Twenty years of cold chain

Chapter 329 Kunhai Fisheries

Not long after the Spring Festival, Hu Shutong focused his energy on the Fisheries Expo.

For him, going to the Fisheries Expo was far more than just visiting and seeking novelty. The Fisheries Expo has an important function: to promote cooperation. It can also be said that this is a high-level consultation among producers, distributors, and sellers.

These days, Hu Shutong has compiled the relevant information to a fairly good extent, and the outline of this fishery expo is gradually becoming clear. From the scale of the booths on the floor plan, it can be seen that there are three major companies arranged in a triangular formation, which were referred to as the "three giants of the fishery expo" in the early promotion.

These three companies are all very strong, but they have different operating directions. One is called Shengnuo Aquatic Products, which is more like an international aquatic product integrator, providing upstream channels for aquatic products from East Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States. The other is the well-known Panhu Ocean, which is a Sino-foreign joint venture.

It's worth noting that, in terms of both technical expertise and channel requirements, the barriers to entry for deep-sea fishing are significantly higher than those for near-shore aquaculture and fishing, making it easier to establish a competitive advantage. Large corporations are often involved, independently developing more mechanized fishing vessels and auxiliary equipment such as sonar and radar, venturing into the deep ocean to fish in the waters of other countries with economic fishing agreements in the central and western Pacific.

The third company, Kunhai Fisheries, is a national enterprise with a unique business strategy. It engages in both deep-sea fishing and land-based aquaculture, avoiding the most competitive near-shore businesses while simultaneously pursuing a combined land-sea and ocean-based approach. Land-based aquaculture refers to aquaculture conducted using ponds, reservoirs, and other similar facilities.

However, Kunhai Fisheries' land-based aquaculture will likely change many people's perceptions. It chooses super reservoirs with a volume of tens of billions of cubic meters and a depth of seventy to eighty meters to farm salmon, which rebounded strongly after the market disaster in 05. Its deep-sea operations focus on tuna fishing, known as the "king of deep-sea delicacies and fish".

These two types of fish are Kunhai Fisheries' two trump cards in the market.

These three companies are all of a scale that Tongxing has never cooperated with before. For example, the ongoing Panhu transportation project is actually a cooperation between the company and the city. The company's function is concentrated in transportation, and its say in other aspects is very limited.

Hu Shutong had been planning a seafood network for Tongxing. Compared to other agricultural products, seafood cold chain logistics required higher technical expertise, which also meant greater profit potential. The profit tiers in seafood were very clear; it's no exaggeration to say that the business of a truckload of mantis shrimp was less profitable than that of a single tuna.

At the same time, if Tongxing can obtain deep-sea cargo, it means that its aquatic business covers near-shore fishing, marine aquaculture and deep-sea fishing. In terms of both quantity and variety, Tongxing will have more confidence in the seafood markets of various regions. It can provide a full range of uninterrupted supply with just one customer, which is extremely competitive in the end market.

Of course, even the most ambitious cold chain service providers wouldn't dare dream of simultaneously representing three companies. To put it another way, becoming a primary distributor for just one of them is already a remarkable achievement. It's important to understand that this fisheries expo is filled with choices and competition between the two sides; major companies are seeking new distributors, while numerous distributors are searching for new sources of supply.

Not to mention those "provincial-level cold chain demonstration parks" and "key logistics enterprises," Hu Shutong is familiar with many of them. Nanjiao officially changed its name to Minghe Cold Chain three years ago. Relying on continuous capital injections and the advantage of proximity to Mingda's talent, its technology has been upgraded and its channels are superior, making it a completely different company.

This competitive landscape is unprecedented for Tongxing. It's completely different from the Wuguan Industrial Park, which relied on cooperation from the city and whose competitive advantage lay in its operational strategies and industrial ideas. Now, there's no room for strategies or ideas; it's a real battle of distribution strength and business acumen. Moreover, the competitors encountered in Panhu are far superior to those in Wuguan.

Hu Shutong had long realized that casting a wide net and considering all three companies was the mindset of companies like Zhonglong Eurocold. For Tongxing, the only way to stand out was to carefully study each company and develop a solution for each one.

Of these three companies, he unhesitatingly chose Kunhai Fisheries as his main focus. Kunhai Fisheries had been established for seven years, and its rapid development and the benefits of attracting foreign investment were readily apparent, especially in the deep-sea fishing industry. Hu Shutong had experienced the disagreements brought about by foreign investment before, and he believed that making his own decisions was a form of adherence. Whether it was foolishness or stubbornness, a company is like a person, and there was no need to delve into it.

The distributors are researching the companies, and vice versa.

The market manager of Kunhai Fisheries is named He Qun, a master's student from an ocean university who is not yet forty years old. At this moment, he is holding a piece of paper in the conference room and examining it carefully.

The paper contains a directory of cold chain companies, presented in a pyramid-like shape, dividing the numerous companies into five tiers.

Years ago, He Qun had participated in the construction of Panhu Fishing Port. A moment later, a doubt arose: "As far as I know, Tongxing's strength is quite considerable, so how come it's only ranked third?"

"Mr. He, it's like this. This list largely reflects our consideration of future development. Tongxing is indeed making a strong impression right now, but it lacks support. The future of the distribution industry depends on the scale of capital injection. We believe it's more suitable to be a branch within the system, handling scheduling for higher-level suppliers."

Since Tongxing was explicitly mentioned, the sensible person had something to say: "President He, the overall construction of the logistics team depends on our opinion. What do you think? We will put Tongxing in the third tier as the highest priority, so that no matter how it is built, Tongxing can be included."

"What's the point of giving someone the third priority? Don't say things like that in the future, and don't treat favors so cheaply."

After a moment of silence, He Qun continued, "The future is uncertain. Based on my understanding of Tongxing, ranking it in the second tier shouldn't be a problem. Let's move it up a bit and then report it. Meeting adjourned."

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.