"Hey, no company executives took the initiative to pick us up at the airport?"

Jiang Yi had experienced Li Zehua's decisiveness and knew exactly what was going on.

At the airport, there were only a few people to pick us up.

There was no welcoming banquet, and did the senior management show up collectively to say hello? But when he came back, he didn't rest and went straight to the company's meeting room. What's going on?

"Good afternoon, Chairman."

"Chairman..."

“Hello everyone, please take a seat. These two are the new heads of the company’s insurance business, Jiang Yi and Hong Wannian.

In addition, everyone knows Mr. Zhou Shouyuan, President of the Overseas Business Group.”

As soon as Li Zehua entered the room and took the main seat, he stretched out his hand to signal everyone to sit down, and then let Wang Fei go straight to the topic.

Everyone is used to his style and has no objection to it, so they all get into work mode. Only the newcomers are very surprised. How can they start already?

Wang Fei first reported and shared what happened in the company recently...

As the saying goes, small meetings are held for big matters, and big meetings are held for small matters. This meeting did not last long. After a brief report on some things, it was immediately declared over.

The main purpose is to send a signal to everyone that the chairman is back and everyone can work with peace of mind.

After arranging the distribution of the gifts brought back from Southeast Asia to various senior executives, Li Zehua asked Gu Shijie and Liu Zijie to come forward and talk with Jiang Yi.

Then he began to summon the top executives of each company one by one. This is the way to discuss important matters. The first one was Zeng Haiyang.

He had just returned from America.

“How about it, Amazon and Google, what new insights do you have after taking a look around?”

It feels so good to be home. In this office, Li Zehua has regained the feeling of having the final say. Facing a group of big guys in Lijiaopo, it is difficult for him to display his talents given his current status and age.

Zeng Haiyang sat down on the sofa, took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to him, "Don't mention it, I didn't realize until then that I was just sitting in a well and looking at the world.

Well, Amazon’s warehousing and logistics center is not fully automated, but at least it is highly automated. In our case, a similar warehouse requires 500 people to maintain its operation.

They have a wide variety of operating machines, some of which I have never heard of. In addition, all offices are computerized and have a full range of software. In total, 60 people don’t need to use them..."

Li Zehua was making tea while laughing: "You went out and got scared?

The situation is different. Labor is expensive there, so using machines instead saves money.

Here, a lot of people apply for warehouse positions with a monthly salary of fifteen hundred yuan. In some areas in the west, people are scrambling to get positions with a monthly salary of eight hundred yuan. The wages are more than 10 times lower than in the United States.

Spending tens of millions to upgrade a full set of automated equipment, using it for ten years, plus various maintenance and usage costs, it would be more cost-effective to hire a few hundred more people to work for ten years.

This time I let you go because I am going to solve this problem from the source, because the benefits of low labor prices cannot be enjoyed forever.

Whether it is to prepare for a rainy day or to reserve technology in advance, it is imperative to eliminate backward positions and upgrade to fully automated warehousing and logistics centers.

In fact, the so-called modern logistics system is just that, and we are not bad in software either. Many large foreign companies outsource their software to us.

The only thing is that there is a big gap in hardware now, but it doesn’t matter, as long as we are willing to continue to invest, we will be able to catch up and surpass them in a few years.”

He said this not simply to cheer Zeng Haiyang up, but based on what actually happened in history. Thanks to the emergence of QR codes, the construction of intelligent logistics and warehousing systems has developed rapidly.

Especially in a country like this with a population of 14 billion, which is also a major e-commerce and online shopping country, the number of logistics and express parcels that need to be processed every day is an astronomical figure, and is growing rapidly every year.

It is profitable and there is a huge actual demand, so most of the money earned by express delivery companies is invested in upgrading and improving warehousing and distribution efficiency.

Facts have proved that as long as domestic companies are willing to make continuous investments, there is nothing they cannot accomplish. Looking back in another ten years, catching up with Amazon’s warehousing and logistics technology will no longer be an unattainable dream.

Zeng Haiyang also knew this, but he couldn't help but envy it. "To become as big as a top foreign company, the investment required is not a small amount."

“So I moved the God of Wealth back.”

