Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 72: Stocking Up 10,000 Units
Orange Technology's small workshop.

+15000+35000+

Chen Mo continued pressing the calculator, his plastic buttons sticky with cold sweat, afraid that he might accidentally press the wrong button and ruin everything.

The deposits he tallied were far more exciting than the orders Zhao Tiezhu tallied.

In Chen Mo's eyes, the explosive sales of Orange 1 on its first day in North China were nothing more than a childish game in kindergarten, and it was all to be expected.

If, with his perspective from the future and having made so many preparations in advance, along with the help of the system, Orange 1 still couldn't become a hit in the heart of North China's stronghold of counterfeit mobile phones, then he would have truly wasted his rebirth.

But when Chen Mo turned his head and caught sight of Zhao Tiezhu's red-rimmed eyes, he couldn't help but be moved.

His good buddy, who had been eating instant noodles with him for three months, was now pressing the order form to his chest, grinning foolishly.

"+1500 equals 451,150!"

After counting the last stack of banknotes, Chen Mo divided them into bundles of 20,000 each, stuffed them into brown paper bags, and finally put them in the safe.

He tightened the safe's knob, and the metal latch clicked.

"Phew~" Chen Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief and went to open the roller shutter door to get some fresh air.

"Brother Chen! Brother Chen!" Zhao Tiezhu snapped out of his daze, waving his calculator and order form excitedly, like a savage performing a shamanic ritual: "We did it! Our Orange Phone is a success!"

"Calm down!" Chen Mo handed him a bottle of water from the corner and opened one for himself. "We only received about 45 yuan in deposits today, which means we ordered 3000 units. We don't actually have as many orders as you think!"

Zhao Tiezhu pressed the order form down with his calculator, took a big gulp of water, and calmed down.

"Shall we stock up on 3000 units? That way, no one in North China dares to overstock!"

要知道1000台橙子1的备货成本就是26万左右，3000台就是78万左右。

Although Chen Mo had just received a 500 million yuan licensing fee from the government, he planned how to spend it and wouldn't use it all to stockpile inventory.

That would be awkward if they suddenly couldn't sell them.

Why do many manufacturers in later generations prefer to be labeled as "monkey show makers" rather than stock up on less inventory?

This is mainly because if there is excess inventory, electronic products depreciate quickly, while warehousing costs increase day by day.

Those who hoarded mobile phones back then have all lost their money; electronic products have the highest depreciation rate.

In comparison, manufacturers won't lose money even if they get criticized, but having excess inventory will definitely increase costs.

"Ten thousand units! We'll stock ten thousand units this time!" Chen Mo tapped his fingertips on the calculator, the total deposit of 45 yuan reflected in his eyes: "What can those knock-off phones that just follow the Apple 4 trend have to compete with us?"

In addition, with 10,000 units in stock, it's easier to negotiate the price of parts, so the cost of stocking 1000 units can be reduced to around 250,000.

For every 1000 Orange 1 units sold, there will be an extra 10,000 yuan in net profit.

"Hey Chen, who was it that told me to calm down?" Zhao Tiezhu raised an eyebrow mischievously, mimicking his tone, then fanned his wrinkled collar with his hand: "Now you're talking the opposite of what you mean?"

"We at Orange Technology are tech people. We should be low-key in our personal lives, but high-profile in our products."

Look at how much traffic the online feud between wheat powder and chrysanthemum powder generated for their respective products!
This is modern society. If you don't make your product high-profile, users won't even have heard of it, so how will they buy it?
The aroma of wine is also afraid of the deep alley!
"Alright, alright!" Zhao Tiezhu nodded with a half-smile: "Brother Chen! Be low-key in your personal life, but high-profile in your work, isn't that right!"

"Ok!"

Chen Mo then picked up a sample of a gaseous lithium battery that had been commissioned to be manufactured by "Ningde," which was facilitated by Teacher Lin.

After all, Professor Lin is not only the Vice Dean of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Shenzhen University, an authoritative expert in the field of lithium battery cathode materials, and the Chairman of the National Energy Storage Technology Standardization Committee, but also a technical advisor to Ningde.

Ning had to set up a small production line specifically for Orange Technology to manufacture gaseous lithium batteries, which resulted in a larger capacity error, around 8%, far less than the 3% produced by the graduate students in the national laboratory.

The country has now classified boron nitride catalysts as Class A controlled substances, prohibiting their production, distribution, or export except by exclusively authorized institutions.

The procurement authority for Category A controlled materials is divided into four levels: I. Priority procurement, II. Permitted procurement, III. Restricted procurement, and IV. Prohibited procurement.

As a contributor to the catalyst, Orange Technology naturally holds Level I priority procurement rights.

This is already considered preferential treatment. You should know that the Haiqing Energy Storage Demonstration Center New Energy Branch under Green Investment Company only has a Class II procurement authority.

When they need to purchase catalysts through official channels, they have to go through cumbersome procedures such as conventional bidding and competitive negotiation.

As long as Orange Technology can accept the other party's mass production price, there are no restrictions on purchasing.

Um... I have a choice?
Chen Mo began to look forward to the 0.1% lifetime dividend at the end of the year.

