I can become stronger by paying salaries. I have one billion employees!

Chapter 248 Chen Yansen, who lacks martial ethics! Zhou Hongyi: I, Old Zhou, have finished designing the phone!

"Mr. Chen, this is Zhou Hongyi. 360 has made preparations for the cooperation we discussed last time."

This time, Zhou Hongyi introduced himself as soon as he opened his mouth, so that Chen Yansen wouldn't have to ask "Hello, who is this?" and make everyone feel awkward.

"Mr. Zhou, I know, I've saved your number this time," Chen Yansen said with a smile.

Zhou Hongyi was an impatient man; he completed the preparations in just over two months.

Even a fool could tell that Lao Zhou had taken another shortcut.

As expected, Chen Yansen quickly learned about Zhou Hongyi's tactics: he applied for the trademark and sales license for 360 Mobile, and then contacted Yu Chengdong to complete the industrial and hardware design of the new product with the help of Huawei's design team and supply chain.

"Mr. Zhou, why don't you have Huawei manufacture it?" Chen Yansen asked, puzzled.

Zhou Hongyi is determined to ride the coattails of Orange Technology's popularity this time.

"Mr. Chen, isn't it because the Aurora OS 1.3 operating system is better to use? The stock Android 4.0 system is too bad. In addition, I also need the patent license for Orange Technology's battery management and fast charging technology."

Zhou Hongyi got straight to the point, stating that he had communicated with Yu Chendong and that the OEM order for this batch of mobile phones would be awarded to Orange Technology.

Chen Yansen rolled his eyes at this; he didn't care about this small number of orders at all.

Huawei has 1000 million OEM orders a year, Xiaomi has 400-500 million units, but what about 360?
The first batch of Haier W910s consisted of only 10000 units. The production line and workers hadn't even finished working out before the batch was completed.

"What is the size of the first batch of orders?" Chen Yansen couldn't help but ask.

“Fifty thousand units,” Zhou Hongyi said confidently.

Wouldn't you lose another 4000-5000 million?
Chen Yansen thought to himself, but he didn't dare to ask aloud, afraid of hurting Zhou Hongyi's pride.

"Okay, Mr. Zhou, please send me the detailed information about the phone first. I will have Orange Technology's legal department draft the patent licensing contract later. I wish 360 phones great success in the future."

Chen Yansen didn't want to waste time on such a trivial matter, so he hung up the phone after speaking.

As a result, Zhou Hongyi sent the information to his email in just one minute, clearly having been prepared in advance.

Download the attachment and unzip it. It contains schematics and PCB designs, a BOM (specifications, models, quantities, etc. of each component, including all hardware components such as chips, resistors, capacitors, displays, cameras, and batteries), hardware interface definition documents, antenna design data, assembly drawings, and exploded views.

What percentage of commission did Zhou Hongyi give Huawei that made it worthwhile for them to go to such lengths?
As Chen Yansen pondered, he opened the exterior design drawings.

The 360 ​​G800 Pro shines with its ultra-thin bezel design, a 4.3-inch high-resolution touchscreen, support for GPS, WIFI and Bluetooth, a 1GHz dual-core CPU processor based on the A9 architecture, 1GB+4GB memory configuration, an 800-megapixel rear camera, and the removal of the three Android navigation buttons, paying homage to the Orange phone.

He glanced at the bill of materials and found that the materials used were indeed much more robust than those in the Haier W910. It seemed that Lao Zhou had learned a lot after being ripped off once.

Priced at only 1299 yuan, and with the Aurora OS 1.3 operating system, it might just sell millions of units.

Zhou Hongyi is undoubtedly talented in making mobile phones. He knows very well that everyone else is just an assembly plant, so don't try to act tough in front of him.

Xiaomi said it only makes a 5% profit on hardware, so Zhou Hongyi simply announced that 360 Mobile doesn't make a single penny on hardware.

Four years later, the 360 ​​N4 phone sold 200 million units in three months, sold out on JD.com, and even sold at a premium on third-party platforms.

This shows that 360 Mobile doesn't really have much profit from hardware.

Later, Accountant Jia, who fled to the United States, had the same marketing strategy as Lao Zhou.

While others sell mobile phones, these two are selling ecosystem devices, one to promote their own LeEco Video, LeEco App Store, and LeEco Game Center; the other sells advertising machines, hoping to monetize traffic.

We're not on the same wavelength!
If Xiaomi is a disruptor in the mobile phone industry, then these two are pure troublemakers.