Li Zehua was brewing tea in his hand. "Did you see those two people just now? They turned out to be the top executives of the company behind Yuqing Great Eastern Insurance Company. With them here, you can get any amount of money you want."

Zeng Haiyang was stunned. "You mean, we can use the insurance premium income to invest in upgrading and renovation projects?"

"Why else would I bother with the insurance business?"

Li Zehua smiled confidently and asked, "By the way, what do those Tongda bosses mean?
After you came back, did you say you wanted to make some noise?"

Zeng Haiyang thought for a moment and said, “General Manager Yu and General Manager Nie are the most active, and JD.com’s CEO Liu has even publicly stated that even if JD.com sells everything it has, it will build its own intelligent storage center.

Mr. Chen from Shentong said that we need to consider it carefully. We can see that they want to do it, but they have many concerns.

There are many reasons. When we returned to the hotel to analyze the situation after the visit, his attitude was somewhat ambiguous. He was mainly worried that the investment would be too large. What if the number of packages in the market could not meet the minimum requirements in the future..."

"His worries are not without reason. After all, today's magical powers are completely different from those a year ago. I think he seems to want to develop in the logistics field."

Li Zehua recalled the conversation during their previous meeting. Chen Dejun had revealed his desire to develop into a large comprehensive logistics group. After all, logistics does not require such a high level of storage centers.

This is mainly due to the recent fight between Taotao and Pinxixi. The two e-commerce platforms are about to get really angry. It is natural that some people in the Tongda Group, which is sandwiched between them, can't stand it and want to retreat.

In addition, the investment is too large, and Shentong may not be able to come up with the money. If he wants to do it, it is definitely not enough to seek financing from the market. After much deliberation, he decided to ask Qingyun Group for help.

The problem is that if the shares are diluted again, who will Shentong obey in the future?

"What about Zhongtong Lai?"

"Mr. Lai gave me a very subtle feeling, which is hard to describe. He directly stated that we cannot compare with multinational companies like Amazon. China has its own special circumstances, and labor is cheaper than machines.

Where people can be employed temporarily, there is no need to rush to update various equipment costing tens of millions.

I also doubt whether such a purely automated equipment will be useful in the future. If the number of express parcels and logistics of large items cannot keep up with the development progress, wouldn’t it be a waste of resources? "

Zeng Haiyang shook his head. "But he was the one who acted the fastest. During his inspection in America, he had already contacted equipment manufacturers and placed a number of potential orders."

"Let me guess. He must have ordered them in an unsystematic way. He won't use the expensive ones. He probably ordered the cheap ones, small or medium-sized devices that can be disassembled and used individually to greatly improve efficiency, right?"

Li Zehua guessed correctly and after getting a positive answer, he continued, "This is Mr. Lai's style of dealing with people. Unlike others, he always puts practicality first.

When it comes to words, he is good at throwing smoke bombs, saying this is not necessary and that is not important. But in fact, when he comes across something interesting, he is the first one to rush forward, as long as it is beneficial to the development of the company.

For example, the combination of QR code and mobile Internet, the number of smart phones purchased, and professional QR code scanning equipment.

I heard that he has recently started to popularize computers and scanning equipment for office use in grassroots outlets? "

This group of people who can write their own mark in the history of business, no matter whether they developed it due to various coincidences at the beginning.

In the process of the company's growth, they have been tempered, their horizons have been broadened, their abilities have been fully exercised, and finally they have been able to succeed in the industry. Everyone has his or her own distinct personality and special abilities.

For example, when Zhongtong was first established in the Tongda Group, it was not even as good as Huitong, which has now been acquired. However, Lai Hairong was the most stable one.

When Tongda Group started to take over the franchised outlets and big franchisees, the commotion caused by Yuantong and Yunda became world-famous, and at one point hundreds or even thousands of people participated in the commotion. At that time, Shentong was the strongest, but it also caused quite a commotion, and in the end, it barely succeeded after a complete loss.

Only Zhongtong quietly invited powerful franchisees from all over the country to come together, exchanged interests and shared resources, and bought them out with shares of branches and headquarters one by one.

There is a bit of the meaning of giving up military power over a cup of wine in it. The big franchisees have received tangible benefits, so naturally they will not continue to make trouble.

