"Lily, would you like to have dinner together after get off work tonight?"

"No, that won't work. The company has just received 20 sets of what's called an integrated code scanning and reading device. The manufacturer has sent people to train on installation and use, and the administrative and logistics department will participate.

It will be promoted to all sites and outlets in the future. It is very important that I personally host the meeting to deploy the next phase of work, so I will be off work very late. "

"Well, you've worked so hard, sister."

Youyou on the other end of the phone was very distressed, "Starting a business is really meaningless. I haven't seen you get off work normally for a long time."

Then he asked curiously, "Your husband works too hard, doesn't he need any rest?"

Only when talking about him, Yu Li's resolute face would relax a little, "He, I haven't seen him for several days."

Environment changes people. Yu Li is now completely different from the one she was four months ago. Back then, she was just like the little girl next door.

It is beautiful, but a little immature.

Nowadays, including the telephone customer service department, dispatching and administrative logistics, and purchasing department, he has seven or eight hundred people under him who obey his orders.

She has grown up imperceptibly and changed little by little. Now she is graceful and well-mannered. Although her voice is soft when speaking to others, no one dares to ignore a word she says.

This is the confidence that comes with a higher status, which makes you radiant and adds a touch of urban beauty.

Unfortunately, Li Zehua is not able to enjoy it right now.

At this time, he personally turned into a salesman, connected a machine to a computer, opened the professional software, and started typing away.

While typing, he explained to the courier company bosses around him:
“The barcode scanners on the market do not have the function of scanning QR codes. At this stage, we can only use customized equipment that integrates input, printing and scanning.

Including professional software, the cost of using the entire system is around 12,000 yuan. It is estimated that after large-scale commercial use, the cost can be quickly reduced to an acceptable level.

After all, Qingyun FaMa Group owns a full set of hardware and software patents.

What you see now is the information input part, which is very simple. Next, click confirm and see it prints out. "

As the fool-style operation is completed, the matching printer starts working, and a brand new QR code label appears in front of the world for the first time.

Unlike laboratory test samples, it now has all the elements for large-scale commercial use.

"Then use the barcode scanner to scan it. You see, it's a bit slow. I guess there's something wrong with the optical equipment and conversion.

After all, this is the first generation of the product and the technology is not yet mature. It doesn’t matter, just wait a little while.”

Without any pause, Li Zehua quickly explained it according to what the researchers had said during training.

It's new technology, so some flaws are acceptable.

Fortunately, the customized equipment technology is powerful enough, and the scanned information is converted into digital signals that can be recognized by computers through an encoder.

"Please look, now the whole process is over. The user information, shipping address and recipient's complete information have already appeared on such a simple QR code."

Li Zehua tapped on the computer to confirm, "Suppose I am the courier collection staff now, and I will make a slight change to the confirmation just now.

It means that the collection point has successfully received it, and the specific time and location will be displayed on it.

Based on the same principle.

At the distribution operation, distribution center, and receiving site, the goods are scanned again by a machine to complete the preliminary information entry. After the data is summarized, it can be displayed to the corresponding consumers on the website.

There are several benefits to doing this. The first is that it can provide consumers with more timely and considerate services, allowing them to know the location of the package and how long it will take to be delivered.

The second is to have a deeper control over the entire distribution chain. If problems arise in any link, adjustments can be made anytime and anywhere through the big data processing system summarized by QR codes.

The third point will greatly improve the efficiency of the distribution center. You can imagine an automated sorting conveyor belt, combined with an identification sensing device.

How much labor cost will be saved if parcels with the same destination can be automatically transferred to the corresponding distribution waiting area? "

He has visited the current distribution center of an express delivery company and honestly speaking, it has no technological content at all and is a pure labor factory.

The specific process is shockingly simple. When the franchisee outlet staff are free, they use a tricycle to throw all the packages on the tricycle and transport them to the regional distribution center.

Then it is loaded into trucks and sent to the operation and distribution center on the outskirts of the city.

The entire unloading process relies solely on manual labor. The staff identify the corresponding provinces with the naked eye and put the goods into the corresponding baskets. Once the baskets are full, they are sent away by cart.

