My absurd experiences in North America over the years

In early September, the heat of Ohio lingered, and the runway at Toledo Airport gleamed grayish-white in the afternoon sun.

When Li Fu walked out of the terminal, a black GMC van was already waiting by the roadside.

He sat in the back seat, leaned back, and saw that the Midwestern sky outside the window was bluer than he had imagined, with a distinctly crisp autumn feel to it.

In the passenger seat of the van sat a white man in his thirties named Morris. Despite his large belly, he had already spent a week traveling around the Great Lakes.

He led a seven-person team to complete the initial business research.

Then he turned around and handed over a tablet computer. This was Apple's first-generation iPad, which was certainly far inferior to later models, but it was considered new technology in this era.

"Mr. Li, these are the conclusions of our first phase of research," Morris said, feeling somewhat uneasy.

From an investment perspective, the business prospects here are really not good, but their boss seems genuinely interested in investing here.

Li Fu took the iPad, but didn't open it immediately. He casually said, "Just give me your conclusion."

Morris paused for a moment, carefully choosing his words before speaking, "We all agree that opening any factory directly around the Great Lakes would be commercially suicidal."

This statement practically kills the chance of investing in and building a factory.

Li Fu paused in his tablet flipping motion, glanced at him, and gestured for him to continue.

"To sum it up, there are three reasons," Morris said, opening his notebook. "First, while the manufacturing infrastructure around the Great Lakes is still there, the supply chain has been completely broken, and most of the downstream customers have moved to the south or overseas."

This means that rebuilding the supply chain would be incredibly costly in terms of both time and money.

The key point is that compared to Mexico's cheap labor costs, investing in factories to produce any goods is not competitive.

Moreover, the goods from this great Eastern country are of high quality and inexpensive.

Li Fuyi had already anticipated this, so he agreed with the viewpoint and said, "Go on."

"Secondly, although the local labor force is sufficient, there is a serious loss of skilled workers, and young people are unwilling to stay in the rust belt. If a factory is built here, workers will need to be retrained, which will consume a lot of resources and time, and labor law issues are also very complicated."

Morris's second reason is also the current unavoidable situation.

"Continue," Li Fu nodded again.

"Third, and most importantly, local industry has been in decline for twenty years. Any investment in heavy assets could become a long-term loss-making burden. We assessed three possible manufacturing directions, none of which are feasible," Morris shook his head and sighed.

Li Fu silently flipped through a few pages of data summaries on the tablet.

Morris's team worked more meticulously than he had anticipated, with each conclusion supported by corresponding data and field research records.

They have detailed on-site photos and statistics on everything from local hydropower resources and human resources to the current state of the logistics supply chain.

It's fair to say that even if Lina, whom he relies on, were to lead the team, they probably wouldn't have achieved this much in such a short time.

Li closed the tablet and looked out the window. He had to find a new direction, such as leveraging the convenient transportation of the Great Lakes for warehousing and logistics.

"So, do you have any suggestions?"

He wanted to hear Maurice's opinion first, because only by pooling their wisdom could they do things as perfectly as possible.

Morris thought for a moment and said cautiously, "We think we should avoid capital-intensive manufacturing. If we have to invest here, we should focus on supporting logistics."

He knew his boss was practically an "investment genius" and worried that his advice would be presumptuous.

So he immediately presented his evidence.

"We've done a thorough investigation, and the transportation network here is a huge asset in itself. Interstates I-75 and I-80/90 intersect here, the Port of Toledo is the fourth largest port in the Great Lakes region, and rail lines connect the east and west coasts. More importantly, these facilities are currently underutilized."

"If these facilities are connected to form a regional logistics hub, the conditions will be better than in most areas. In addition, e-commerce is rapidly emerging, and the number of online shopping parcels is increasing every year. The area surrounding the rust belt could potentially serve up to 100 million people..."

Li Fu couldn't help but laugh when he heard Morris's suggestion; great minds think alike.

When Morris saw his boss's reaction, he thought his suggestion was ridiculous, so he stopped abruptly and became quite reserved.

"Relax, I think your suggestion is very good," Li Fu patted him on the shoulder, "Go on."

"We've done some preliminary research on the logistics industry. In theory, many logistics companies can reduce their costs by 18%-22%, but that requires establishing an efficient local distribution network..." Morris began to speak at length.

He talked a lot, but his ideas on how to solve this pain point were somewhat vague.

This is not his fault; an efficient local distribution network is inherently a very difficult problem.

Their team also noticed a significant weakness in last-mile delivery in e-commerce logistics: the cost of the last one or two kilometers is very high, and this proportion is increasing as order volume grows.

This could significantly increase the costs of future supporting systems.

Li Fu did not answer immediately. He flipped back onto his tablet and carefully reviewed the research team's assessment of the surrounding traffic conditions and feasibility analysis. He silently estimated the scale and start-up period of the logistics hub in his mind.

"Well done, let's go to the hotel first!" He didn't have any particularly mature ideas yet. "I need more detailed data, especially port throughput, rail freight prices, and the availability of warehousing land within a 50-mile radius."

"We've already prepared it," Morris immediately took out a thick folder and handed it to Li Fu. The cover was labeled "Feasibility Study of Toledo Multimodal Transport Hub".

He was very well prepared and now just wanted to impress the boss who was generous and valued talent.

Li Fu took the folder, flipped through a few pages, and the images of Cainiao Post Stations scattered throughout the streets and corners of his previous life, as well as the self-pickup points embedded in residential buildings and convenience stores in the community, came to mind.

This approach keeps hardware costs low, yet it reduces delivery costs for the last one or two kilometers to an unbelievable level.

A complete logistics and warehousing system, plus the "Cainiao Station" network covering the surrounding area, has covered everything from points to lines to surfaces.

The waterways, railways, and highways surrounding the Great Lakes provide just the right support for the entire system.

This system, from its construction phase to its operation phase, is expected to create countless direct and indirect jobs, which will greatly contribute to improving people's livelihoods and generating votes.

Li Fu told Morris about his idea of ​​setting up Cainiao Post Stations.

Morris was visibly taken aback, then suddenly realized, "I was only thinking about how to optimize the trunk lines before, I never thought that the last mile could be done this way... If we can really bring the self-pickup points into the community, then this system will not only be logistics, it will be a last-mile commercial network covering the Great Lakes."

"Please create a project proposal based on our ideas. Don't worry about the cost for now. Try to make the whole plan as comprehensive and detailed as possible."

Li Fu entrusted him with an important task.

Lina usually handles these kinds of things, but after returning to China to deal with the taxes, she went back to China, where she is currently coordinating and managing an investment of 2 billion yuan.

"Don't worry, I definitely won't let you down," Morris said excitedly, for his life was about to take a turn for the better.