The grassroots branch owners who have lost the leadership of large franchisees do not have the strength to make trouble. Faced with Zhongtong, which concentrates its superior resources for strong integration, they are alone and powerless and can only be forced to compromise.

Therefore, Zhongtong, which started integrating resources the latest, was the first to implement semi-direct operation. In the past 10-12 years, Zhongtong achieved a three-fold jump in business scale.

It once surpassed Shentong and Yuantong to become the largest company in the Tongda Group. Its rapid development speed amazed the world.

In this life, Lai Hairong did the same thing. Zhongtong's scale began to grow rapidly, but compared with Yuantong Yunda's full direct operation reform, semi-direct operation continued to maintain the existence of grassroots franchise outlets.

There will be a huge discount in combat effectiveness, and we are bound to suffer heavy losses in future competition.

But this does not hinder Lai Hairong's current glory, because by buying out major franchisees, Zhongtong also obtained the long-awaited funds for expansion.

Together with the Qingyuntongda Group, JD.com issued bonds with a face value of over US$15 billion in Lijiaopo, which were highly sought after. Once the funds are recovered, the strength of the Tongda Group will be taken to a new level.

This is also the reason why Lai Hairong dared to place crazy orders to purchase equipment in the United States.

“Well, let’s arrange a time and call all the bosses together. You will represent Hummingbird Group for the last time and talk to everyone about the capital increase of Qingyun Group.

The bulk of the dollar bonds belong to Qingyun Fengniao Group, Qingyun Yunyunbang Group, and JD Group. Only 15% can be given to the Tongda Group. At this point in time, they want to upgrade their technology.

We are in urgent need of money.

I have also broadened my horizons in America and realized the advancement and necessity of this system. If we want to keep up with future competition, sooner or later, we will have to take action.”

Zeng Haiyang did not refuse his boss's proposal. "Yes, according to our previous plan, we will build 60-80 secondary warehousing and logistics centers and about 300 operation centers across the country.

In addition to the 10 major warehousing and logistics distribution centers, each one needs to be modernized and upgraded. As long as they want to move, they can't stop. The funds required to invest are astronomical.

This is a good opportunity to invest funds in expansion and further control the Tongda Group.”

"No, this round is about mutual shareholding and equal benefits."

Li Zehua never thinks he is very smart, nor does he treat others as fools.

Just like the operation in gold futures, the profitability of all three parties is the reason why the business can continue for a long time.

“Currently, the company and I, through our previous two investments, jointly hold 5% of Shentong, 15% of Yunda, 12% of Yuantong, and 16% of Zhongtong. If the shareholding continues to increase, I am afraid these companies will have to change their names.

Therefore, they should be allowed to accept external shareholders and increase capital and shares in proportion to the original basis as much as possible.

Of course, we also have to fully take into account the feelings of several companies other than Shentong. After all, their overall corporate valuations are very low. If we follow the company's plan in one step, it would be equivalent to a complete acquisition.

They will not agree, but without money they will not be able to continue upgrading technology, and in the future they will not be able to contribute to Pinxixi and continue to suppress Taotao's expansion in the express delivery field.

For example, Zhongtong’s current valuation is less than 5 million yuan, Yuantong and Yunda’s valuations are also between 8 million and 10 billion yuan, and Shentong is better, at about 20 billion yuan. The total valuation is only about 40 billion yuan.

In this round of financing and lending, a loan of US$3.75 million was given to the Tongda Group in the name of the Qingyun Group to purchase various vehicles. I plan to put the actual control of the vehicles into the Hummingbird platform.

Then we started to establish a shift work system for freight drivers. From now on, if the distance exceeds 800 kilometers, the driver will be replaced but not the vehicle, and a punch-in assessment system will be implemented for drivers working in a fixed area.

You will be in charge of this personally. Whether in Hummingbird or Yunyunbang, you must start to establish new rules and regulations.

As for the cooperation with Tongda Group, we can lend them money in return, so that their shares in Fengniao platform can be increased from the original 10% to 15%. What do you think? "

There are many shareholders of Hummingbird, such as Temasek, Kaolin, Tomorrow, JD.com, Tongda Group, Magic Investment, and State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and they together hold about 30% of the shares.

