Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 146 Year-End Summary

As 2010 drew to a close, the air in Shenzhen, a hub for electronic products, seemed to carry a hint of busy year-end preparations.

Orange Technology, however, remained unusually calm.

The Orange 1Q, a "power bank that can make phone calls," has seen steady sales growth thanks to its miniB interface, which has been jokingly referred to by users as "did this interface save Orange's boss's life?" The brand's reputation for 32-second fast charging and its collaboration with "Pingguo Companion" have contributed to its success.

Apple 4 users complain about the Dock interface, Orange 1 users complain about their own interface, and other niche interface manufacturers?
Sorry, it doesn't have that kind of buzz.

Chen Mo sat in the main seat of conference room number 2, browsing through the various complaints from users about the miniB interface on his phone with great interest, a playful smile on his lips.

Paying licensing fees to foreign USB consortia?

No way! Saving five cents is better than nothing!

He looked up and scanned the conference room. Xu Mingyuan, Liu Mingzhen, and Liu Jiping from Yuancheng, and He Jian and Wang Teng from Chengbao were all seated, except for the seat to his right, which was empty.
"What's Zhao Tiezhu doing, dawdling for?" Chen Mo asked Gong Yun, who was sitting on his left.

Gong Yun lowered her eyes, a hint of mockery on her lips.

"Mr. Chen, ever since I assigned Conference Room 3 to Engineer Jiang as a research and development lab, Xiao Zhao has been constantly running upstairs. I heard that recently, that small hair dryer company upstairs got a stunningly beautiful female lead designer, and he's been coming up even more often!"

Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for everyone present to hear clearly.

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow, checked the time on his phone, tapped the table lightly with his finger, and said with a half-smile, "If this kid dares to be late today, I'll teach him a lesson!"

Gong Yun covered her mouth and chuckled: "President Chen, how could you bear to really punish your 'capable and beloved general'!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Tiezhu blew in like a gust of wind, a sheepish grin on his face, but his mouth remained stubborn.

"Brother Chen! Sister Gong! I swear to God! I just went upstairs to catch up with the Cheng Bao brothers. A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative, and I was just checking in on my old neighbor. Please don't wrong an innocent person!"

Chen Mo and Gong Yun both smiled and said nothing more.

All the senior executives of Orange Group have arrived, and the year-end summary meeting has officially begun.

As the temporary host, Gong Yun glanced lightly at Zhao Tiezhu, whose posture was beginning to slouch again, and said in a gentle but firm voice, "The meeting is now officially starting. Please pay attention to meeting discipline!"

Zhao Tiezhu immediately straightened his back and arranged the documents in front of him neatly.

Chen Mo opened his worn-out notebook and began in a relaxed tone.

"Today, we've gathered all the senior executives of our Orange Group together for a year-end summary meeting."

The goal is simple: to ensure everyone has a clear understanding of the sister company, so that future collaborations don't result in senior management not recognizing each other, which would be a laughing stock, right?

"Haha." A relaxed laugh echoed in the conference room.

The tense atmosphere eased considerably.

“Orange Technology is the backbone of our family, so let’s start with oranges!” Chen Mo looked at Zhao Tiezhu: “You go first and show everyone this year’s orange harvest.”

Zhao Tiezhu stood up without hesitation, cleared his throat, and put away his nonchalant attitude, his eyes becoming sharp and confident.

"Everyone, the core of the Marketing Department's 2010 work report can be summarized in eight words: 'Breakthrough on both the supply chain and channel expansion!'"

He presented his report in a clear and organized manner, incorporating the data from the footnotes:
Supply Chain Group:

With costs reduced by 18% and delivery time compressed to 168 hours (compared to 220 hours in the industry), the company successfully weathered the supply disruption wave in September.

Channel Team:
The newly added offline retail outlets cover cities below the third tier, and the flagship store in Chongqing radiates throughout Southwest China.

