units.

Mitsubishi headquarters calculated that if the negotiations hadn't been delayed, the Outlander and ASX models would have been launched around the same time as the Yuechi A1, or even earlier.

In 2009, Mitsubishi Motors upgraded its specifications and launched seven models, including the Outlander EX, Pajero, and Lancer EX, at the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macau International Auto Show in June.

However, only two models are available for sale in China: the Pajero and the Lancer EX. The domestically produced Lancer EX manufactured by Southeast Motors has only sold 3961 units.

At this time, Southeast Motor was already in a state of near collapse. Selling its assets and seeking self-rescue and restructuring were the constant concerns of Southeast Motor, and they had no intention of cooperating with Mitsubishi at all.

The Lancer EX's sales can't even make the sales charts. If it weren't for the Pajero, Mitsubishi as a whole vehicle brand would be forgotten.

The CRV sold over 10 units in a year, the RAV4 sold 6.79 units, and the Highlander and Qashqai each sold over 3 units. The sedans alone did not need to be mentioned.

While other Japanese brands are reaping huge profits, Mitsubishi is barely getting any scraps.

Ironically, Mitsubishi's main source of revenue this year is the Haval H3 and the Yuechi A1. These two models are selling well, resulting in a large number of engine orders.

Having taken over the Chinese market for a year, Mitsubishi has yet to expand its complete vehicle business, putting Nagasawa Hiroshi under considerable pressure.

To paraphrase a football commentator, "Time is running out for Yutaka Nagasawa."

Taking advantage of the supplier conference, Nagasawa Yu made a last-minute decision to visit Ningbo. In addition to urging the progress to be accelerated and building relations with the local government, he also wanted to have a chat with Tan Jincheng.

Xiao Ri is quite meticulous in his work, at least that's how he appears to be; he's unlikely to do something on a whim.

However, Nagasawa Yu is almost going bald from worry.

In his view, Tan Jincheng, this young boss, is able to quickly grow a brand new brand into a big and strong one through capital integration. He seems to have a magical power, and talking to him might bring some different insights.

(End of this chapter)