2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 855 Boss Tan's Busy Spring Festival

Not only in Beicang, but also in other factories in Weilai today, year-end bonuses are being distributed in cash.

As for the safety of funds, it's very simple. Security is arranged on-site at each factory, and bank staff are also on-site. If you receive a large year-end bonus, you can directly deposit it into the bank through a bank employee.

On this day, social media was filled with images of cash walls at various factories of the Weilai Group, which truly stole the show and made employees of other car companies extremely envious.

According to this bonus distribution plan, all employees of Weilai will receive a year-end bonus ranging from 7,000 to 8,000 yuan, with some receiving more than 100,000 yuan. Moreover, this 1 billion yuan year-end bonus distribution plan does not involve middle and senior management personnel.

Management has other incentive methods.

The distribution of bonuses at Chunxiao Industrial Park took several hours, mainly because the employees were so enthusiastic, and many wanted to take photos with him.

In the end, Zhao Xinyi, as the secretary, couldn't stand it anymore and organized the team to speed up the process on-site; otherwise, it would have taken even longer to send the document.

"Boss, sometimes when you want to use a more approachable approach, you have to consider how we subordinates feel. Don't you have any idea how busy your schedule has been these past few days?"

Zhao Xinyi had a headache. Not only had she stood there for several hours, but she also had to think about not delaying the rest of the trip.

Unless there are special circumstances, Weilai's factories across the country usually set their holiday time two days before Lunar New Year's Eve to facilitate organizing employees to go home for the New Year. This year, the Lunar New Year falls on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, so working until the 26th of the twelfth lunar month is considered the end of the year's work.

"There's still enough time, and it's understandable that the employees are enthusiastic."

The situation on the scene was beyond Tan Jincheng's control, but he did bear some responsibility.

Most of the grassroots employees in Weilai's factories in Ningbo, Shanghai, and Changzhou are from other places. Every year during the Spring Festival holiday, it is a huge undertaking. Apart from the employees who drive home by themselves, the company has an obligation to help the rest of them return home smoothly for the Spring Festival.

For example, coordinating with the railway department to buy tickets collectively and organizing buses to send employees home are top priorities for administrative departments before the Spring Festival every year.

As the number of employees increases, so does the workload.

Tan Jincheng's extravagant idea certainly made him the center of attention, but it also significantly increased the workload for the administrative departments.

"This kind of extravagant behavior is fine once. In the future, when it comes to year-end bonuses, let's follow the usual practice. Even if we have to pay them in advance, let's just deposit them directly into the employees' salary cards instead of giving them cash."

Originally, a group of employees were scheduled to return home by minibus this morning, but due to the distribution of year-end bonuses on-site, it will definitely be postponed, disrupting the original plan.

"It can only be done once, so it will be more convenient to just clock in from now on."

It's a splurge, but it's a bit tiring on the legs; I've been standing for several hours since I started work this morning.

As a full-time secretary, Zhao Xinyi's words are not excessive. Reminding the boss to arrange work reasonably is one of her job duties. Being a big boss's secretary is not easy; it requires considerable work ability.

Young bosses like Tan Jincheng, in particular, sometimes exhibit some willful behavior.

"We need to hurry up with the rest of the schedule today, boss. You need to keep things under control. Let's head to Meishan now, have a meal there, and then we have to set off for Shanghai, otherwise we'll be late."

Normally, it takes about three hours to drive from Ningbo to Shanghai. However, considering the potential traffic jams during the Spring Festival travel rush, it's necessary to leave early.

"Alright, let's shorten the trip to Meishan accordingly. Let's cancel the inspection of headquarters for now. Anyway, we're all in Beicang. We can inspect it after the 26th of the twelfth lunar month."

The holiday does not mean that the entire Weilai Group stops operating. In fact, there are still many employees on duty, including on New Year's Eve and during the Spring Festival. There are many employees in grassroots positions.

Some people are eager to go home for the Chinese New Year, while others don't want to. In addition, the proportion of local employees in Weilai is actually quite large, including Flashpoint and Orange Technology.

In 2015, Wei Lai achieved excellent results. In addition to giving out a large year-end bonus, Boss Tan also needed to visit grassroots factories in major cities around the Spring Festival to check on the working conditions of the factories and to extend his regards to the grassroots employees.

From today until the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, Boss Tan's schedule is packed.

Take today for example. I was in Ningbo this morning, and this afternoon I had to rush to Shanghai to have an early New Year's Eve dinner with the workers in the Lingang Industrial Park and inspect the Shanghai Weilai branch, which is under construction.

The Shanghai branch, through its collaboration with miHoYo, adopted a unified design style with an exterior facade featuring both anime elements and automotive motifs, which generated considerable buzz when it was announced.