Jingdong's online flagship store achieved a single-day GMV of over 100,000 RMB, with "Pingguo Companion" ranking among the top 3 best-selling items during the Double Eleven shopping festival.

For B-end customers, we secured exclusive supply from 771 and Su Ning, with customized oranges accounting for 35% of our sales.

Core Performance:

Orange shipped 6.8 million units in one year, holding an 11.2% market share among domestic smartphone manufacturers, firmly ranking second!
By developing the market demand for power banks, Orange shipped 59.3 units in Q1, accounting for 22.7% of the high-end market, ranking second in the industry, and its revenue was three times that of Nietzsche, the industry leader!
...

After finishing his report, Zhao Tiezhu had a slightly smug look on his face.

Chen Mo smiled and glanced at everyone: "It seems our Orange isn't doing too badly. After surviving the September storm, it still managed to become the second largest domestic brand. If it weren't for that incident, it might have been number one!"

His relaxed words carried a powerful influence, making everyone feel how hard-won and proud this achievement was.

Chen Mo then commented, affirming the marketing department's achievements, noting that breakthroughs in supply chain and channels were a testament to their strength.

He then expressed his support for some of Zhao Tiezhu's decisions: "Replacing small factory screens with large factory screens from Jingdongfang and investing 200 million yuan to connect the supply chain data platform are all very necessary things!"

Then, Chen Mo rejected part of the marketing department's strategic adjustment plan.

"The marketing department's 'one store per county' plan is too ambitious. We've changed it to 'blooming from the center,' using the flagship store in Chongqing as the core, first radiating outwards to the southwest, and then expanding to the west, south, north, and central regions."

"In the eastern coastal market, oranges will temporarily avoid the sharp edge of competitors and return once we have formed an encirclement. Product positioning also needs to be more precise and rooted in the target market."

Zhao Tiezhu understood immediately: "Understood! I'll have Lin Xiaoxia from the channel team liaise with Store Manager Chen to implement the Southwest strategy as soon as possible, ensuring that it's distributed differently from Nietzsche's to avoid wasting offline channel resources!"

Next was Gong Yun's report from the logistics department.

She stood up and spoke in a gentle yet clear and organized voice.

Overall Operations:

The company has grown from 20 employees at its inception to 126 employees today, with administrative costs accounting for only 8.3% of revenue (compared to 12% in the industry). It boasts fast response, low costs, and high employee satisfaction.

Group Highlights:

Administrative Group: Electronic approval saves 37% of paper.

Human Resources Team: Equity incentives cover 100% of core employees.

Finance Group: Budget deviation rate ≤5%, RMB 28.26 billion in cash pool.

Warehouse team: Warehouse turnover rate increased by 50%, and inventory error was only 0.8%.

Customer service team: fast response and high closed-loop rate.

Miscellaneous Goods Group: Equipment maintenance is significantly faster, and water and electricity costs are reduced by 15%.

Current issues in the logistics department: Incomplete ERP coverage of the warehouse, lack of senior administrative management, and customer service processes that can be optimized.

2011 Budget: Human resource costs increased from 60 to 300 million, with a focus on team building.

Chen Mo took the budget sheet and waved his hand: "Approved! Team building can't stop. It's better to have people waiting for things than for things to wait for people!"

He then announced a management structure adjustment: a "team leader" level was officially added between supervisors and employees.

Gong Yun smiled and agreed, indicating that she would continue to refine the management structure.

Chen Mo then looked at Gong Yun and said, "Your logistics department has too many groups. I'll lighten your load. Let's move the warehouse group to the marketing department. That way, it'll be easier for them to coordinate with the supply chain group!"

Zhao Tiezhu smiled and said no problem.

Afterwards, Jiang Yu from the technical department gave a concise explanation.

"Except for the vibration motor and gyroscope, the hardware design of Orange 2 will be finalized in January, and the OS is well maintained."

Chen Mo emphasized that the hardware R&D design must be completed on time by January, and Jiang Yu nodded in assurance.

