Rebirth: My dad is too obedient

Chapter 244 New Product Design and Confidence
The installation of the production line is almost complete and technical debugging is currently underway.

Two experts from Jiangsu Province are still in the factory. They go to get off work and leave work on time every day, keep an eye on the production line equipment, and teach the factory's technical team. They are serious and responsible.

Yang Congxin was not very good at "entertaining" people, so Xu Zhiquan arranged for administrative director Wu Yue to help, and take the two technical experts out for meals and play every now and then.

As long as the two experts are in a good mood, the implementation of the production line will be much smoother.

……

Currently, only less than ten people in the company know that Morningwind Technology has introduced the latest motor technology.

Xu Zhiquan also specifically instructed that the secret must be kept secret from the two experts from Su Province.

After all, they are future competitors in the same industry, so it is better to hide one of Morningwind Technology’s technical trump cards.

When Xu Zhiquan and Yang Congxin went to Beijing to sign the "technology buyout contract", they also signed the "motor purchase contract" by the way.

HUST has its own cooperative motor factory, which is located in Tianjin, and the quotation it provides is quite favorable.

Xu Zhiquan also discussed with Xu Chen that when they have sufficient funds in the future, they can consider acquiring or building an electric motor factory themselves, which will be more conducive to technology accumulation and upgrading.

At the Institute of Physics of the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Xu Zhiquan was able to establish some personal connections during his visit.

In the future, we can consider establishing longer-term cooperation, or even directly recruit one or two technical talents.

Xu Zhiquan and Xu Chen mentioned that several doctoral and master's students there "work" for their supervisors, but their salaries are actually pitifully low, and there will be opportunities to poach them in the future.

At present, the technical foundation of Yang Congxin’s team is still a little weak. We should consider upgrading the technology and adding high-end talents in the future.

In addition, Xu Zhiquan also found ways to learn more information about the related manufacturing field from Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Currently, the better manufacturing production lines in China still come from Japan and Germany.

After Morningwind Technology has reached a certain scale and accumulated experience, it will still consider introducing more advanced technologies and production lines from Japan and Germany.

In this regard, Xu Zhiquan also had a brief chat with Wu Yongming after he came back.

At present, the country also encourages the introduction of advanced overseas technologies, and cities and provinces can also match corresponding assistance policies.

But that’s a story for later, and there’s no need to rush at the moment.

……

……

Chenfeng Technology Park, large conference room in the comprehensive building.

At noon that day, Yang organized a new internal closed-door meeting, and the core members still attended the meeting.

“Several current product design plans have been recycled.

We need to choose a direction as soon as possible, and after a few more rounds of revisions, we need to move forward as quickly as possible..."

The design proposals came from several design institutes and design companies in Beijing and provincial capitals, all of which are experienced companies in industrial design for motorcycles and electric two-wheeled vehicles.

Two of them are more capable and have participated in the product design of two electric vehicle companies in Jinshi and Xishi.

In addition to industrial design, they can also cooperate with technical design and subsequent production links. Of course, the corresponding quotation will be higher.

……

Yang Congxin spent nearly an hour projecting several product plans on the screen.

There are two or three plans that are quite eye-opening.

When everyone started to discuss seriously, they still fell into some arguments...

"The pedal-type solution is certainly good, but the total cost is probably more than 2,000 yuan. It is a question whether we can sell such a high-end product.

After all, no one has heard of the Morning Breeze electric car..."

"We saw quite a few electric bikes with pedals in Jinshi, and most of the locals ride them..."

"But in the south, you can hardly see foot pedals. I don't know if it's due to supply-side reasons or user preferences."

"The design of this model is consistent with the name 'Morning Wind Ice Power'. It looks quite technological."

"Another problem is our target users. The overall design styles nowadays are obviously female-oriented, while others are obviously male-oriented..."

……

……

Xu Zhiquan listened silently while smoking a cigarette, and couldn't help but turn his head to look at Xu Chen.

What he thought in his heart was that recruiting Guo Liang was a very correct decision.

It is obvious that Guo Liang made a great contribution in this product discussion meeting.

Yang Congxin and the heads of the other two technical lines focused too much on products and technology, and hardly considered market demand and user preferences.

The appearance of Guo Liang just complements them.

Fang Jun was also present at the scene. She had a notebook and a calculator spread out in front of her.

She had almost no expression on her face and said nothing, but whenever the budget was obviously going to exceed the target, she would reach out to interrupt and say coldly:
“It’s over budget. We can’t do it.”

