Saturday, November 26, 2005.
Two rooms on the first floor of the Shanchi office building were used by the several Taobao stores Tan Jincheng had previously opened, one serving as an office and the other set up as a photography studio.
Including Jinshang Yidu, which had already been transferred, there were a total of four Taobao stores, with four customer service staff working day and night shifts.
Additionally, there were two employees responsible for distributing express packages, making a total of six employees.
These six employees and four Taobao stores were currently managed by Gu Qingqing, who would come to Beicang if she had time, or manage online if she didn't.
In Tan Jincheng's words, these four stores were for her to get some practice, get acquainted with the internet, and see what kind of ecosystem online shopping truly was; making money or not wasn't important.
After several months, the photography studio was once again put into use.
"Hehe, time to shoot winter clothes, more money to be made,"
Qin Siyu chuckled.
Actually, it was a bit late to be shooting winter clothes now, but with some rush work, they could still catch up.
Additionally, next year's spring collection would also be shot at the same time, with the shooting period lasting several days.
Time was tight, so two models shot together, still Qin Siyu and Zhao Xianbo.
Gu Qingqing stood by watching; this was her first time taking charge of organizing a photo shoot.
Just then, a knock came from outside the studio door.
It was Zhang Xuhui.
"Sister Gu, do you want to go upstairs to our boss's office for a midday rest? If so, I'll give you the key,"
Zhang Xuhui asked Gu Qingqing, who had opened the door.
Zhang Xuhui hadn't known that Gu Qingqing usually rested in Tan Jincheng's office at noon when she was there; he only found out today when Sun Yuming reminded him.
What to call her was an issue; calling her "boss's wife" wasn't quite appropriate, and other titles felt too formal.
After much thought, Zhang Xuhui could only bite the bullet and address the person in front of him as "Sister Gu."
"Your boss isn't here, so I won't go. I'll just rest in this office during lunch,"
Gu Qingqing replied with a smile.
Tan Jincheng hadn't returned from his business trip yet.
She knew this beforehand and felt a little disappointed; 10 days had passed since their last meeting.
Living in the same city, yet they saw each other so little, almost like a long-distance relationship; every meeting was deeply cherished.
Fortunately, Tan Jincheng would be able to return tomorrow.
It wasn't that he was specifically rushing back; rather, this round of business travel had concluded.
Like last time, this supply chain journey starting from Huzhou involved visiting many places.
He had to visit manufacturers of core components such as motors, controllers, frames, and tires.
For each component supplier, even if the cost of each part dropped by one or two yuan, it would be good.
This time, Tan Jincheng's goal was to achieve an overall component cost reduction of 5% to 10%.
For example, for 48V batteries, the original purchase price for 40,000 sets was 300 yuan per unit.
The annual purchase price for 200,000 to 500,000 sets naturally couldn't remain the same.
For orders worth hundreds of millions annually, it wouldn't work without some discounts.
Even a 5% overall reduction is good; that's several million yuan, a solid profit saved.
This is how cost reduction and efficiency improvement come about.
Batteries were the largest cost item, with annual procurement costs ranging from 160 million to 400 million yuan in 2006.
The average monthly procurement cost exceeded 13 million yuan, making it a key target for Tan Jincheng this time.
By the time he arrived at Boneng on the first day, it was almost quitting time in the afternoon.
After some small talk, although Zhang Yunhua was eager to get down to business, Tan Jincheng brushed him off, citing the late hour.
Although Zhang Yunhua could make all decisions, he was, after all, only a professional manager holding a 5% stake.
Negotiations for large orders without the company owner present had little meaning.
This also gave the two parties some time to discuss and allowed him to express his own stance.
Dinner was, of course, arranged.
At dinner time, Boneng's boss, who seemed rather mysterious to Tan Jincheng, also appeared.
In these times, it was relatively rare for private enterprises to fully entrust the management rights of a company to a professional manager.
Business naturally involves drinking culture, but since Tan Jincheng came alone this time, he behaved rather restrainedly.
Although Jin Chuanling and Zhang Yunhua wanted to get him drunk and finalize the deal on the spot, Tan Jincheng managed to escape.
Even if he were tipsy and agreed to something that wasn't to his benefit, Tan Jincheng wouldn't admit it.
Do words spoken at a drinking table count?
No formal contract was signed, nor was a seal affixed, so it certainly didn't count.
However, because there was a basis for cooperation, and this time he came with a cooperative attitude, Jin Chuanling, although finding the young man not very enjoyable to drink with, still thought highly of his words.
He just assumed Tan Jincheng was a young person unaccustomed to drinking culture.
The atmosphere between the two parties was quite harmonious.
After the first round ended, a second round was unavoidable.
By the end of the night, Tan Jincheng was also tipsy.
Maintaining his last shred of consciousness, refusing special services, Tan Jincheng returned to his hotel and immediately fell asleep.
The next day, Tan Jincheng woke up, sat on the bed, and rubbed his still aching head.
"Damn it, next time I go out, I still can't go alone. It's too dangerous. If something happens from drinking too much, it'll be trouble."
It was a bit reckless.