Lin Junfeng from the legal team briefly described the achievements of the relatively short-established legal team.

Having successfully handled the Yu Dong and Ping Guo lawsuits, they indicated that the Yu Dong case could be delayed for another three months. Currently, the legal team is short-staffed, and they are truly powerless to continue.

Chen Mo smiled mysteriously: "No need to drag it out for so long, this storm will pass by January next year!"

Wang Kai from the market research team presented this year's industry survey report, along with a summary of the market research findings:
Nokia is declining, while Android/iOS is rising.

Fantasy (17.9%), Orange (11.2%), and Chrysanthemum (10.3%) are the top three domestic brands, but the overall willingness of domestic users to purchase them is low.

Android's free strategy has led to a 615% growth rate, while Symantec's decline is now a foregone conclusion.

2011 Highlights: Meizu M9 becomes a hit before release; Wheat and Blue Factory enter the market; Motorola revives; Apple 4 continues to be in short supply; large screens, high-definition cameras, and 3G become necessities; operator customization has a deepening impact.

Chen Mo's eyes were piercing: "The domestic smartphone market will be even more competitive next 11 years. Orange's foundation is shallow, so we must fight hard, maintain second place and strive for first. Our goal is to pull Fantasy off the throne of the number one domestic brand and collect some interest first!"

Orange's year-end summary is over, now it's Yuancheng New Energy's turn to report.

As the general manager, Xu Mingyuan is responsible for reporting on financial and business matters.

"Yuancheng's total revenue in 2010 was 38.76 billion yuan, with a monthly growth rate of 300% and a comprehensive profit margin of 63.5%!"

没错！远橙现在的营收规模可比橙子大，原因也很简单：不愁卖.能保持高速的复利增产模式。    “但主营手机电池（一代720万块，二代80万块）利润率仅3.68%，副营电芯（800mAh/920mAh/2000mAh共630万支，大江青灵1无人机是大客户）利润率高达136.6%，贡献62.4%营收。”

Dajiang's first personal drone aerial photography platform, the Qingling 1st generation, has reduced the cost of aerial photography from the million-yuan level to the ten-thousand-yuan level. In addition to Dajiang's own success, the Yuancheng 2000mAh lighter gaseous lithium battery cell has also benefited from this.

If it weren't for the phone batteries specifically designed for oranges holding back, Far Orange wouldn't have just hitched a ride; it would have taken off on its own.

Xu Mingyuan's tone subtly conveyed his indignation on behalf of Yuancheng mobile phone batteries.

Far Orange's revenue in just three months completely crushed Orange, which had been developing for more than half a year.

Chen Mo originally thought that Orange's revenue of 36 billion in half a year was already unbeatable, but he didn't expect that there was something even more impressive. Yuancheng quietly achieved a revenue of 38 billion in three months, directly surpassing it.

Chen Mo smiled and stated directly: "Even close brothers should keep clear accounts. From now on, Orange will gradually loosen its pricing control over Yuancheng mobile phone batteries!"

"But Orange will take a cut of the product profits from any subsequent new patent licensing for gaseous lithium!"

Excitement flashed in Xu Mingyuan's eyes, and he agreed repeatedly. He didn't believe that the breakthrough in gaseous lithium batteries could be so fast.
Breakthroughs usually take 3-5 years! How come Orange's gaseous lithium battery breakthroughs can be measured in months?

Zhao Tiezhu's face darkened; the cost of Orange 2 batteries was about to increase!
Production Manager Liu Jiping from Yuancheng then reported on the situation.

“3条半自动线满产满销，日产能13万电池/电芯，龙岗线待迁泷华，2011年计划增加1条大型线（日产10万）和2条中型线。”

Chen Mo made the decision: "Add one more large-scale production line, making a total of two. With the new energy vehicle subsidies coming into effect next year, electric vehicle manufacturers will flock to the market. Yuancheng must take a big bite out of this lucrative market of power battery cell supply!"