No reputable car company has ever done this before; Bilibili, a platform that brings together anime and manga fans, has been discussing this for quite some time.

From design to finalization and then to construction, the Shanghai branch of Weilai has made good progress. The main building is now basically completed, and the remaining tasks are decoration and business development.

The headquarters or branch building of a large company is not just a few buildings; it serves a large office group of thousands of people, equivalent to a complete business district.

The reason for bringing miHoYo into the unification effort is that both sides have legitimate interests to pursue.

In addition to serving as office space for both parties, the street where the branch is located will also become a popular spot for internet celebrities and anime fans, featuring anime characters, cars, and other cultural elements, and may even host cosplay exhibitions.

If operated well, it can not only increase revenue, but also serve as an important showcase for the company.

After having lunch at the Meishan factory and chatting with the employees for a while, Boss Tan didn't bother to go back to the workshop to finish packing. Urged by Zhao Xinyi, he hurriedly headed straight for Shanghai, leaving his secretary no choice but to rush off.

In three days, Boss Tan planned to visit all the Weilai factories in the Yangtze River Delta region, including Ningbo, Shanghai, Changzhou, Chuzhou, and Luzhou, covering four cities, three provinces, and one municipality.

If there's still time on the way back to Ningbo, Tan Jincheng plans to visit Suzhou as well.

This was at Wang Qinghua's invitation. As the core component company acquired by Flash Group, Bafang Electric, which holds a controlling stake but maintains independent operation, has seen continuous revenue growth in recent years. However, with market changes and increased R&D investment, Wang Qinghua has some new perspectives on the company's operation.

The bull market of 2015 was, to some extent, a key moment when IPOs were liberalized. It was this frenzied rise that made many entrepreneurs consider going public, and Wang Qinghua was one of them.

Bafang Electric has had no shortage of orders in recent years because of its stable large customers like Shanchi, and has been living a life of guaranteed income regardless of the circumstances. This is an advantage for the company. However, the fact that a single customer accounts for too large a share is also a disadvantage.

As market competition intensifies, companies need to seek breakthroughs to maintain competitiveness. Going public to raise funds to develop new customers or developing new businesses through financing and mergers and acquisitions are among the most effective ways to do so.

As an independent subsidiary of Flashpoint Group, Bafang is not part of the listed company Flashpoint Technology and is qualified for independent listing.

The two circuit breakers led to a change in leadership at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), and the new leader is from Jiangsu Province. His initial statement upon taking office was to loosen IPO restrictions and shift from an approval-based system to a registration-based system, which gave Wang Qinghua an opportunity.

Although IPOs are currently suspended due to the stock market crash and other reasons, Wang Qinghua believes that this abnormal behavior will not last long.

With a boost in performance and preparation over the next two years, Bafang Electric could easily go public before the registration-based IPO system is implemented.

Tan Jincheng roughly knew some of Wang Qinghua's ideas. He naturally supported the subsidiary's management team's idea of ​​pushing for an IPO. FlashTech's dependence on Bafang Electric was also gradually decreasing.

From a business perspective, even if they are subsidiaries of the same group, FlashTech is not obligated to purchase motor sets from Bafang Electric. Everything must be based on their own interests.

With increasingly stringent product requirements, fiercer competition, and rising investment in R&D and labor, Bafang Electric's business will inevitably shrink in the future if it does not seek breakthroughs.

The final outcome might be that it becomes a contract manufacturer for Flash, earning a meager living from contract manufacturing.

It's a good thing that Wang Qinghua wants to seek a breakthrough, which shows that he still has drive. Of course, Tan Jincheng thinks that Wang Qinghua also wants to increase his net worth, as he is not yet old enough to retire at 50.

For entrepreneurs in the real economy, whose businesses are limited in size and scope, their personal wealth will always be limited if they do not go public.

Smarter people use their network of contacts to make investments, engage in side businesses in addition to their main business, and increase their net worth. For example, the CEO of Youngor, who started in the clothing industry, has been able to support his company for more than ten years with just one investment from Yongcheng Bank.

Another area is real estate, which is why so many entrepreneurs are willing to engage in side businesses.

However, it's obviously not easy to run a successful side hustle. People's energy is limited, and without special luck, the probability of finding a side hustle that makes you financially secure is very low. In fact, most companies' side hustles are terrible.

"Hey, not bad, the road isn't too congested."

"We're heading towards Shanghai, so of course there's no traffic. But you'll see when we head towards Anhui; it's peak return travel season right now."

"Um, it seems so. We need to discuss tomorrow's itinerary again. Please remind them when the time comes."

During the Spring Festival travel rush, highways in Anhui Province are always extremely congested, so choosing to inspect Anhui Province at this time is really not a good idea.

After driving for several hours, Mr. Tan and his group first visited the battery factory in the Lingang Industrial Park. Compared to the orderly car assembly plant, the factory here seemed rather chaotic.