Goods sent to the same province are piled together. Dispatchers patrol every day. If they estimate that a truck can be filled, they will contact a truck to load the goods and send them away.

As for those who don't have enough space to fill a car, just wait. In some remote areas, it may take three to five days to get enough space to fill a car.

We have to wait for the express delivery staff to find enough sources of goods outside and then fill up the car before sending out the truck. The efficiency is shockingly low.

I don’t know how much goods typically arrive.

I don’t know how many there are in each province.

I don't know whether all of them were loaded onto the car.

In a word, from the moment the express package is handed over to the staff, only God knows whether it can be delivered and how long it will take to deliver.

There are countless cases of omissions and losses, as well as extreme irresponsibility of individual staff members and even worse, deliberate misappropriation.

The slightly better ones, such as Postal Service, have started using automatic sorting equipment and adopted factory assembly line operations, which has greatly improved efficiency.

The development levels of the three express delivery companies are different. For example, Shentong, which has the largest business volume, has also begun to upgrade its backend system, while Zhongtong is still struggling with pure manual sorting.

When the bosses heard Li Zehua's beautiful blueprint for fully automated operations in the future, their eyes were filled with longing.

But when they heard about the huge investment required to build such an intelligent storage center, they became conflicted.

“It’s difficult, but we have to do it!”

Li Zehua casually opened Baidu and checked the number of express parcels in 08 and the first half of 09. "The data will not lie, this market is developing at an alarming speed.

If we don't catch up and surpass our competitors through technological means, challengers like DDS will emerge in large numbers.

Cheap, repetitive and easily replaceable manual labor not only fails to bring better services, but also fails to establish a solid industry moat.

For example, Taotao created the Cainiao Network, whose purpose is obvious, and the ultimate goal is to take over all express delivery companies.

But I am different. Hummingbird will always be a beneficial supplement on your road to career success. Not only that, hummingbird will never be stingy in sharing the fruits of success with you.

The emergence of QR codes will give you an opportunity to completely leave your competitors behind once the associated smart logistics center is put into operation.

Let all consumers feel the leading technology and considerate service of Tongda Group, and it will be hard to be defeated again."

Everyone was thinking about the pros and cons, but Nie Tengyun spoke without hesitation, "The four sets of equipment will be connected with each other, plus the distribution center.

The cost is not unacceptable, but the only thing missing is the link of directly facing consumers. It seems that your equipment needs to be connected to a printer before it can be used?
This will greatly increase the workload of distribution centers and franchised sites, because the express delivery labels we used before were printed in advance every month."

Funny enough, the motivation for express delivery companies to initially use barcodes (one-dimensional codes) came from the sale of express delivery labels.

By centrally printing and changing the invoices every month, we increase the difficulty for franchisees to forge orders and prevent them from running away, thereby achieving the goal of managing franchisees and ensuring the company's revenue.

Fortunately, with the intervention of Fengniao, the same-city delivery and collection business has been highly concentrated, and Yuantong Yunda has begun to transform into a direct-operated company.

Shentong was not far behind, but Zhongtong Lai Hairong said with a bitter face: "This thing is useful, but how can I find franchise outlets to pay for it in the future?"

“Let me answer Mr. Nie’s question first. At this stage, technology has not yet developed to the point where we can scan and print anytime and anywhere.

However, I have already started to arrange the hardware and software development, and I believe that the laboratory products will be launched soon. In the early stage, the staff of the front-line sites can only bear the responsibilities and try to work harder. "

Without the ability to scan with a smartphone, any technology that relies on a PC will find it difficult to bind each individual.

The Tongda Group was unable to do this before, but with the addition of Hummingbird, it is no longer a problem. Everyone understands this principle, so no one objected after listening.

After Li Zehua finished speaking, he turned to Lai Hairong and said, "Mr. Lai, don't worry. Another major feature of the QR code is the real-time transmission and aggregation of data.

As long as we control the distribution operation center and use the backend big data control system, we can ensure that the source and destination of each order can be traced. "

As each question was answered, everyone's doubts were gradually dispelled. Although they were still struggling with the high price of such a system, it was obvious that they were all tempted.