……

After more than an hour of discussion, the "battle" took a break.

Everyone turned their eyes to the boss Xu Zhiquan. Xu Zhiquan was smoking a cigarette, but turned his head to look at Xu Chen who was sitting in the back row.

Xu Chen was holding a plate of grapes and eating them, looking somewhat innocent.

"What do you think, Mr. Xu?" Xu Zhiquan asked with a smile.

Xu Chen thought for a moment and said, "In fact, what we have just discussed is almost complete, and the conclusion is relatively clear."

Several people looked at each other in confusion. In fact, the discussion just now did not reach a consensus.

Several plans were quickly eliminated, but in the end two were put on the table and some arguments and disputes ensued.

Among the people present, only Yang Congxin and Fang Jun had worked on projects with Xu Chen and knew the vision and abilities of this "Young Mr. Xu".

In the initial bidding for the acquisition of Guangming Factory, Dongchen Shares was in an absolutely weak position, but a series of operations by Mr. Xu turned it into the final winner.

The two technical supervisors under Yang Congxin only knew that Xu Chen was the boss's son. They had only met him once or twice so far and actually had no idea of his role in the company and the project.

But I heard that he hasn't started college yet, so I thought he was just here to audit the class today...

Guo Liang had also seen Xu Chen's abilities, so when he saw him speak, he felt a little excited.

……

Xu Chen lowered his head and thought for a while:

"I am only expressing my personal opinion. It still depends on everyone's discussion and the final decision of 'President Xu'..."

"Many of the conclusions have actually been discussed before, and they are all laid out in the open."

"At present, domestic electric two-wheelers have not yet formed a large-scale market, but overall they have been divided into two groups, north and south."

“The northern faction actually consists of two or three companies mainly in Tianjin, and some small workshops in the surrounding areas.

The overall product is of the 'simple' type, much like a bicycle with a battery and pedals.

The cost is cheap, and the current market in the north is basically of this type..."

“The Southern School consists of several companies in Jiangsu Province, and the production lines we introduced are also from Jiangsu Province.

The product design tends to be "luxury", with motorcycle-like pedals and a more fashionable shape.

The cost is several hundred dollars more expensive, covering the southern market..."

These conclusions are the current market situation.

In fact, several people at the scene had a vague feeling, but they had not formed a complete understanding.

As a person who was reborn, Xu Chen had some understanding of the development history of domestic electric vehicles in his previous life. This was related to the fact that he had participated in an electric vehicle promotion project in his previous life.

"Simple in the north, luxurious in the south" was the product structure of the overall electric vehicle market from the 2000s to the 2010s.

There are many reasons for this, but the core one may be the relationship between industrial clusters and consumer perceptions...

Xu Chen continued:
“There are actually two distinct associations for electric two-wheelers:
The first one is 'electric bicycle'.

It is an upgrade of the bicycle, which is equivalent to adding a battery motor to the bicycle...

The second type is the "electric motorcycle". It is a downgrade of the motorcycle, which is equivalent to replacing the motorcycle's fuel tank engine with a battery motor...

There is no good or bad in this, bicycles are in every household and are widely known. "Electric bicycles" are easier to understand and promote.

This is also the reason why most people call electric two-wheeled vehicles electric bicycles...

Motorcycles are relatively high-end and few people use them, but that also means they are high-end.

'Electric motorcycle' sounds more prestigious than electric bicycle..."

"Generally speaking, the two options that have come up so far...

One is the 'electric bicycle', which is a northern market style with a simple shape, pedals and low cost.

One is an 'electric motorcycle', which is more southern in style, fashionable in shape, and has pedals similar to motorcycles, and is much more expensive..."

Everyone looked at the two plans on the projection screen again, and they found that they were indeed as Xu Chen had said.

In fact, these are all simple insights, but if Xu Chen hadn't said them out loud, we might not have realized them.

Especially the comparison between the concepts of "electric bicycle" and "electric motorcycle", I really didn't think of it at the beginning.

Xu Chen continued:

“Personally, I prefer the direction of ‘electric motorcycles’, that is, luxury and high-end products with pedals.

If we make "simple" products, we will basically have no competitiveness.

Several factories in Jinshi are producing this type of electric vehicles, and the prices have been reduced to very low levels.

Unless we don’t make money and sacrifice profits to sell products, we will have a chance to open up the market…”

“There is no major distribution initiative for ‘luxury’ electric cars in the south in the north right now.