There is a first-phase project that has been officially put into production, and a second-phase project that is under construction. On one side, there are uniform work clothes, and on the other side, there is a messy construction site, but they all have one thing in common: they are full of vitality.

"The power battery business is just the beginning. What you are receiving now will only be higher than what you expect in the future, just like the name of our company."

January has ended, and the finance departments of Weilai's various subsidiaries have begun urgently compiling detailed revenue figures for the entire previous year. While the vehicle business is growing rapidly, the highest growth rate is undoubtedly in the power battery business. In 2014, Weilai's overall power battery revenue was only 8.67 million yuan, but in 2015, profits increased at least sixfold, which translates into an increase in the number of frontline employees and their workload.

Of the year-end bonuses that were just received, two departments received the most. The first was definitely the employees responsible for the research, development, production, and sales of the Yuechi A1, and the second was the power battery business project team.

For these two groups of employees, excluding those who have been with the company for less than six months, the year-end bonus they received was no less than 10,000 yuan.

When your pockets are bulging, even the boss's boasts sound good.

However, Boss Tan wasn't just bragging and fooling them. In any rapidly growing industry, even if the boss is stingy, the income of practitioners will not be low. This is the dividend of industry development.

Weilai Power Battery experienced rapid growth in 2015, and this trend is expected to continue in 2016. Judging from current orders and installations, it is not a dream for revenue to exceed 10 billion yuan in 2016.

Most importantly, with the significant increase in installed capacity, the net profit margin of power battery projects will become higher and higher. In 2015 alone, the net profit margin doubled. This is the benefit of technological accumulation and the result of years of hard work.

To use a somewhat inappropriate adjective, it would be "three years without business, then three years of feasting when business opens."

After having a New Year's Eve dinner with the grassroots employees at the power battery factory and giving them some small gifts, Tan Jincheng did not linger and drove overnight to Changzhou, where there is a Huanghai Bus Factory, and also a power battery factory in Liyang.

In Weilai's plan, the Liyang power battery industrial base will definitely be one of the future priorities. As for the Huanghai Bus Factory acquired, it should be the most low-profile sector under the entire Weilai system.

However, being low-key does not mean that this sub-brand is not doing well. Huanghai is unknown in the passenger car field, but its performance in the commercial bus field is extraordinary, and its brand awareness is still very high.

Throughout 2015, Huanghai Bus sold 4829 vehicles, more than 70% of which were pure electric buses. The total revenue was nearly 600 million yuan, mainly due to the very high subsidies for pure electric buses.

According to the latest subsidy policies from the central and local governments, the subsidy for a pure electric bus can reach up to 50 yuan and the minimum is 5 yuan. Once all these subsidies are received, Huanghai's cash flow will be very abundant.

"Although the commercial vehicle business is not the focus of the group, you don't need to worry too much. You will definitely not be short of the benefits you deserve."

"Furthermore, I can promise you that Huang Hai only needs to symbolically hand over one percent of the money he earns. The rest can all be kept and distributed within the company, allowing you to be self-sufficient and enabling the company to grow better and better."

Mr. Tan only visits Huanghai Bus a few times a year, so Huanghai's management is quite apprehensive about his inspection.

From the perspective of the automotive business, the Yuechi series is the eldest son of Wei Lai and the most promising, so it is only natural that it is valued. The new energy vehicle business is like the company's youngest son, so it is equally natural that it is valued.

The bus project, which is not a core business, is treated like an adopted son, a fact they recognized from the beginning of the acquisition.

Fortunately, the boss was quite generous and invested a lot of money after the acquisition to enable the company to quickly transform into the pure electric bus sector. They have indeed enjoyed the good times of the past two years.

The boss's intentions are quite clear now: self-sufficiency is the goal. The head office will no longer provide subsidies; you can handle the specific allocation and just make the financial statements look good.

This put their minds at ease.

As a neglected non-core business, the management's biggest fear is that the money they worked so hard to earn will be taken away by their boss, which would be very detrimental to both their own interests and the company's development.

"Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who exploits others, but we still need to make the necessary investments. BYD's K9 is a strong competitor for you."

Water that is too clear has no fish. Tan Jincheng didn't have the energy to manage Huanghai Bus. To be honest, he couldn't do anything about how these people were handled. But the most important thing was to be self-sufficient and not cause trouble for the head office.

If the company makes money, it's fine for you guys to pocket some, but you can't overstep the boundaries.

Wei Laifei doesn't have many core businesses, but as a group with assets in the hundreds of billions, it certainly has quite a few. To be honest, Tan Jincheng doesn't know much about some of its subsidiaries or holding subsidiaries, as well as its partners at the next level.

