Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 88 Recruiting troops
Orange 1 is not worried about selling, the key is that there is no stock, the entire supply chain is suddenly stuck in the battery supply link.

Even if the production line manager in Ningde agrees to work three shifts and perform maintenance once every 72 hours, the daily battery production capacity can only reach 4 units per day.

The trade-off of a 2% increase in error was to increase battery production by 1 units per day, but this was just a drop in the ocean compared to the daily orders of over 5 units!
"Brother Chen! Even if we buy 4 batteries, it won't be enough to keep up with the orders from the stall owners!"

Upon hearing Zhao Tiezhu mention the battery issue again, Chen Mo quickly frowned, his fingertips tapping on the nearly 17 orders that had already accumulated.

"Right now, Ningde is only willing to adjust shifts to increase production, so they have a small production line that can produce 4 units per day!"

“We don’t supply our gaseous lithium batteries to external parties. People are worried that if we add a medium-sized production line with a daily output of 5 batteries, the sales of our Orange 1 will not be able to keep up.”

Chen Mo rubbed his fingertips against the stubble that had sprouted on his chin in the past two days, and suddenly chuckled softly.

“But there’s a way!” He tapped the order form in Zhao Tiezhu’s hand with his fingertips, his eyes burning: “Tomorrow morning, go and take over Yuantu New Energy, the company you said couldn’t even pay wages last month—remember that factory?”

Zhao Tiezhu raised an eyebrow and slapped his thigh loudly.

"How could I not remember! They kicked us out of the lab like we were thieves!"

His Adam's apple bobbed, and his fingertips unconsciously traced the edge of the order form, a hint of melancholy in his voice.

"I wonder if Old Liu is still there guarding the factory. He said before that he wanted to grit his teeth and hold on until the new boss came and revitalized the factory."

"Don't worry! I asked Teacher Lin, and it seems Xu Mingyuan sold the house. Yuantu hasn't collapsed yet! Cough cough."

Chen Mo felt a burning sensation in his throat and swallowed hard.

Gong Yun chuckled and handed over a bottle of mineral water. The cap was unscrewed with a "pop," and tiny water droplets were still rising from the bottle, carrying wisps of hot steam that went straight into her nose.

"Sister Gong! When you have time, go and get a mini-fridge!"

He then drank half a bottle of warm water to calm the burning sensation in his throat, and turned to Zhao Tiezhu, saying, "Once we take over the long-haul project, I'll personally oversee the production line upgrades."

In Chen Mo's mind, there was a complete layout of gaseous lithium battery production lines provided by the system. There was no need for Ningde to switch to a production line that used more than 70% liquid lithium batteries; about 40% would suffice.

He had originally wanted to offer some suggestions for optimizing Ningde's pilot production line.

Since no one was willing to increase orange production, Chen Mo saw no point in trying to curry favor with them.

As long as we can reach an agreement with Yuantu New Energy tomorrow, Xu Mingyuan can do so.

Chen Mo has a clear production line transformation plan. With minimal changes to the main structure, 40% of the production line configuration can be changed. If it needs to be expedited, it can be completed in one to two days.

Just then, a wholesaler from a stall arrived.

"Miss Gong! I ordered 200 units today. When can I receive them?" A stall owner with a waist bag tied around his waist walked over.

Gong Yun put down the ledger, shooed Xiaomi off her knees, smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress with her fingertips, and went to greet them herself.

"200 units? Do you need expedited service?"

She handed over the order form and tapped the "Priority Production" column with her pen cap: "6% deposit, 48-hour delivery; 3% deposit, 7-day delivery."

"Fine!" The wholesaler gritted his teeth. Orange 1 phones were selling like hotcakes, and he needed to get the stock quickly so he could make a profit from the phone cases: "Then it'll be 60%!"

The wholesaler used the pen handed to him by the other party to write down the quantity in the "priority production" column and sign his name.

Gong Yun instructed the other party to keep the deposit receipt safe and used a bottle of mineral water as a paperweight to flatten the new order.

"Mr. Chen! Our production schedule is already booked for 7 days from now, so..."

The landline on the long table suddenly rang. She picked up Xiaomi and stood up to answer the phone: "It's the OEM factory in Futian District! Just a moment." "Mr. Chen! The OEM factory in Futian District has a phone number!"

Chen Mo answered the phone; the caller was inquiring about the arrival time of the battery materials.

Although a batch of batteries will arrive tomorrow, Chen Mo plans to allocate the production capacity of this contract manufacturer in Futian District to the "X" machine first.

So Chen Mo told the other party that he would start the screen cleaning section today, as he had another phone with "same configuration" that he wanted to manufacture.

Since Ningde's battery production capacity can't keep up, let's allocate three of the five contract manufacturers to the "X" phone!
After arranging the production schedule for the "X" phone from the OEM factory, Zhao Tiezhu, with a toothpick in his mouth, asked, "Brother Chen! The owner of Orange 1 across the alley has run away. The disassembly worker wants to switch jobs. Should we hire him?"

Chen Mo twirled his pen, not looking up, and asked, "What's his character and skill like?"

"He's a fairly honest guy, and technically he's only slightly behind me!" Zhao Tiezhu grinned, tapping his fingers on the long table.

Gong Yun, who was processing orders, glanced at him sideways.

He suddenly felt a chill and sat up straight, ceasing his knocking.

If it's not about serious matters, Gong Yun might give "Little" Zhao a little "reminder" not to run wild.

When a mouse meets a cat, Zhao Tiezhu, that rascal, is finally someone who can keep him in check. Chen Mo almost burst out laughing.

"That kid can disassemble motherboards skillfully, without even damaging the solder pads."

"Then recruit them!" Chen Mo said, then instructed, "Have him go with you to the suppliers for a couple of days, then keep an eye on the individual components. You only need to look at the screen and the chip, don't let go of the core components."

Chen Mo suddenly looked up, recalling the mistreatment he had received from the production line manager at Ningde, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Next time, I don't want the contract manufacturer to notify me of the battery shortage at the last minute."

What a ridiculous joke! Orange Technology has completely lost face.

Chen Mo only found out about the battery shortage because he had to rely on feedback from the final assembly plant in his supply chain.

Zhao Tiezhu rubbed the back of his neck. Brother Chen was becoming more and more like a boss.

"Understood! I'll spread the word at each stall right away. Orange Technology is recruiting, and from now on, we'll have a dog watching over every component supplier."

Hmm! For Zhao Tiezhu, who regarded Chen Mo as an older brother, the boss's imposing manner was useless, and he even had the leisure to make a small joke.

Chen Mo didn't care. He was just a troublemaker he couldn't control. As long as there were people in the company who could keep him in check, that was fine.

He turned to Gong Yun and tapped his employee ID card with his fingertips.

"Sister Gong! From now on, new employees will start with employee number 100 when they are officially hired."

The two of them were immediately struck by a sudden realization. Gong Yun paused, her hand holding the pen still, and Zhao Tiezhu's toothpick fell to the ground with a "clatter".

This means that Orange Technology is officially transitioning from a small, makeshift operation run by three people to a more stable small factory.

Moreover, Zhao Tiezhu and Gong Yun had employee numbers 002 and 003, respectively.
Chen Mo is now prohibiting the release of employee numbers below 100, which inevitably leads the two of them to speculate wildly.

Oh! Wait, there's also Xiaomi with employee number 004!

Do you think that if Orange Technology really becomes successful in the future and provides stock options for company veterans, will a millionaire cat be born after the company goes public?

(End of this chapter)