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

Chapter 509: 8.4 Merchants, Ranking First in the Market! Lei Yijun's Choice!

"Ah Li, what do you think?"

In his office at Xiaomi headquarters, Lei Yijun frowned, his face showing hesitation.

After a long silence, he looked at Li Wanqiang across from him and asked.

"Mr. Lei, I've been thinking about it. If we cooperate with Qualcomm, Xiaomi will have to give up Aurora OS, Aurora Future OS, fast charging technology, Deep Blue Battery, Xiao Ai voice assistant, and stable OEM services."

While the operating system might be replaceable with MIUI, and the manufacturing could be switched to Foxconn, we simply cannot find substitutes for the battery and voice interaction system in the short term.

By then, Xiaomi phones' battery life will have plummeted to the bottom of the industry, and without voice interaction software, they will likely completely lose their market competitiveness in 2014 or 2015.

After a moment's thought, Li Wanqiang replied with extreme caution.

Qualcomm's chip performance is indeed outstanding, but the Tiangong A100 is in no way inferior, and even surpasses the Snapdragon 800 by a large margin in terms of computing power, resource allocation efficiency, and power consumption control.

Although he doesn't understand chip design, as an industry insider, he can at least distinguish between good and bad products.

In the field of IC design, Tiangong Technology's strength is definitely superior to Qualcomm's.

"You mean, abandon the cooperation with Qualcomm?" Lei Yijun pressed.

"If I had to choose between the two, I would choose to believe Chen Yansen!"
Mr. Lei, I remember you once said that investing is investing in people.

Senlian Capital first established Tiangong Technology, and then invested 300 billion yuan to prepare Xingyuan Technology, venturing into the chip manufacturing sector. Who can guarantee that it won't succeed again?

Li Wanqiang countered with a question.

Lei Yijun nodded slightly, two conflicting thoughts clashing fiercely in his mind.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally smiled with relief: "We can't just switch sides when outsiders are attacking our own people, can we?"

The implication is clear: Screw Qualcomm, die!
Seeing this, Li Wanqiang breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that Lei Yijun would side with Qualcomm.

the other side.

Zhou Hongyi leaned back in his executive chair, chatting with Chen Yansen: "Mr. Chen, do I look like that kind of person? But you should be wary of Lei Yijun; that guy is no good."

He paused and then said, "Unlike me, I rejected Wang Xiang on the spot. We're best friends. Would I stab a friend in the back for a few chip procurement rights?"

Of course, despite this, Zhou's underlying logic is: once he leaves Orange Technology, 360 Mobile will just be an advertising machine piled with materials. Will it still be able to sell more than 10 million units a year?
Definitely not!

Moreover, for smartphones costing a few hundred to a little over a thousand yuan, what kind of chip wouldn't work? Does it have to be Qualcomm?

MediaTek and Nvidia are both good alternatives!
Judging from market feedback on the 360 ​​F1 Mini, users don't care at all whether the processor is a Snapdragon 200, Tegra 3, or MT6572. As long as the screen is big enough, the speakers are loud enough, and it doesn't lag, that's all that matters.

"Mr. Zhou is indeed a man of great taste. I'll treat you to drinks sometime."

Chen Yansen replied with a smile.

Paul Jacobs had actually been prepared for these tactics for a long time.

Otherwise, how could he possibly lead Xiaomi, 360, NetEase, Meitu, and LeEco?

From 2011 to 2013, almost all second-tier domestic mobile phone manufacturers purchased some of Orange Technology's patented technologies to varying degrees.

In addition, Orange Technology has a good relationship with the two telecommunications giants, Huawei and ZTE, and has also engaged in cross-licensing of patents.

This is also the main reason why the Tiangong A100 chip was completed so quickly.

In the eyes of his peers, Chen Yansen is a "troublemaker," but when it comes to technology and system licensing, he is wealthy and generous.

Apart from Smartisan and counterfeit phone manufacturers who cannot purchase Orange Technology's technology patents, most mobile phone brands have business dealings with Orange Technology.

For example, battery system management, fast charging technology, Aurora OS, and language analysis development tools have all become powerful means for Chen Yansen to win over competitors.

Even counterfeit phone factories have launched a number of smartphones equipped with the Aurora Future OS system in the past year.

Qualcomm's attempt to cut off Orange Technology's escape route is simply a pipe dream!

"It's a deal, okay? Don't say you didn't save my number next time I call you."

Zhou Hongyi teased with a smile.

"Don't we have friends on Yunzhou? We can send videos too!"

Chen Yansen laughed loudly.

The two then chatted for another ten minutes or so before hanging up.

The smile on Chen Yansen's face gradually faded.

Among the group of followers, only Zhou Hongyi expressed his opinion. What about Lei Yijun, Ding Lei, Wu Hongxin, and Jia Yaoting?

Could it be that someone really wants to be Paul Jacobs's dog?

However, he didn't take it to heart.

The world is full of goodwill, and the world is all good.

If Qualcomm provides a large enough bone with plenty of scraps, people will surely be tempted to pounce on it and fight for it.

It's human nature; he can understand.

Half an hour later, Lei Yijun forwarded a blog post from Tiangong Technology about its countersuit against Qualcomm, adding the caption: "Support Tiangong! Support China's own self-developed chips!"

Three minutes later, Meitu CEO Wu Hongxin retweeted the post. Ten minutes later, LeEco Chairman Jia Yueting followed suit and retweeted it.

Fifteen minutes later, NetEase founder Ding Lei also joined the reposting.

Their meaning is clear: they strongly support Tiangong Technology and claim they will consider refusing to use Qualcomm's chip products.

These people are all core members of Orange Technology's power circle.

Immediately afterwards, some uninformed competitors, after some speculation, followed suit and forwarded the message.