Tan Jincheng's principle for these non-core businesses is the same: it's fine to make money under the group's name, but the premise is that you are self-sufficient and do not exceed the limit. Under this premise, it is acceptable to use the company's name.

Once these two bottom lines are crossed, Tan Jincheng will not hesitate to cut off the business, sell off the controlling stake, and blacklist the partners.

It's not appropriate to say too much or be too direct during the Chinese New Year, so Tan Jincheng stopped there. After learning the boss's true thoughts, Huanghai's management was in a good mood, as the boss had left them a lot of room to maneuver.

"Don't worry, boss. We will increase our efforts in research and development and marketing, and strive to compete with BYD in the commercial bus business."

The two leading companies in China's new energy vehicle sector have always been competitors. Although BYD's reputation in the bus business is not as prominent as that in passenger vehicles, it is still very strong.

Throughout 2015, BYD delivered 7500 vehicles solely for e-commerce use, ranking first in the commercial new energy vehicle sector. Buses bearing the BYD logo, measuring seven or eight meters in length, roamed major cities.

The acquisition of Huanghai was largely driven by the desire to maintain a certain level of competitiveness with BYD in the commercial bus sector.

While Huanghai's business may not be a core business, that doesn't mean it's unimportant. Sales figures of several thousand vehicles can significantly enhance Weilai's financial reports, and can also be used for publicity when appropriate.

Huanghai Bus was acquired from Shuguang Automotive. After the acquisition, Tan Jincheng did not conduct a major purge of the management team.

Zhang Yong, who comes from Foton, a leading company in the commercial vehicle industry, spent a few months guiding the management team and introducing them to some of Foton's culture, but the overall style is still somewhat northern.

There are also quite a few people from Northeast China.

Even with Zhao Xinyi watching him intently from the sidelines, Boss Tan was still forced to drink quite a bit. He was so drunk that Li Yaohui helped him into the car, and they headed straight for Anhui Province.

"Wow, they can really drink! These guys are ruthless."

As soon as he got in the car, Tan Jincheng sobered up, and Zhao Xinyi in the passenger seat couldn't help but chuckle.

Huang Hai's management team wasn't familiar with Tan Jincheng; they had only heard that the boss had a very low alcohol tolerance. In addition, Tan Jincheng's face flushed when he drank, and he could actually fool them with his acting skills. But how could he possibly fool Zhao Xinyi and Li Yaohui?

Lai Yiu-fai, in particular, knew this all too well.

"When you get to Chuzhou and Luzhou, remember to cooperate a bit too. People from Anhui province are really good at persuading others to drink."

Tan Jincheng's alcohol tolerance is indeed not very good, but over the years he has at least developed some tolerance and can handle alcohol to some extent.

"I understand, boss, you're really shrewd."

"What kind of talk is that? Are you suggesting we actually get them drunk?"

There are no younger middle and senior managers at Weilai than Tan Jincheng. These seasoned veterans who have been in the workplace for decades, regardless of gender, are all tough guys who dare to sit down and drink. Each one of them could easily take down Tan Jincheng.

"Boss, you probably don't like Chinese New Year these days, do you? You're always busy with all sorts of social engagements during the holidays."

"That's right, there are so many social engagements during holidays, and even you all suffer along with me."

After ten years of entrepreneurship, apart from the first two years when they were looking forward to going home for the Chinese New Year to show off, the rest of the time has been spent in busy work, especially in recent years, he has become increasingly busy.

In 2015, Wei Lai achieved the second-highest sales ranking among independent brands, and he received numerous invitations starting in January.

The reason for choosing to inspect factories and visit employees in various places in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year is perhaps a way to escape the noise and chaos.

It's more relaxed to be with frontline employees.

"Is this why Dongzi likes to drink with his brothers?"

Hehe, speaking of which, Dongzi is quite an oddball. Unlike other internet founders who seek the limelight, he prefers to drink and talk with a group of grassroots deliverymen.

"Maybe, but it's also possible that it's because you and General Manager Liu both come from humble backgrounds, unlike other people."

Lai Yiu-fai, however, has his own insights.

"Maybe. I'll take a nap. Wake me up when we get to Chuzhou."

Wei Lai's sales figures for January have been released, but Tan Jincheng asked them not to publish them before the New Year. The two pieces of information—the year-end bonus cash wall and his appearances at factories in various cities—were enough to generate a lot of buzz.

Ironically, Wei Lai had his own set of plans, and after being proven wrong several times, the China Passenger Car Association chose to release its own data only after Wei Lai's announcement, directly citing Wei Lai's data.

This has led to Weilai not releasing data, and other domestic brands not releasing data either. The public still doesn't know the specific sales figures for January.

The reason why Wei Lai didn't announce it is very simple: stimulated by the price reduction policy, the monthly sales of Yuechi A1 have exploded again.

(End of this chapter)