It wasn't until 2017 that Zhou Hongyi realized that the path of using internet value-added services was not viable, and he had to return to the essence of business, not only to make profits from hardware, but also from software.

However, once 360 ​​phones lost their cost-effectiveness, they became mass-market commodities and gradually declined.

Before LeEco's mobile phone sales even started to decline, news broke that the boss had absconded, coupled with dismal after-sales service, causing both LeEco and 360 to fall victim to the tides of time.

Chen Yansen didn't care about these things. He just treated it as a contract manufacturing order. Anyway, he could make some money from the hardware price difference from Zhou Hongyi. Why not?
Without much thought, he forwarded the detailed design information of the 360 ​​G800 Pro to Cao Dahua.

After finishing my work, I looked up at the sky outside the window. It was already pitch black and dim. The clear croaking of frogs came from the rapeseed fields in the distance.

Chen Yansen pushed open the door and went downstairs, got into the driver's seat of Ghost, and drove towards the east gate of the Void Academy.

In early April, groups of two or three female students walked along Xuelin Road, wearing white shirts and shorts, revealing their long, fair legs.

Summer is wonderful!
As they approached the intersection, Chen Yansen suddenly saw Tang Zhenzhe and Song Yang walking towards him, their arms around each other's shoulders.

"Brother Zhe, it looks like Brother Sen!"

"It seems like it's gone. Besides Brother Sen's Rolls-Royce, does our Void Academy have another one?"

The two of them walked closer, exchanging questions and answers.

"Brother Sen!" Tang Zhenzhe greeted him with a grin.

"Have you had dinner yet? Let's eat together! You two are treating." Chen Yansen asked and answered himself.

"Shall we treat? No problem!" Song Yang readily agreed.

"Get in the car," Chen Yansen shouted to the two of them.

Tang Zhenzhe and Song Yang got into the car happily. Song Yang sat in the passenger seat, while Tang Zhenzhe climbed into the back seat.

Chen Yansen turned around at the intersection and went to Shuangqing Restaurant, which was his most frequented restaurant.

"Boss, are there any private rooms available?"

Song Yang pushed open the restaurant door and asked loudly.

"Yes, the Huangshan Hall on the second floor." The owner looked up, recognized the visitor, and replied with a smile.

Don't underestimate Song Yang just because he's a campus delivery agent; his monthly income is no less than his.

The owner of Shuangqing Restaurant usually refers to Song Yang as "Boss Song".

The three entered the private room, with Tang Zhenzhe following behind, carrying a dozen beers.

"How's business at the courier station lately?" Chen Yansen asked casually.

From small things, one can see the big picture; from the beginning, one can know the end.

The volume of packages collected and delivered by campus agents also reflects Yunsu's current development status. "I earn more than I did with the three courier companies I used to represent," Song Yang chuckled.

nonsense!

Previously, Song Yang was an agent for small courier companies like Yunda, Guofeng, and Huitong. If it weren't for FoxTao's parcel collection business, Song Yang might not have been able to make it through the summer vacation and graduation season.

Chen Yansen nodded slightly and accepted the beer that Tang Zhenzhe offered.

"The telecommunications campus card business for next semester will still be handled by the two of you, with the same revenue sharing as before. However, there are some changes this time. There are additional sales targets for several contract phones, such as the Orange D1 at 299 yuan and the Orange C2 at 999 yuan."

Chen Yansen picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and said.

Song Yang glanced at Tang Zhenzhe, and seeing the other party nod almost imperceptibly, he replied, "Brother Sen, we don't want the commission from contract phones, we only want the sales commission from phone cards."

“Brother Sen, me too,” Tang Zhenzhe chimed in.

"You two can do without it, but don't cut off the earning opportunities for the second-level agents below you. Many students who work part-time and study rely on their commission income from these two days to make a living."

Chen Yansen said calmly.

Tang Zhenzhe understood Chen Yansen's subtext, pulled Song Yang aside, and said with a smile, "Let's follow Brother Sen's arrangements."

"now it's right."

Chen Yansen raised his glass to clink with the two men's and drank it all in one gulp.

……

……

Four days later, the day before the 418 Home Appliance Festival promotion.

To the surprise of platforms like JD.com, Suning, and Gome, Pinduoduo unexpectedly launched its major promotional event at noon on April 17th, catching everyone off guard.

Even users are wondering if Pinduoduo's operations staff set the wrong event time, but the start time on the event poster is correct.

"Pinbei did it on purpose!"

