Chapter 751: An OEM order for 200,000 jobs! China's most expensive international dinner!
The banquet is in full swing in Sanhe Ancient Town.
More than thirty well-dressed men and women exchanged pleasantries and toasts, creating a particularly harmonious atmosphere.
Holding the microphone, Zhang Chaoyang hummed an off-key song, slightly tipsy, his body swaying and his head bobbing more violently than the camphor trees outside the window.
Liu Qiangdong, holding a wine glass, temporarily put aside his grudges and frequently clinked glasses with Ma Wenteng.
Both men had a good tolerance for alcohol; after each drinking 1.5 jin of baijiu, their cheeks were flushed but their eyes remained clear. However, Liu Qiangdong's speech was noticeably slurred.
"Qiangdong, it seems your alcohol tolerance is really not good. Su Beihu still can't beat Shenzhen sheep!"
Li Guoqing of Dangdang.com took the opportunity to joke.
Benefiting from the first wave of live-streaming e-commerce, Dangdang.com's revenue has finally shown signs of recovery after introducing multiple categories such as 3C products, home appliances, baby products, and home furnishings.
After all, even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse. Even though it has lost its former glory, Dangdang.com is still a long-established e-commerce platform in China. Thanks to its deep cooperation with Gome, it can still get a very advantageous price for home appliances.
With his market share increasing, Li Guoqing's confidence returned!
Upon hearing this, Liu Qiangdong's eyes flashed with displeasure, but the people sitting in the private room were all prominent entrepreneurs in China. If he were to directly turn against Li Guoqing, it would only make him appear petty.
He simply grabbed half a bottle of Moutai and filled his and Ma Wenteng's glasses.
On the other side, Lei Yijun, Ding Lei, Wu Hongxin, Chen Yongming, and others were discussing next year's product plans.
Meanwhile, Ma Zhiao of DeepBlue Technology was surrounded by people, with a constant stream of people offering him toasts.
The reason is simple: Deep Blue batteries are simply unbeatable in the mobile phone industry.
Its battery life is four to five times that of traditional lithium batteries!
In the battery industry, there are only two types of batteries: Deep Blue and the others.
Even giants like Apple and Shanxing have to actively curry favor with DeepBlue Technology in order to maintain their market share and improve user experience, fearing that they might be "held hostage" in terms of battery supply.
Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out on the first floor of the hotel.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple Asia Director Ge Yue, along with several entourage members, walked straight toward the Luzhou branch.
The reporters who were waiting at the intersection immediately surrounded him and asked, "Mr. Cook, are you also here to attend Mr. Chen Yansen's dinner party?"
“Mr. Chen and I are old friends, and Apple and Senlian Capital also have a close partnership.”
Cook waved at the camera and explained with a smile.
In fact, Apple not only purchased the Orange Z1 instruction set and Deep Blue battery, but also had some iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models manufactured by Orange's mobile phone factory.
Although the two companies are competitors, their private cooperation has already permeated multiple levels.
The reporter wanted to ask more questions, but was stopped by security personnel and could only watch helplessly as Cook and his entourage entered Luzhou Prefecture.
"Do you think this guy, who comes to China twice in one month, might be eyeing President Chen?" a reporter muttered in a low voice.
"You mean this is too explosive!"
Someone responded immediately.
"Ahem! Do you two still want to work in journalism? Talking behind President Chen's back, you'd better watch out or you'll lose your jobs!"
The CCTV reporter quickly interrupted the two's gossip.
It should be noted that Senlian Capital's influence in China is growing daily, and they had already received instructions from their superiors to be extremely cautious when reporting on Chen Yansen and Senlian Capital.
At the same time, Meng Yun quietly whispered in Chen Yansen's ear, "Boss, Mr. Cook from Apple has arrived."
Chen Yansen nodded, slowly stood up, and thought to himself: It seems that Apple has disassembled the battery of the Shiny Orange X3 and obtained first-hand performance parameters.
However, Orange Technology's official statement has always been that "both the Orange C5 and the Yaocheng X3 are equipped with the second-generation Deep Blue Battery".
Whether the other party believes it or not, Orange Technology doesn't care at all.
He had just reached the door when he saw Cook and Ge Yue walking in one after the other.
"Mr. Chen!"
Cook squinted, forced a bright smile, and quickly came to greet him.