The first Haiqing energy storage demonstration center cost 400 billion yuan, with liquid lithium battery energy storage accounting for about 60% of the cost, catalysts accounting for about 10%, and profits of about 30%. It took three years to build. Based on this calculation, Chen Mo's annual share from catalysts alone was at least 720 million yuan during those three years.

This doesn't even include the fact that three years later, our molten salt energy storage stations began to generate the majority of revenue in the global energy storage market.

When future generations talk about new energy giants, they will say CATL, which has a market share of 37.9%, has ranked first in the world for eight consecutive years, and has a market share of 40% in energy storage battery shipments, monopolizing the world.

"Yes!" Green Investment, a small and micro enterprise whose name starts with "China," nodded. "You're right. I also invested a little bit in this company."

The construction of national-level energy storage stations is a market that costs anywhere from hundreds of billions to trillions of yuan, and there are only two and a half players in the world qualified to participate in it.

Green Fund is one of them, and Ning De is that half...

Therefore, these overseas energy storage markets are the main source of Chen Mo's future lifetime 0.1% share of income.

Chen Mo understands that if we build it ourselves, you can charge only the cost price and make a little less profit.

But when you go out and help others build, you have to respect the basic rules of international trade, so adding a zero after our exclusive technology is understandable.

Even though Chen Mo knew that he could live comfortably for the rest of his life on the 0.1% lifetime share, he still preferred to continue making mobile phones and make a name for himself.

Because the catalyst has already begun mass production at a certain exclusively licensed institution, the cost of Orange Generation C-LiQ-GC800 gaseous lithium battery has dropped from 57 yuan per unit to 55 yuan.

Once Orange Technology sets up its own battery factory, the price can be further reduced.

However, no matter how much the price drops, it's impossible for it to fall to the market price of 15 yuan for an 800 mAh ternary lithium battery in the short term.

As for why Teacher Lin suggested that Chen Mo entrust Ningde to produce gaseous lithium batteries, he could probably guess some of the reasons.

Many batteries used in my country's military industry in later generations were produced in cooperation with CATL.
The most advanced battery laboratory in Beijing is now the Tsinghua Battery Laboratory, but it used to be the famous Nortel Laboratory. After it was disbanded, most of the experts went to CATL.

Ningde (ATL) was originally a local public-private partnership that has since been transformed, and it has close ties with the government.

The power battery division that was later spun off—CATL—is a listed company in the port city. Apart from its state-owned shareholders, it has virtually no connection with the government.

So what does it have to do with Ningde if North America imposes sanctions on Ningde?

With Teacher Lin's guidance, Chen Mo naturally followed suit and placed the order with Ningde.

"Gas-propelled lithium batteries are our source of confidence!"

As he turned around, a business card that Teacher Lin had handed over to the technical director on behalf of Ningde, along with the samples, was swept off his sleeve.

Chen Mo put the item away in his notebook; the other party had said they would come to visit sometime.

"Brother Chen! With these 10,000 units..." Zhao Tiezhu hesitated, scratching the back of his head. "If I keep an eye on the spare parts, and you go to the contract manufacturer, who will look after the business?"

Zhao Tiezhu had to personally handle the supplier matters, and Chen Mo had to personally oversee the contract manufacturer to ensure quality and daily shipments. So, who would guard the small workshop that was being used as a warehouse for loose goods?

"We need to hire! We absolutely have to hire!" Chen Mo tore a piece of cardboard from the box and wrote a simple job posting with a marker: "If this continues, even if you're a 'donkey,' you'll be exhausted."

"No way!" Zhao Tiezhu suddenly clenched his fist and waved his skinny biceps in front of Chen Mo: "Brother Chen, just do whatever you want with me. As long as there's an eighteen-month bonus, I'll be more durable than a donkey!"

"Ha! You're teasing me again!" Chen Mo kicked his slippers and laughed, "Stop talking nonsense. Don't fall asleep here tonight, and keep an eye on the safe!"

Once midnight had passed, the ghost market across the street outside the roller shutter door gradually became noisy.

As soon as Chen Mo's footsteps disappeared at the end of the alley, Zhao Tiezhu sprang to his feet from the long table with a somersault.

He first tugged hard on the safe's handle, but the metal door didn't budge. Then he pulled on the steel chain wrapped around the window frame, which made a crisp sound as it clattered together.

"Good heavens, the thief couldn't have gnawed through it without a cutting machine!" He grinned, revealing two canine teeth. After confirming that everything was in order, he tiptoed up the roller shutter door half a meter high and slipped out like a nimble wildcat.

The skinny little yellow cat on the eaves licked its paws and looked curiously at its agile "kindred spirit".

Even under the cover of night, Huabei Qiang was still brightly lit, with the sounds of bargaining in the ghost market mixed with the fumes from the street barbecue stalls.

Zhao Tiezhu hunched his neck and squeezed into the crowd, but his mind was filled with the image of Widow Tian wearing an apron, leaning against the iron gate, her white testicles half-hidden.

Since returning from Dongguang, Zhao Tiezhu has been so busy with the production of Orange 1 that he hasn't had a moment to spare and hasn't had time to visit her for seven whole days.

"If it stays cold any longer, the duck in the bowl will fly away," he muttered to himself, then took out his phone to send a QQ message to Widow Tian.

Zhao Tiezhu's fingers flew across the screen, casting a long shadow under the streetlights that stretched into the depths of the street.

(End of this chapter)