Rebirth in Hong Kong: From Dessert Shop to Industrial Empire

Chapter 76 Hidden Dangers (First update of 10,000 words a day! Please vote with your monthly tickets and recommendations!)
The commissioning of Chen Ji Foods' Shatin branch (formerly Shatin Yongfu Factory) greatly relieved Chen Ji Foods' production capacity pressure.

The stable output of 50,000 bottles of syrup per day finally gave the continuously operating Sacmi production line at the Kwun Tong main plant a precious respite.

"Brother Wen, the Shatin plant is doing well, with a stable yield rate of 99.1% and a steady daily production capacity of 50,000 bottles."

Gao Zhenhai held the latest production report with a sigh of relief, "At the Kwun Tong factory, the brothers can finally catch their breath."

I asked Brother Qiang to arrange for the production line to be shut down for a day for a comprehensive overhaul and maintenance!

Chen Bingwen nodded, his gaze sweeping over the data from the Shatin plant in the report, and said with satisfaction, "Good. This shutdown for maintenance must be thorough, and all the missed maintenance must be made up."

Brother Qiang is very experienced; let him keep an eye on things personally.

"Understood! Brother Qiang has already started maintenance with his men," Gao Zhenhai replied.

The core filling workshop of the Kwun Tong plant.

Zhong Qiang, dressed in oil-stained work clothes, was surrounded by several technical staff around the huge Sacmi hot filling machine.

They disassembled the main transmission housing, revealing the complex gear set and drive shaft inside.

"Brother Qiang, look here!" A young technician, Xiao Chen, pointed to a large bearing at the end of the main drive shaft and shouted nervously, "There are tiny cracks on the outer ring of the bearing!"
Furthermore, the wear on the gear teeth is much more severe than during the last inspection, and the clearance has significantly increased!

Zhong Qiang leaned closer, shone a flashlight on the gears carefully, and measured the gear clearance with precision calipers. His expression instantly turned serious.

"The wear rate is faster than expected, especially this main bearing. Although the crack is thin, its location is critical."

If it continues to operate at full capacity, it can only last for a month at most before the bearing is likely to completely break, and gear breakage is also highly probable!

Old Li, a key technical worker standing nearby, gasped: "Bearing shattered? Gears broken? Then the entire production line is ruined."

Repairs will require at least a two-week shutdown, and replacing core components will cost an astronomical sum!

Zhong Qiang nodded silently, still feeling lingering fear.

For a period of time, in order to meet orders, equipment maintenance time was repeatedly compressed, and some minor issues that did not affect production were temporarily put aside.

In retrospect, the hidden dangers had already been sown, but were simply masked by the high-speed operation.

"Fortunately, the Sha Tin plant was put into operation in time, which freed up our resources to carry out this thorough overhaul."

Zhong Qiang said thankfully, "Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

Upon hearing the news, Chen Bingwen rushed over and saw the tiny yet fatal crack on the bearing with his own eyes. He felt a wave of fear wash over him.

"Brother Qiang, immediately organize a team to thoroughly investigate the entire production line!"

Transmission system, vacuum pump, heating unit, filling valve, control system. Every link is meticulously inspected for any potential problems!
Any problem discovered, regardless of size, must be replaced immediately! Use the best spare parts!

He paused, then continued, "This incident reminds us that we must never take chances when it comes to equipment maintenance."

Starting today, all production lines at the Kwun Tong and Sha Tin plants must undergo mandatory regular maintenance.

No order pressure should encroach on maintenance time!
"Brother Qiang, you're fully responsible for the new regulations. Submit them to me next week."

"Yes, boss!" Zhong Qiang nodded solemnly. "Don't worry, I will definitely enforce the rules strictly and manage the equipment well, and I will never let a similar situation happen again."

While the Kwun Tong plant was undergoing major equipment overhaul, Chan Kee Foods' grid-based sales teams were spreading rapidly throughout Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories.

Thanks to the disruptive model of "zero-risk distribution, settlement after sales, and full refund for unsold goods" and the excellent reputation of Chenji bottled sugar water itself, the grid team's progress was almost unstoppable.

Chan Kee Foods Kowloon West District Transit Warehouse, Laundry Street, Mong Kok.

This place was originally an idle warehouse on the ground floor of a tenement building. After being rented by Chan Kee Foods and slightly renovated, it became a core hub covering parts of Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok, and Sham Shui Po.

Inside the warehouse, rows of neat shelves are filled with bottled sugar water of various flavors.

At the warehouse entrance, a refrigerated truck bearing the "Shunda Logistics" logo was unloading goods.

Li Guoming, the grid team leader, wearing a uniform blue vest with the "Chen Ji" logo embroidered on the chest, was holding a register and counting the bottled sugar water that had just been delivered from the Kwun Tong factory.

"Mango pomelo sago, 300 cases! Coconut milk sago, 200 cases! Tangerine peel red bean soup, 100 cases! Verified!"

He signed the delivery receipt and handed it to the delivery driver.

Nearby, several grid workers, also wearing blue vests, deftly loaded boxes of syrup onto several modified tricycles equipped with simple refrigerated containers.

Each tricycle is meticulously designed, with the eye-catching words "Chen's Dessert" printed on the side, and ice buckets placed in the refrigerated box to ensure that the dessert stays cold during delivery.

"Qiang, here's today's restocking list for the Temple Street area!"

Li Guoming handed a slip of paper to a sharp-looking young man.