We launched a luxury model with pedals in the northern market, which has a clear competitive advantage over the 'simple model' in Jinshi.

Of course, in terms of pricing, we may still have to sacrifice some profits and not price too high.

Otherwise, users will still be greedy for cheapness and choose simple products...

However, under the current market conditions, each company's pricing still has a lot of profit margin, which gives us room and scope for operation."

Yang Congxin nodded gently, but then asked:
“Which pricing range do you think is appropriate?”

Xu Chen thought for a moment:
“You have to look at it in terms of cost…

My suggestion is that the price should be 15-25% higher than the mainstream 'simple' products in the north.

In terms of cost, it is controlled in the range of 20%-30% higher than it.

In terms of profit, 10%-20% is about right..."

He paused:

“Based on these three criteria, we balance the costs of all aspects and the final price.

Basically, we can guarantee our profits, and at the same time, there is a price range that consumers can accept.”

Guo Liang thought for a moment, nodded and said:

"This algorithm takes all aspects into consideration."

He looked at Yang Congxin and Fang Jun again:

"We still need to carefully consider the cost of the product."

Xu Chen continued:
"Another thing is that our pricing should be 10%-25% lower than the 'luxury' products in the south and Jiangsu Province...

I estimate that within a year, the two companies in the south will also begin trying to open up distribution in the northern market.

In this way, when they come in, our products will still have a price advantage.

They have a unified price across the country, and there is no way that the price difference between the north and the south is too big..."

Yang adjusted his black-framed glasses again:

"In this case, the plan is basically determined to be in this direction."

As he spoke, he pointed to a product picture on the projection screen.

"However, we still have to carefully calculate the cost, which will also affect the specific purchase of complete parts, etc..."

Xu Chen nodded:

“My suggestion is also this design direction.

Of course, some specific details can still be optimized, mainly in terms of design elements and colors.

I suggest that we make four different concept maps in this direction, and Mr. Guo can use them to conduct user research. "

Guo Liang smiled and said, "I was just about to say that when it comes to the design of a car's exterior, it's better to look at the preferences and feedback of real consumers."

Xu Chen nodded:

“The current plan is somewhat biased towards female users.

I suggest that our first product should be a little more universal.

There is no need to be particularly feminine or masculine in terms of gender perception, it is better to be more neutral, so that the user base can be wider. "

Guo Liang: "That's right. Many male users may not buy this version of the product."

Fang Jun interrupted:

"We need a more neutral design, so that it matches the image of our spokesperson, Brother Bing."

Xu Chen laughed out loud: "Teacher Fang Jun is right!"

He took out his phone and flipped through a few files:
"Director Yang, I sent you a few pictures.

This is the logo I asked an outside designer to make for 'Morning Wind Technology' and 'Morning Wind Ice Power'. When we iterate on product designs later, we can directly print the logo on them."

Yang collected the documents again and projected them onto the screen.

Everyone stared at it and couldn't help but admire it.

"You know what, putting these two logos on it really makes it look high-end!"

"This is great. If you adjust the design of the car, I think it will be the best-looking electric car in the country!"

……

After Xu Chen's speech, they quickly reached a consensus.

Especially after the two logos were put up, everyone in the conference room instantly felt more confident in Morningwind Technology's new products.

Yang Congxin couldn't help but sigh, "Mr. Xu" is really extraordinary.

He recalled the initial acquisition plan. Fang Jun asked him to consult Xu Chen, and Yang Congxin had doubts at first...

Yang Congxin's two subordinates, the two young technical supervisors, were even more surprised at this moment.

It turns out that Mr. Xu’s son, “Little Mr. Xu”, is also the “decision-making core” of the company.

The most important thing is that what he said makes sense...

They had never met with Xu Chen before, so they were still extremely surprised at this moment.

Didn't he just graduate from high school and not go to college yet? How did he achieve such a high level of professionalism?

Products, design, marketing, pricing... Why does it feel like he knows everything?! ...

Guo Liang looked up at the projection screen and felt a little happy.

He couldn't help but think that joining Morning Breeze Technology seemed to be the right decision.

In fact, in a sense, he was able to agree to it at the beginning because he trusted Xu Chen.

After all, in the six months of knowing Xu Chen, this "Little Teacher Xu" had indeed given him too many shocks and surprises.

……

Fang Jun remained expressionless. He turned to look at Xu Zhiquan and said:
"Mr. Xu, what do you think?"

Xu Zhiquan smiled heartily and threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray:
"agree!"

(End of this chapter)