Chapter 509: Foreshadowing from Many Years Ago
Song Ci keenly caught the flash of doubt in Sun Tongyu's eyes, and then understood what he was thinking.
The excited expression on his face subsided slightly, turning into a meaningful chuckle, and he took the initiative to ask:
"Is Mr. Sun curious? With such a strong foundation and clear strategy, why would Tengda go to such great lengths to partner with you?"
Sun Tongyu nodded calmly. This was indeed his biggest concern. "Please ask Director Song to help me solve this problem."
Song Ci's smile faded, his expression becoming incredibly frank and serious as he began to analyze the situation clearly, "First, you have unparalleled e-commerce experience and knowledge."
He stared at Sun Tongyu without avoiding the issue and said with emotion, "You are the one who created Taobao from scratch.
We have experience gained at great cost in understanding the underlying logic of the C2C market, the psychology of platform sellers, and every potential pitfall and fleeting opportunity that may be encountered in the development of e-commerce.
You are one of the very few living examples who has truly gone through the entire process from strategic planning to implementation and succeeded.
With you at the helm of the new platform, this new project can greatly reduce the cost of trial and error, avoid countless reefs, and save years of detours.
This is a value that cannot be replaced by any theorist or professional manager.”
"Secondly, it is the crucial 'trust endorsement' and unparalleled resource appeal." Song Ci continued to delve deeper, his tone becoming more respectful.
"For sellers, the three words 'Sun Tongyu' are a golden signboard among the vast community of small and medium-sized sellers, representing a legend and a sentiment.
The countless sellers who followed you and benefited from Taobao's early days will have a natural trust in your new business.
As long as you raise your hand and use your personal appeal, you can build a team of high-quality and experienced core sellers as quickly as possible.
This solves the cold start problem and supply-side issues that are the biggest headache for all new e-commerce platforms.”
"For investors and partners, the combination of 'Tengda Investment + Sun Tongyu's operation' is the strongest credit endorsement.
It is enough to boost the confidence of any discerning investor and make the valuation of the e-commerce platform far exceed that of its peers in the initial stage.
At the same time, your reputation and the network of relationships you have accumulated over the years will play a crucial role in future negotiations with partners in logistics, payment, and even government relations, reducing multiple obstacles.”
Song Ci said it very bluntly, "Another point is to make up for the genetic defects of Tenda Internet.
Tenda Technology has WeChat, Weibo, and Toutiao. We are strong in social networking, content, and traffic. This is our advantage.
However, in the e-commerce field, which relies heavily on operations, local marketing, and supply chain, experience and capabilities are obvious shortcomings. And this is precisely where your most profound skills lie.
You are well versed in how to build a healthy and prosperous platform rules system, how to manage and serve a large group of sellers, and how to organize and motivate a strong ground force.
You are the best person to fill the last and most critical gap in Tenda Technology. You are irreplaceable."
"Finally, there will be a terrifying synergistic effect in the future." Song Ci's words were so exaggerated that Sun Tongyu almost lost his composure.
“Once the new e-commerce platform is established, it will generate a chemical reaction-like synergistic effect with Tenda products.
WeChat will provide an unprecedented soil for social fission, making "group buying" and "bargaining" natural behaviors that spread virally.
This is a treatment that Taobao will never receive within the Tengda ecosystem, and it is our deepest moat.”
Toutiao and Weibo will become incredibly accurate traffic engines and explosive growth platforms for content marketing, using algorithms to accurately recommend product information to a large number of users who may be interested."
WeChat Pay will perfectly close the loop of e-commerce transactions, providing stable and reliable underlying support. Furthermore, e-commerce will become an excellent platform for promoting and expanding Tenda's payment business."
After Song Ci finished speaking, he looked at Sun Tongyu again with an extremely hot gaze, his eyes full of sincerity and expectation.
"Mr. Sun, do you still think I came to you just because you founded Taobao? What I value is the value you represent as a person. This position of platform CEO must belong to you."
These words, with meticulous analysis and rigorous logic, not only greatly affirmed Sun Tongyu's unique value, but also completely resolved the doubts in his heart.
Sun Tongyu stood there, speechless for a long time, scratching his head embarrassedly, and couldn't help asking himself, is he so outstanding!
After recovering from the "sweet words", he looked up at the young man in front of him, then looked at the fishing rod that still had no catch. The long-silent world in his heart seemed to begin to surge with huge waves.