Times have changed; he's now discussing deals worth tens of millions, even hundreds of millions.
Going out alone is still somewhat unsafe; it seems his mindset needs to change.
After washing up and having a simple breakfast, Tan Jincheng drove to Boneng Environmental Appliances.
This time, both Zhang Yunhua and Jin Chuanling were present.
"President Jin, President Zhang, you guys were unkind last night, several people ganging up to get me drunk. Next time I come, I'll definitely bring more people to even the score."
"Haha, President Tan, that's not right. How can you call it 'ganging up'? That's called 'a thousand cups are too few when drinking with a true friend'."
"Come on, forget it. Luckily, I played it smart yesterday, otherwise I would have done something to let my girlfriend down. Next time, there absolutely can't be a second round."
Jin Chuanling chuckled, apologizing, while secretly complaining,
"This kid is slippery! I originally wanted to arrange some activities for him so I'd have more leverage for bargaining today, but he slipped away."
It looks like today's negotiations will be a bit tricky; it'll be hard not to lower prices according to his demands.
After a round of pleasantries, formal negotiations began.
The main point of contention between the two sides revolved around the 48V lead-acid batteries.
The 48V batteries would be used in two models, and because their procurement volume accounted for a larger proportion, every single yuan affected both parties' profits.
After an morning of debate, the two sides finally reached an agreement with a larger concession for 60V batteries and a smaller one for 48V batteries.
The purchase price for 60V batteries was reduced from the previous 500 yuan per set to 460 yuan per set, a price reduction of 8.69%.
For 48V batteries, the price was reduced from the previous 300 yuan per set to 285 yuan, a reduction of 5.26%.
The total purchase price for both sets of batteries decreased from 800 yuan to 745 yuan, a reduction of 7.38%.
Tan Jincheng was quite satisfied with this margin.
For battery procurement alone, Shanchi Technology would reduce its annual purchasing costs by at least 11 million yuan.
This was real cash saved.
Of course, with such a significant price reduction, it was impossible not to offer any benefits.
Tan Jincheng was not some protagonist from a power fantasy novel who could make everyone submit with a single roar.
Shanchi Technology would sign a five-year exclusive supply agreement for lead-acid batteries with Boneng Environmental Power.
All batteries produced by Shanchi Technology within the next five years would be supplied by Boneng.
If Boneng's batteries required promotion, they could use the Shanchi and Fengchi brands free of charge.
The specific usage scenarios would need to be negotiated between both parties according to the authorization agreement.
If it affected brand image, Shanchi Technology had the right to unreasonably refuse.
Additionally, the payment term was extended from the previous 30 days to 45 days, which Tan Jincheng had secured.
A monthly purchase order of over 10 million yuan was not a small amount, and an extra half-month of turnover period was beneficial for Shanchi Technology.
There was no other way; Tan Jincheng's terms were simply too good.
A five-year exclusive supply agreement was extremely attractive to a battery manufacturing enterprise that was currently only considered medium-sized.
It should be noted that the purchase volume of 200,000 sets was only Shanchi Technology's minimum purchase volume for the coming year! Once their production base started operations, the purchase volume would increase year by year.
This was a massive order, totaling at least 700 million yuan over five years.
With this order, Boneng Environmental Power would transform from a medium-sized enterprise into a large one, subsequently allowing for more funds to be invested in R&D.
"Thank you, President Tan, for your support to Boneng. Although the price cut was quite significant, it was mutually agreed upon, so I won't be sentimental about it. In any case, President Tan, you're always welcome to visit Huzhou in the future, and I promise to provide the best hospitality."
During the negotiations, both sides engaged in heated arguments, but when it came to the final agreement, Jin Chuanling was straightforward.
"Absolutely, absolutely. President Jin and President Zhang are also welcome to visit Beicang next year, and I'll be sure to play the host then,"
Tan Jincheng said with a smile, extending his hand.
"Alright, then it's settled. I'll take my leave now. The rest of the matters will be handled by our Old Zhang; let Old Zhang discuss the specific contract details with you,"
Jin Chuanling said, extending his large hand.
This person was quite straightforward; he truly didn't interfere with operations at all, saying he wouldn't manage it meant he wouldn't.
Of course, he might have other businesses, which is why he acted this way.
"Okay, President Jin, please go ahead with your busy schedule. Call me when you arrive in Beicang."
The details of the contract would be handled by the legal teams of both parties.
There would be very specific clauses for things like how to resolve battery quality issues, which Tan Jincheng didn't need to worry about for now; he only needed to finalize the price.
Therefore, there wasn't much to discuss with Zhang Yunhua.
After they chatted for another half an hour, they informed the legal team to make some modifications according to the details of the previous contract.
Once both parties confirmed everything was correct, the contract could be officially signed.
In the afternoon, after concluding his trip to Huzhou, Tan Jincheng headed to his next destination.
With the battery deal settled, the rest would be much easier.
Learning from the Huzhou trip, Tan Jincheng firmly refused to participate in any second rounds of drinking after dinner during subsequent negotiations.
It was safer to be cautious when away from home, as getting caught with something incriminating and reported would be truly humiliating.
(End of chapter)