Of the remaining 70%, Pinduoduo E-Commerce holds 4%, Pinduoduo Local Life Service Company holds 2%, Chimei holds 3%, Qingyun Agricultural Service Company holds 1%, and Qingyun Holdings holds the remaining 60%.

Li Zehua plans to further reduce his shares to win over the Tongda Group and JD.com. In the future, he also plans to use 5-10% to win over SF Express.

At the same time, in this round of share distribution, Qingyun Yunyunbang will also become a shareholder of Hummingbird Group. Although they are both subsidiaries of the group, their businesses overlap and are developing well.

Both companies will be listed in the future. If there is no core interest binding between the two parties, they will inevitably go their separate ways at the strong request of their respective investors.

By then, there will definitely be funny things like people fighting against each other. You can't say that your Qingyun Group is so great that you transfer the profits of a listed company to another company, but no one gets any benefits.

Yunyunbang is determined to integrate the freight transportation resources across the country. In the future, it will definitely have a core interest dispute with Fengniao. One relies on its large size advantage through franchising, while the other relies on direct operation to save costs.

Judging only from market factors, Yunyunbang's operating model is more advanced, but it is useless. If the Tongda Group, Fengniao, SF Express, and JD.com did not have shares in Yunyunbang, they would start their own business.

Create another freight platform to compete with Yunyunbang.

The same is true in reverse. The more transportation resources Yunyunbang controls, the more likely it is to get involved in the core of the logistics industry and start setting up its own order-taking company.

Therefore, holding shares in each other will offset future disputes over business interests. Under the mediation of Li Zehua, the controlling major shareholder, the two groups will avoid irreconcilable conflicts.

Based on this logic, better cooperation can be achieved by allowing Tongda Group and JD.com to participate more deeply and share the benefits brought by the development of Hummingbird Group.

One person can never make enough money.

It’s the same in any industry. If you want to have the most exclusive share, that’s fine, but you must also bear the corresponding consequences, which are endless competition and peeping.

When a rival in this industry finds that it is impossible to win no matter what, he will sell the company to an enemy that is equally powerful as you.

Or they may unite with Qingyun Group's competitors in other industries until they form an alliance of interests that is more powerful than the Qingyun Group and gain an advantage in the competition. Who can tolerate this?

Therefore, only by bringing in the Tongda Group and JD.com, using their existence to differentiate and influence other competitors, and avoiding supervision from the upper level, can Hummingbird Smart Logistics achieve a true monopoly!
Once they have completely taken over the industry share and controlled tens of millions of freight vehicles, the income from insurance, vehicle maintenance, purchase of new vehicles, and freight commissions alone will be astronomical figures.

Not to mention the special industry influence it brings.

Li Zehua sees it very clearly, only by sharing small amounts of money today can you make money in the future. If you are stingy and only take 9 cents of the profit of one dollar, no one is going to play with you.

And if they can find a way to make the dish cost 10 yuan, then you can earn nearly four times the profit with 3 yuan. Well, the 5% controlling stake, plus at least 35% of the voting rights, is Li Zehua's bottom line.

Is it easier for one person to go through untold hardships and defeat all enemies to reach the top, or is it easier to bring along friendly competitors who have strength and no core interest conflicts, and climb up together?

This is something that doesn't even need to be considered.

No matter how powerful the Qingyun Group is, it is impossible for it to fight in dozens of major industries and tens of thousands of rival companies at the same time.

We work hand in hand with friendly competitors in relatively minor battlefields, and concentrate all resources on the main battlefields, such as instant messaging software, Internet non-financial institution payments, short video platforms, and e-commerce.

Electronic technology and power technology are the areas where Qingyun Group needs to focus its investment. After a trip to Southeast Asia to see other people's development models, Li Zehua decided to make some changes.

"That's it. I'll let everyone know what I mean and see how they react. If the feedback is positive, I'll call a meeting to discuss it.

In addition, the group will issue a document in the near future to appoint you as the vice chairman of Shunfeng Travel Group and the executive president of Yunyunbang, Shunfeng online car-hailing company. "

Zeng Haiyang was stunned. "So fast? What about my position in Fengniao?"

Li Zehua no longer hesitated, "Let Hu Zhiyuan take over as acting chairman for three months. If there are no problems after three months, let him serve as vice chairman and executive president of Hummingbird." (End of this chapter)