Upon receiving the news, Liu Qiangdong was speechless. Everyone tacitly agreed that a price war would begin on April 418th, and they would work together to generate buzz.

After all, they've lost money, so they need to generate some traffic, right?

But Pinbei and Chen Yansen lacked martial ethics and launched a sneak attack!
Should JD.com follow suit?
Liu Qiangdong fell into deep thought, caught in a dilemma. Starting early would disrupt the pace of the promotion, especially since some work was still unprepared; ignoring it would mean letting Pinduoduo take the lead and enjoy the benefits of the 418 traffic boost ahead of time.

"Holy crap! This kid is shameless!"

Suning's Zhang Jindong was in a similar mood to Liu Qiangdong, and he started cursing loudly.

Li Guoqing of Dangdang and Han Pengde, head of Gome's online business, were also completely bewildered, as this was the first time they had encountered such an unconventional opponent.

However, Zhang Jindong, Li Guoqing, and Han Pengde's main target is Liu Qiangdong. If Liu Qiangdong doesn't move, they won't either.

As offline chain appliance giants, Suning and Gome must defeat JD.com if they want to achieve success in online channels.

If JD.com wants to become the online king of 3C digital products and large home appliances, it must also beat Suning and Gome.

Therefore, although there seem to be six e-commerce platforms participating in this 418 home appliance festival, only three are actually the main players.

Dangdang.com is just here to cause trouble and, incidentally, to annoy Liu Qiangdong.

YiXun.com is small in scale, and although it makes a lot of noise, in the eyes of users, it's just a nobody.

Pinduoduo's actions, however, surprised JD.com, Suning, and Gome. This guy was trying to steal the spotlight!
At this moment, even Ahri, who was acting as an observer, noticed that something was wrong.

Pinbei is extremely well-prepared, with its own advantageous main products in televisions, air conditioners, range hoods and stoves, washing machines, refrigerators, digital cameras, computers and mobile phones.

For example, the Sony KDL-46HX850 LCD TV sells for 9098 yuan on JD.com, 9099 yuan on Suning, 8999 yuan on Gome, and 8998 yuan on Pinduoduo.

Lowest price online, even cheaper than Gome by one yuan!

The Apple iPad 2 is priced at 2988 yuan on JD.com, 2888 yuan on Suning, 2888 yuan on Gome, and only 2868 yuan on Pinduoduo.

The advantage of shopping half a day in advance is that it allows you to lock in users' shopping needs ahead of time.

At 18 p.m. that evening, JD.com announced that the 418 promotion would start early, with sales commencing promptly at 20 p.m.

Gome, Suning, Yi Xun, and Dangdang followed suit, moving their sales start time forward by 4 hours.

Ali uses FoxTao's price comparison plugin to put the prices of featured products from various platforms into the same table for comparison.

What greatly annoyed Liu Qiangdong was that FoxTao specifically targeted the expensive products sold on JD.com and compared their prices with the same products sold on Gome, Suning, and Pinduoduo.

The implication is that JD.com only talks the talk, and when it comes to discounts, Gome, Suning, and Pinduoduo are still the strongest.

"Brothers in the marketing department, find me ten of the cheapest items from JD.com as soon as possible and post them on Weibo."

Liu Qiangdong gave instructions to his subordinates.

The 418 price war has started ahead of schedule!
FoxTao members received a message from the group that everyone would be working overtime tonight to "live stream" the entire event, and that 5 million yuan in "viewer bonuses" would be distributed. They were both trying to fuel the fire and maximizing traffic.

The same washing machine, originally priced at the lowest online price of 2399 yuan, saw some users manage to buy it for only 1300 yuan after a fierce price war.

As soon as midnight struck, Pinduoduo's large appliance promotion easily surpassed 3 million yuan in revenue!
Liu Qiangdong looked embarrassed. In the four hours that followed, JD.com's output of large home appliances was only 170 million yuan.

However, the losses in other product categories reached as high as 4000 million!
He didn't know the sales figures for Gome and Suning, but he figured they wouldn't surpass Pinduoduo's.

He was so angry that Pinduoduo snatched away the traffic he had painstakingly built up that he cursed all of Chen Yansen's relatives and friends.

Sorry for the first time!

He shouldn't have dragged Pinduoduo into the fray!

Faced with this passive situation, Liu Qiangdong has no choice but to grit his teeth and endure it.

at the same time.

Price investigators across the country are all set to go, ready to wait at Suning and Gome's offline stores as soon as it's light, determined to take this competition from online to offline!

(End of this chapter)