In the distance, the water and the sky merged into one color, and the breeze by the lake seemed unable to blow away the turbulent waves surging in Sun Tongyu's heart.
Song Ci's words, like a precise key, unexpectedly opened the long-closed door in his heart.
The scene of being fired at Alibaba before fulfilling my ambitions, the shock, resentment and anger were like ice cubes sinking to the bottom of the water.
At this moment, it was suddenly picked up, melted in the sun, and surged into a tidal wave. I thought I had already let go of it, and indulged myself in the mountains and rivers, using the leisure of fishing to numb myself.
But until this moment, when Song Ci presented him with such an opportunity full of temptation and challenges, he realized very clearly that that incident had always been a thorn in his heart that could not be removed!
The so-called forgetting and letting go is nothing but self-deception.
Unless... unless he can personally build another e-commerce platform and surpass Taobao in a dignified manner, otherwise, this feeling of dissatisfaction will always gnaw at his heart and he will never have peace.
Song Ci quietly observed the ever-changing expression on Sun Tongyu's face. Reluctance flickered, memories brought pain, ambition quietly revived, and there was a hint of imperceptible fear.
I laughed in my heart: It’s a natural progression, the fish is finally taking the bait.
Just then, a wonderful coincidence happened.
Sun Tongyu's high-end fishing rod, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly sank, the fishing line instantly became straight, and the fishing reel made a slight "squeaking" sound, obviously a big fish had taken the bait!
If it were an ordinary day, this would be enough to make Sun Tongyu jump up excitedly and fight with the creature in the water with all his strength.
But at this moment, he was completely unaware of the movement. His entire mind was occupied by the grand blueprint of "social e-commerce" described by Song Ci. His brain was working rapidly, thinking about the feasibility and subversiveness of this strategy.
The fish that was hooked struggled for a few times, and miraculously got off the hook and disappeared back into the turbid lake water, as if it had never appeared.
After a long time, Sun Tongyu took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as if to empty out all the depression that had accumulated over the years.
His voice was hoarse with the intensity of his inner shock. "Mr. Song, I have to admit, you've really impressed me. How would you like to work together? Do you want me to join Tengda and set up a new e-commerce department?"
When he asked this question, a trace of deep vigilance unconsciously appeared on his face.
After all, the lessons of the past are still before his eyes. He absolutely does not want to become a chess piece in the chess game of giants that can be sacrificed at any time and repeat the mistake of making wedding clothes for others.
Song Ci seemed to have anticipated this, and shook his head without hesitation, answering decisively and with reassuring sincerity:
"No. It's about setting up a brand new independent company. Just like when I invested in JD.com and supported its independent development.
This company is fully managed and operated by you, Sun Tongyu. You are the CEO and have absolute decision-making power.
Tengda only serves as a strategic investor and the strongest backing, providing funding, traffic, and all-round resource support."
Leaning forward slightly, his eyes were blazing with encouragement and promise: “What we need to do is to jointly open the second chapter of China’s e-commerce.
This time, you are not only the creator, but also the guardian. It will grow completely according to your will and vision, until it becomes a new e-commerce giant that can shake up the existing landscape!
Hearing this, Sun Tongyu's tense nerves relaxed instantly, and a huge stone fell from his heart.
He is in charge of the company and does not have to be constrained by complicated group processes and personnel constraints. He can act freely. This is exactly the cooperation model he wants.
After calming down, his instinct as the helmsman of an e-commerce platform made him quickly think of a specific strategy:
"Mr. Song, you have a far-sighted vision. So, what segment do you think is the most suitable for this new platform to enter in its first phase?"
Song Ci's words gave him a fresh perspective. With careful planning and proper execution, it would indeed be possible to forge a new frontier from within the impenetrable encirclement of Taobao and JD.
Seeing Sun Tongyu quickly getting into the state, Song Ci smiled with satisfaction and patted him on the shoulder: "Mr. Sun, there is no need to rush.
The development of a new e-commerce platform model is by no means a one-time effort; we need detailed planning. You can go back and think about it, and we’ll discuss it in depth later.”
Sun Tongyu nodded. "There's really no rush. Business model, technical architecture, team building... there are so many things to consider, we need to take a long-term approach."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to be struck by lightning, his expression suddenly became serious, and his brows furrowed: "Wait! Mr. Song, I just thought of something very important, logistics!