Who doesn’t want to build their own moat when running a business? “Everyone, let me tell you one more thing. I know Taotao has been giving me pressure recently.”

Li Zehua clapped his hands, indicating that the QR code issue had come to an end. "I can understand your feelings. After all, Taotao orders accounted for the vast majority of our previous performance.

I don’t deny that even Hummingbird indirectly relies on Taotao orders for its livelihood.

Even with third-party logistics and same-city vehicle operations, the Tongda Group still cannot change its current situation of relying on Taobao for its livelihood.”

Yu Weilong nodded gratefully at him, "Thank you for your understanding, but in this position, I have to consider the future of the company.

Taotao orders are so important. As the first company to cooperate with Hummingbird, it is a shame to say that it was when Hummingbird needed Yuantong the most.

We backed off, but there was really nothing we could do.

Taotao issued an ultimatum at the time: if they did not terminate their cooperation with Fengniao, they would stop Yuantong from receiving orders.”

When Cainiao was faced with the "Choose One From Two" situation, Jack Ma was stunned by the sudden exposure of the payment system and equity transfer. Faced with the betrayal of Yahoo, SoftBank took advantage of the situation.

Ali was indeed in a difficult situation during that period, and the development of various businesses came to a standstill, but the big group has a deep foundation after all, and it quickly adjusted in time.

As soon as it had time, it quickly picked up the takeout express delivery business again, which led to a series of actions such as acquiring shares in YeZi and DDS.

While adding, Ali's newly established local life division also did not forget to subtract from its competitors, which was to weaken the foundation of Hummingbird.

They issued a notice, requiring all express delivery companies to stop cooperating with Fengniao within a specified period of time, otherwise the company's order-taking rights would be removed from Taotao.

The source of orders involves the survival of the enterprise, and it goes without saying which is more important than the improvement of service quality.

But soon, as competition among express delivery companies intensified, Qingyuntongda Group cooperated without reservation for the first time and won a great victory, with profits far exceeding expectations.

Coupled with the huge success that Pinxixi has achieved offline, express delivery companies are once again hesitant.

There are huge interests on both sides, and giving up either one is unacceptable.

Everyone spoke one after another and made the matter completely public.

Li Zehua said confidently, "At present, we can only deal with it as it happens. It's not that I am selfish and want to hinder you from making money.

It is indeed impossible for Fengniao and Pinxixi to achieve the same value of benefits as Taotao in a short period of time.

But everyone understands Taotao's purpose, and I am also familiar with Cainiao's policy, so I will give each of you four companies 0.5% of the shares.

They claim to provide quality services, but in reality, the substance remains the same. Can't you find franchisees on your own? Can Cainiao provide the same quality services as Fengniao?
What Cainiao is doing is taking money from you in disguised form, restricting your development and preventing you from escaping Taotao's control.

One day, Cainiao will reveal its true colors, swallow up all express delivery companies in the market, and establish a monopoly position as the only dominant company.

No one wants to see this outcome!"

After these words, everyone fell silent. When the rookie appeared, everyone saw everything, but there was no better solution.

Historically, SF Express created Fengchao, and the Tongda Group also briefly joined forces, but they were quickly defeated by Taotao.

Fortunately, the emergence of Hummingbird and Pinxixi has given everyone a glimmer of hope.

“I want to emphasize once again that the purpose of Hummingbird and you holding shares in each other is for mutual benefit, and everyone can see it.

With the model of Hummingbird, I can adopt the franchise system and expand rapidly across the country. Relying on same-city delivery and takeaway business, plus franchise authorization fees, I can make a profit quickly.

You are also dragged down by the bottomless pit of fixed asset investment.

If a real fight breaks out, no one can match me.

But Hummingbird chose the most difficult path and insisted on being self-employed and would stick with it no matter how hard or tiring it was.

This is also the concept I have been practicing all along, doing business sincerely, providing services down-to-earth, and building a solid foundation.

Only in this way can this market continue to operate for a long time.”