Liu Jiping perked up and said, "As long as Orange removes the price control on Yuancheng mobile phone batteries, Yuancheng can bear the increased production line costs itself!"

It's clear that these executives at Far Orange had long been resistant to the "low-price procurement" of oranges.

Even though we're brothers, you can't keep taking advantage of me!

This is not surprising, after all, Chen Mo gave the "gaseous lithium battery" patent directly to Yuancheng as a bargaining chip for the acquisition of Yuantu. They felt that being ripped off by their brother was inevitable.

Just like your parents teach you skills to make a living, and you go out to earn money, your family expects you to regularly pay living expenses to support your siblings every month. Over time, you're bound to have some reservations.

Next, Liu Mingzhen, R&D Director of Far Orange, spoke. She said that Far Orange's No. 1 laboratory mainly helped the production line improve the yield rate by 15% and provided three sets of public version matching solutions for battery cells.

Then, she solemnly submitted the "Research Direction Report on Perovskite Solar Cells" and asked Chen Mo to fulfill his promise and support.

"Solar energy?" Chen Mo was somewhat surprised: "Yuancheng is going to rush into the new energy road. They just finished batteries and now they're going to get into solar energy?"
However, I will definitely give you my full support, Director Liu. If Yuancheng doesn't have the funds, Chengzi can also raise the money to support Lab 1!

Chen Mo kept his word; having recruited Liu Mingzhen to work for him, he naturally had to support Liu in pursuing his dreams.

The unspoken rule for electing academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is actually clear: candidates must be selected from a list of candidates under the age of 35.

The selection process involves candidates being assigned a national key research breakthrough task that will last 5 to 15 years. Ultimately, their selection will depend entirely on their research achievements.

So you'll find that the youngest newly elected academicians each year are around 40 years old, and the oldest are only in their 50s. Theoretically, if you can be directly elected as an academician at the age of 35, not to mention you're from an old country, you're one of a kind in the world.

Many people are curious as to why Ms. Tu was not selected. She was 41 years old when she developed artemisinin. How could she have been included in the candidate list?

Are you expecting her and a group of young people in their 30s to work together for another ten or fifteen years, staying up all night to do experiments and research?
Therefore, if you don't make it onto the candidate list before the age of 35 and don't have the title of Outstanding Young Scientist, it basically means you'll never be able to become an academician.

This is inherently a cruel thing; otherwise, how could the academician title be so highly valuable? The golden research period for researchers is concentrated between 30 and 40 years old, which is the time to produce results. Now, Liu Mingzhen only has 7 years left to sprint towards this goal.

In addition, with the increasingly stringent review standards implemented in recent years to prevent academic fraud, she actually only has 5 years left to tackle this challenge.

After Liu Mingzhen submitted his project to become an academician candidate, Chen Mo signaled to the executives of Chengbao that they could speak.

Next, it was Orange Treasure Internet's turn to report on its situation this year, as it had only been independent for a month.

General Manager He Jian stated, "Appbao occupies half of the mobile entry point market, with a market share of 73% and mobile entry traffic of 55.6%."

Following Mr. Chen's instructions, our next step for Orange Treasure will be to focus on its application ecosystem, with games as a secondary focus. We will continue to develop two motion-sensing games, "Orange Treasure Racing" and "Orange Treasure Run," which will showcase the advantages of the Orange 2's gyroscope and motor.

Wang Teng, the technical director, reported on the software development outsourced to Chengbao: "The porting of Chengzi OS 2.0 is basically complete, and we are currently conducting final UI/UX interaction optimization."

Among them, the error of the unique UI interaction "virtual battery display" has been controlled to 22.5%, and it can be applied using a four-grid display scheme!

Chen Mo clapped his hands and concluded: "Everyone has done a great job in the past year. I hope you will continue to work hard next year. Meeting adjourned!"

After the executives from Yuancheng and Chengbao left, Gong Yun suggested that they hold a lively year-end party for the employees.