Unsuspecting mobile phone brand owners might think that Xiaomi, 360, and NetEase had received instructions from higher-ups and therefore followed suit in expressing their opinions.

Paul Jacobs was bewildered when he learned of this; no one was interested in the price he offered.

Not only did it have no effect, but it also triggered a boycott of Qualcomm by the Chinese mobile phone industry.

With nowhere to vent his anger, he could only temporarily put aside his underhanded tactics and instead focus his energy on public opinion and litigation.

What he didn't expect was that even in terms of public opinion, Qualcomm was the one who suffered.

In China, Senlian Capital can easily crush Qualcomm with its products such as Toutiao, Douyin, Kuaishou, Lingxi Browser, and Lingxi Search.

Overseas, although it's not their home turf, Mimo's daily active users of over 4000 million are no joke. In addition, the brand department has been helping Chen Yansen manage his Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, which has resulted in Orange Technology and Tiangong Technology having a considerable following overseas.

After all, Qualcomm, relying on its patent defenses, frequently engages in "trolling" activities globally, even targeting its own people.

Which mobile phone manufacturer, including Apple and Sanfos, hasn't stumbled with Qualcomm?
Therefore, in North America, Tiangong Technology and Qualcomm are surprisingly evenly matched in terms of public opinion.

The reason is simple: according to the information disclosed by both parties, Tiangong Technology is indeed suspected of infringement, but Qualcomm also illegally used Tiangong Technology's patented technology.

As for whose fault it is, that should be left to the law to determine.

Their word doesn't count!
at the same time.

After poaching employees for several months, Ctrip's boss Liang Zhangjian discovered that Kuaipao's hotel and travel business seemed unaffected, while his own labor costs had increased by 41%.

At the current rate of success, if Kuaishou doesn't fail, Ctrip will be doomed!

Moreover, the ground sales force, personally led by Shan Jiawei, started from the East China region and swept through Central China, South China, and Southwest China, before heading north and eventually capturing the hotel and tourism markets in North China and Northeast China.

Wherever it goes, it sparks a wave of enthusiasm for joining KuaiRun.

Ctrip is at a disadvantage in terms of daily active users of its app, transaction commission rates, flexibility of its back-end system, and data growth.

Despite the equity swap between Ctrip and Qunar and the support of Robin Li, Baidu is now mired in a business quagmire, besieged by competitors such as Lingxi Search, 360 Search, and Sogou Search, leaving it with no time to focus on the hotel and travel industry, and the resources it can provide are extremely limited.

Liang Zhangjian was besieged on both online and offline fronts, and only then did he understand why Wang Xin of Meituan had been forced to change careers.

In terms of funding, traffic, ecosystem resources, and business development capabilities, Ctrip is no match.

Little did he know that Kuaipao's ground sales force had been honed over three years, first defeating Ele.me, then crushing Meituan and Dianping, leading to the acquisition of both of these competing companies, and finally suppressing competitors such as Qiandu Waimai, Qiandu Tuangou, and Taodian, demonstrating its formidable capabilities.

In addition, Kuaipao's investment promotion policies are generous, with good benefits and high commissions, so these field sales managers are not afraid of either verbal or physical approaches.

By simply shouting at the street corner, one can easily summon more than a dozen thugs from Yunsu, KuaiDai Taxi, and KuaiPao Transportation Departments.

Oops, a slip of the tongue, I should have called him colleague!

When Ctrip's ground sales staff encounter people running away, they usually turn around and leave to avoid conflicts, as they can't win an argument or a fight.

Some of the quick-thinking Ctrip employees simply took their merchant resources and jumped ship to Kuaipao.

They only need to sort out the merchant resources at hand and follow Kuaipao's commission standards to earn 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a month. If they work harder, earning 40,000 to 50,000 yuan is not a problem.

It's worth noting that Liang Zhangjian spent two or three times the salary to poach key members from Kuaipao Travel, but didn't give Ctrip employees at the same level a single penny raise.

Don’t worry about scarcity, but worry about inequality!

Many people are dissatisfied with him, and some unscrupulous ones even package up all the merchants' CRM databases and use them as a stepping stone for their own promotion.

Pei Yi accepted all offers without hesitation, and from early September to early November, for a full two months, he managed to extract one-third of the high-star hotel merchants from Liang Zhangjian.

For small and medium-sized chain and budget hotels, a total of 8.4 deals have been reached, leaving only 1.6 short of achieving the expansion target for the fourth quarter.

Liang Zhangjian stepped back, but Pei Yi showed no mercy.

He was young and had no scruples, so he went all out and was completely relentless in his attacks.

In terms of user traffic, we will adopt two methods: high-frequency takeout orders and in-store traffic redirection.

In terms of market positioning, we focus on lower-tier markets and local life, while providing high-end hotels with a full range of marketing solutions and exposure support.
In terms of merchant costs, the commission rate is only 8% to 12%, far lower than Ctrip's 15% to 20%;

In terms of product portfolio, the platform packages and sells 'hotel + catering + tickets' together, thereby increasing its bargaining power and obtaining lower prices than Ctrip.

In terms of technical capabilities, it provides a more convenient and flexible back-end management system, onboarding experience, and after-sales service.

With this series of combined moves, Kuaipao gained a market share of over 60% in the hotel market in third- and fourth-tier cities, with monthly hotel room nights reaching 1000 million, surpassing Ctrip for the first time.

After this incident, investors who initially thought Wang Xin was useless now realize that he was quite capable, having managed to hold out under Pei Yi for nearly a year.

After all, Liang Zhangjian only lasted two months before showing signs of weakness and proactively contracted his defenses.

With Ctrip backing down, the OTA market has returned to calm.

(End of this chapter)