Li Zehua emphasized this point again, and after everyone agreed, he continued:
“In fact, through this competition against DDS, everyone has seen that the best way to get rid of Taotao’s control is to expand multi-channel operations.

Why can SF Express resolutely say no to Taotao?

It is precisely because it is self-operated and has many sources of income that the express parcel business only accounts for 30% of SF Express's total revenue. After rejecting the threat from Taotao, SF Express is also developing very well today.

As for Taotao, it has no way to deal with SF Express. From this point, we can see the weak side of Taotao. It has no way to deal with independent enterprises.

I don't know if you have noticed that in this unified external expansion campaign, EMI, which was supported by Taotao as if he were his own son, had almost no combat effectiveness.

In the entire East China region, among the conflicts reported due to business expansion, only two cases came from EMI, which fully demonstrates that EMI's combat effectiveness is almost zero.

If you can listen to my advice, the focus of the next stage will be on layout in eastern Guangdong, impacting EMI's core business and competing with it.

Even if we cannot defeat it completely, we must reduce its business scope to the point where it can only survive by relying on Taobao and Foxconn.

As we all know, if an express delivery company wants to make a profit, it must either be small and efficient or large and extensive. SF Express is an exceptional case.

Once EMI's business scale shrinks, its already extremely poor performance report and operating conditions will inevitably deteriorate further.

At the same time, we will focus on competing with EMI's franchisees across the country, which will inevitably make the latter overwhelmed and the few remaining services will be lost.

Who cares about a company without fighting power?

By then, who can Taotao support?
As long as it dares to support one, we will eliminate it. Any express delivery company that does not form a scale will not be able to gain a foothold in the market.

It is impossible to develop by relying solely on the meager profits from Taobao orders.

Does Taotao dare to replace the services of all companies in the Tongda Group at the same time?
As long as it doesn't dare, it will never be able to support a second one.

For express parcels, the most important thing is timeliness and safety, which EMI lacks. However, when it comes to price-performance ratio which consumers care about most, the Tongda Group has an absolute advantage.

SF Express cannot cut prices at will. It must ensure reasonable profits in order to continue upgrading its backend services.

You have an advantage in this regard, and the entire Qingyun system will provide continuous support."

Nie Tengyun agreed with the other points, but was confused by the last point. "As far as I know, you don't have much money yourself. How can you support our systematic upgrade and transformation?"

The funds required for each company's upgrade and transformation are astronomical. Especially after the emergence of QR codes, the price of the originally envisioned smart logistics centers has skyrocketed again.

Where does Qingyun get the money?

Li Zehua had a clever idea. He pointed at the QR code and said, "The answer is hidden here. Last year, the number of express parcels in China was more than 12 billion. According to forecasts, the growth rate this year will be more than 50%.

Let's take 18 billion as an example. If I charge you 0.05-0.1 yuan for each QR code, what will happen? "

"Are you kidding me?"

"So expensive?"

"Wait, I calculated it. According to this number, Shentong has done 500 million orders this year, so it needs to pay 1000- million patent fees to Qingyun?"

"That's it!"

Facing the doubts, Li Zehua nodded in affirmation without hesitation, "Don't be impatient, wait until I tell you the benefits of doing this, and then consider whether to refuse or accept."

As he spoke, he told the whole story about his plan to collect patent fees for issuing code authorizations, and added:

“In addition to the food delivery and express delivery industries, the application scenarios of QR codes also involve countless factories and enterprises. Without enough companies with strong backgrounds to join, it is destined that no money will be collected.

Therefore, the shares given to you will not be many, but in the long run, this part of the income will definitely not be lower than the current licensing fee.

Another thing is that by setting high fees at the beginning, you can also obtain financing and loans from the financial market through the expected income from the contract.

I can sign special terms with you all as long as you agree to a patent royalty of 5 cents or cents.

In terms of subsequent shareholding and financing, Qingyun can do its best to help everyone complete it.

If not, Qingyun is willing to provide preferential loans at an agreed amount to help everyone achieve their financing goals, how about that? "

"Are you serious? If so, it's not impossible to cooperate." (End of this chapter)