Chen Mo waved his hand: "We're not an internet company, we don't need hype. Besides, we've been blocked by the government, so let's not bother with these superficial things. Giving everyone a generous year-end bonus is more practical than anything else!"

He then called over several core executives of Orange Technology.

"However, the few of us could have a lively year-end dinner!"

In a private room at a high-end restaurant near the company, after a few drinks, the atmosphere was much more relaxed than in the conference room.

Jiang Yu stared at Zhao Tiezhu's weathered old face with a look of suspicion: "Old Zhao, are you really eighteen?"

Zhao Tiezhu, holding a beer bottle, glanced at him sideways and slowly shook his head.

Jiang Yu breathed a sigh of relief: "I knew it!"

Zhao Tiezhu suddenly grinned, revealing his big white teeth: "After tomorrow, it will be the nineteenth!"

Jiang Yu: "Damn! I thought you were almost forty like me!"

The crowd roared with laughter.

Lin Junfeng, usually a serious and upright elite, also leaned closer to Chen Mo, his expression a mix of drunkenness and gossip.

"Mr. Chen, do you think Laubus really doesn't shower?"

Everyone knows Lauber is a vegetarian, but he doesn't shower!

Chen Mo became interested: "Oh? Brother Lin, please explain in detail!"

Lin Junfeng lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Anyway, when I was negotiating with him, I smelled a particularly pungent perfume on him!"

Just think about it, he learned that Indian-style meditation, "following the natural way," and he wouldn't even take a bath. He even refused to get treatment for pancreatic cancer when he was young, and insisted on waiting until he got a liver transplant!

It was just a coincidence that his liver transplant complications recurred that day; otherwise, given his stubbornness, how could Pingguo have possibly reconciled with us if he hadn't replaced him with Cook?

Chen Mo listened with awe.

In a corner of the private room, Gong Yun sat quietly with a smile on her lips, gently stroking Xiaomi's increasingly round belly as she lay on the chair next to her.

The "Manager Mi," a special guest at the Orange Technology executives' year-end dinner, was squinting and snoring contentedly.

Wang Kai, sitting in the far corner, didn't say much. He just listened quietly to everyone's conversation and laughter, occasionally letting a subtle smile appear on his lips. He raised his glass and took a small sip, naturally blending into the lively atmosphere of the dinner table belonging to the core circle of Orange.

Outside the window, the neon lights of Shenzhen shone brightly.

This once-precarious "makeshift team" delivered a brilliant performance, ranking second in the domestic mobile phone power bank market, bringing a brilliant end to the tumultuous year of 2010.

The future unfolds quietly amidst the clinking of glasses and Xiaomi's snoring.

Once midnight has passed, the new year has arrived.

System notification:

2010 R&D settlement completed!
橙子1销量680万台，橙子1Q销量50万台，违规销量404万台。

According to the system's calculations, a total of 326 million R&D points were obtained in this settlement.

The data has been synchronized to the R&D center account. Please check your inbox.

100 breach of contract clauses, who the hell can remember them all!
404? ? ?

Is it so accurate?
You must be joking!

Fortunately, Orange 1Q can be counted as sales volume, which is one of his few consolations.

Chen Mo was stunned when he heard the mechanical system voice in his mind. Before he could react, a second mechanical voice followed.

System prompt:
Ding! A new mobile phone battery R&D solution, "Solar Cell," has been detected in your current location. Do you want to invest in the R&D center to start developing this cutting-edge technology?

Please select "Yes/No" to confirm.

Chen Mo was even more confused.

No!
If Yuancheng really wants to take off in the new energy sector, will it be able to occupy two technology tracks by itself?
You developed two cutting-edge R&D solutions for a single mobile phone battery, or perhaps you followed the research direction provided by Liu Mingzhen?
If there are enough research and development points, wouldn't the general research and development direction of high-tech components be able to be artificially intervened?

(End of this chapter)