"Fu Kee Store, 20 bottles of mango pomelo sago dessert, 15 bottles of coconut sago dessert..."

"Ah Ping, Yau Ma Tei area!"

"Roger that!"

The grid workers took the list and quickly loaded the corresponding sugar water onto their tricycles.

Their movements were skillful and their teamwork seamless. The entire transit warehouse operated like a sophisticated machine, functioning efficiently.

In just two weeks, the grid-based implementation of the project in parts of Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei, and Sham Shui Po in the western Kowloon district has progressed rapidly.

Li Guoming has six grid teams that cover more than 400 convenience stores in the area.

With its disruptive strategy of "zero-risk product placement, settlement upon sale, and full refund for unsold items," coupled with Chen Ji Dessert's excellent reputation and convenient bottled form, it enjoys extremely high acceptance among convenience store owners.

The number of newly added cooperative convenience stores per day has remained stable at around 20.

What surprised Li Guoming even more was that the transit warehouse played a role far exceeding expectations.

Previously, grid workers had to spend a lot of time traveling back and forth to the Kwun Tong factory to pick up goods every day, which was a long and inefficient process.

Now, customers can simply pick up their day's goods from the nearest transit warehouse, significantly reducing the delivery radius.

The number of convenience stores visited by grid workers every day has skyrocketed from an average of about ten to more than fifteen!
With more timely service and better customer maintenance, sales per store are steadily increasing.

Many convenience store owners, who initially tried it out, now actively request to increase the amount of stock they have.

The red-and-gold signboard of Chan Kee Dessert is rapidly spreading throughout the streets and alleys of Kowloon West.

With ample supplies and a highly efficient transit warehouse, the fighting power of the grid-based sales teams was fully unleashed.

Ling Peiyi's smile grew wider as she looked at the data reports compiled by the marketing department every day.

"Chen Sheng, the progress of grid-based management has far exceeded expectations."

As of yesterday, the number of convenience stores that have completed product distribution in the core areas of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island has exceeded 340.

The average daily sales volume per store is stable at 8-10 bottles, and is showing an upward trend.

At this rate, covering 30% of the convenience stores on Hong Kong Island within three months is just around the corner!

Looking at the reports, Chen Bingwen asked, "How is the transit warehouse operating? Is the delivery pressure high?"

“It’s operating well right now!” Ling Peiyi reported. “The first batch of five transit warehouses (Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei, Sham Shui Po, Wan Chai, and North Point) have all been put into use, basically covering the core areas.”

Each transit warehouse is equipped with one administrator and three small delivery vehicles, forming a grid team within its service radius.

Shunda Logistics is responsible for trunk refrigerated transportation from the transit warehouse to the Kwun Tong and Sha Tin factories, as well as the transfer of goods between transit warehouses, which is highly efficient.

Refrigerated truck turnover increased by 40%, while costs actually decreased.

"Very good." Chen Bingwen looked at the upward curve on the report and nodded happily: "Currently, our production capacity is sufficient to support the full rollout of the grid-based sales team model."

As he spoke, he walked to the large map of Hong Kong Island on the wall, picked up a pen, and heavily circled the blank areas in the remaining areas of Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, and the New Territories.

"The remaining area of ​​Kowloon will be divided into five new grids, covering all unsigned convenience stores!"

"Hong Kong Island is divided into four grids!"

"The New Territories are divided into three grids!"

"A total of twelve new grids have been added, with each grid assigned one team leader and two grid members!"
The transit warehouse network has been expanded simultaneously, with three additional regional transit warehouses established in Lai Chi Kok, North Point, and Tsuen Wan to ensure that each grid team can complete replenishment within a half-hour drive.

In Chen Bingwen's vision, these grid members are responsible for both the initial on-the-ground promotion work and the subsequent customer maintenance and service work.

Therefore, in order to reduce labor costs, apart from the team leader being a permanent staff member, grid workers only need to recruit temporary staff within their respective grids.

Upon hearing Chen Bingwen's arrangement, Ling Peiyi immediately understood his strategic intentions and quickly replied, "Understood! Mr. Chen!"

I immediately organized the marketing department to recruit team leaders and grid members according to the new grid areas.

After Ling Peiyi left, the office became quiet again.

Chen Bingwen's gaze returned to the huge map of Hong Kong Island on the wall.

The map is covered with numerous markings, with three prominent red circles marking the locations of three food factories in Cheung Sha Wan, Kwun Tong, and Sha Tin.

The blue triangle represents five standard stores located in prime commercial areas such as Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei, and Central.

The green squares represent thirty mobile sales points that extend into major industrial areas of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.

The orange diamond shape represents ten franchise stores located in Wan Chai, North Point, Hung Hom, Kwun Tong, Taikoo Shing, Mei Foo Sun Chuen, and Heng Fa Chuen.

What's most striking is the dense array of tiny red dots.

Each dot represents a convenience store that has signed a cooperation agreement.

They are distributed in Sham Shui Po Po, Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon City, and To Kwa Wan.

It covers almost half of the Kowloon Peninsula and is expanding rapidly to the Eastern District of Hong Kong Island, the North District of the New Territories, Tsuen Wan and other areas at a rate of dozens of stores per day!
This map vividly illustrates how Chan Kee Foods, starting as a dessert shop in Sham Shui Po, has grown rapidly and expanded rapidly in just a few months!

A strong sense of accomplishment welled up in Chen Bingwen's heart.

(End of this chapter)