Logistics is the lifeblood of e-commerce. Without an efficient and cost-controlled logistics network, the platform experience is out of the question and development is impossible. This is the most realistic bottleneck we face!
Faced with this core problem that all e-commerce players cannot avoid, Song Ci simply smiled calmly, his wisdom in hand:
"Don't worry. Tengda has already made plans for the logistics sector, and we are the largest shareholder of STO Express."
His tone was incredibly calm, yet it revealed the profoundness of a move he had made many years ago: "As early as when I invested in JD.com, I saw clearly that no matter how e-commerce evolves, logistics is the core that cannot be avoided.
Supporting Shentong was one of the key moves we made back then. Now, it's perfectly time for you to use it."
Sun Tongyu was shocked when he heard this, his face full of astonishment, which soon turned into sincere admiration: "Shentong's largest shareholder!
Mr. Song, you actually saw this coming so early? I admire your advanced strategic planning! I really admire you!
The last bit of worry in my heart also disappeared: "If that's the case, I really have nothing to worry about!"
Since the topic was getting deeper, Song Ci simply laid out the logistics ecosystem he had been conceiving for many years: "My idea is to never imitate JD.com's model of building its own national logistics system with heavy assets. The cost is too high and the cycle is too long.
By controlling key nodes, empowering data, and innovating models, we can integrate and improve the efficiency of the entire logistics ecosystem, especially adapting to the future strategy of focusing on the 'down-market'."
Sun Tongyu immediately understood: "That's right!
If the new platform's business volume explodes as expected, with massive orders, it will be enough for STO to rapidly expand its scale, optimize costs, and even surpass other logistics companies to become a giant in private express delivery business volume!
"STO Express is just the foundation." Song Ci further elaborated, "To open up the last mile, especially the last mile in the sinking market, we still need to fill in the key puzzle pieces and build a terminal post station network and smart express locker system."
The richest man's bright eyes sparkled with wisdom: "JD.com's warehousing and distribution, SF Express's direct sales, and Alibaba's Cainiao Express Station are all currently focused on first- and second-tier cities.
Our post station strategy must go against the grain, first establishing outlets in communities, convenience stores, and small shops in third- and fourth-tier cities, counties, and townships, and rapidly expanding using a light-asset franchise model."
Sun Tongyu thought about it and made a suggestion: "The cost of self-operation is huge and the management is complicated.
By adopting the franchise model to authorize these small shops to become stations, it is only necessary to provide a unified brand, management system and initial subsidies.
Small stores collecting express deliveries can bring in a stable flow of customers, boost sales, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results! "
"Well said!" Song Ci was becoming increasingly satisfied with this partner. "We'll work with property management to deploy smart express lockers in first- and second-tier universities, office buildings, and high-end residential communities to address the pain point of white-collar workers and students who can't receive packages on weekdays."
After a pause, he smiled and said, "Let's call this smart locker system 'Fengchao', which means richness, peace of mind, and home-like."
As Song Ci unfolded the complete logistics landscape, Sun Tongyu's thoughts became clearer, and he excitedly added:
"These stations can also become offline return and exchange centers in the future, simplifying the after-sales process and improving the experience, which is crucial for users in the sinking market!"
"That's right!" Song Ci was in high spirits, and the two of them started discussing with great interest.
"In this way, for the platform, having logistics capabilities with low cost, stable experience and deep coverage is the core barrier.
For Shentong, the massive orders helped it quickly become an industry giant and achieve technological upgrades.
For Tenda, cloud computing, big data, and financial payments have found huge application scenarios, and their foundation is more solid.
Ultimately, our logistics network may not be the heaviest, but it will definitely be the smartest, most adaptable to China's sinking market, and the most efficient system in collaboration with e-commerce!
This is enough to support the new platform to break through the siege of giants and form a new pattern of three-legged tripod! "
Sun Tongyu listened attentively, memorizing every word.
Deeply moved by Song Ci's strategic vision, advanced layout and appeal, the passion that had been dormant for many years began to boil again, and the enterprising spirit in his eyes rekindled.
This feeling is like going back to the glorious days when I started my business side by side with Ma Jieke.
But this time, his partner was replaced by a top figure with a bigger vision, a deeper layout and stronger strength.
It seemed as if one could already see a brand new e-commerce empire emerging on the shores of this rippling lake, its initial but extremely clear outline being sketched out during the conversation between the two.
(End of this chapter)
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