"Mr. Cook! Mr. Ge! Please come in!"
Chen Yansen responded and led the two into the private room, while the others were left outside.
When Ma Wenteng saw Cook come in, he was taken aback at first, then showed a relieved expression.
For business people, as long as the profits are big enough, they're willing to stab each other in the back while simultaneously kissing.
In reality, the conflict between Orange Technology and Apple is not as deep as outsiders imagine.
Although competition between the two companies will inevitably result in one of them losing some orders and customers, in today's smartphone market, Android, iOS, and Aurora Future share the market equally, and no single company can form a monopoly.
Because users have diverse needs for products, some people prefer Orange phones, while others are indifferent to them.
Conversely, the same applies to Apple.
The other business representatives greeted Cook with either a greeting or a smile.
Only Zhang Chaoyang stared at the big screen the whole time, immersed in his singing, completely unaffected.
Chen Yansen led Cook and Ge Yue to the main table and sat them down. Upon seeing this, the waiter immediately brought two sets of clean tableware.
"Mr. Chen, can the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus use the same battery as the Shiny Orange X3?"
Cook got straight to the point and asked.
He didn't point out that Orange Technology was using the third-generation Deep Blue Battery, because even if he did, they wouldn't admit it.
It will be at least another year before Apple releases its next generation of products.
This wasn't his decision; it was determined by the sales cycle of the iPhone.
Products need to be pushed out gradually, like squeezing toothpaste, in order to maximize profits.
But he understood that if users discovered that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus had inferior battery life compared to the iPhone 6/Orange series, it could easily lead to a decline in sales.
"Yes, but Apple will have to outsource all its manufacturing to Orange iPhone factory."
Chen Yansen readily agreed.
According to him, Apple's cumulative shipments from January to October exceeded 150 million units, and with products such as the iPad Air 2, iPad mini 3, Apple Watch, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro, this is enough to provide 200,000 jobs.
Securing this order before completely capturing Apple's market share is clearly an extremely worthwhile deal.
"Mr. Chen means all mobile phone OEM business?"
Cook frowned, tentatively confirming.
"I want not only mobile phones, but also computer and smart wearable device manufacturing—I want everything!"
Chen Yansen answered firmly.
Cook pondered for a moment and replied, "I can allocate 20% of Foxconn's orders to Orange Phone Factory."
"Never mind then."
Chen Yansen waved his hand, decisively refusing.
The third-generation deep blue battery is one of the core advantages that allows the Shiny Orange X3 to maintain its market position. In principle, it will not be sold to external parties unless the other party can offer sufficiently attractive terms.
Cook's smile froze for a moment, and his fingers tightened slightly as he held the wine glass.
He hadn't expected Chen Yansen to be so tough, not even giving him room to bargain.
As a long-term contract manufacturer for Apple, Foxconn not only has mature production lines but can also withstand lower profit margins and consistently maintain an extremely high yield rate.
If Apple were to transfer all its contract manufacturing to Orange Mobile's factory, wouldn't its production capacity be controlled by Senlian Capital?
Moreover, Apple has a contract with Foxconn, so it can't just switch companies like that!
"Mr. Chen, you should understand the strategic significance of Foxconn to Apple! They have 12 Gigafactories around the world, which can simultaneously meet the mass production needs of iPhones, iPads and smart wearable devices."
While Orange's mobile phone factory has developed rapidly in the past two years, its production capacity and supply chain stability are probably still insufficient to support Apple's global shipments.
Cook put down his glass and asked in return, unhurriedly.
“Orange Mobile has been cooperating with Apple for nearly two years. Mr. Cook must already be familiar with our production capacity and quality control. Choosing Foxconn will not bring any additional benefits to Apple.”
Chen Yansen spoke slowly and deliberately.
Upon hearing this, Cook fell silent.
Over the past two years, Orange Mobile's factory has maintained a yield rate of over 99.2% for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6 manufactured for Apple, which is 0.3 percentage points higher than Foxconn's average.
In addition, Orange Mobile's factories in Luzhou and Shenzhen are continuing to expand their super factories, so there is no need to worry about production capacity at all.
However, we definitely can't give them all the orders!
A single-supplier architecture carries significant risks. Long-term reliance on a single company can lead to either exorbitant prices or the risk of shoddy workmanship.
"Apple has contract manufacturers in Southeast Asia and North America, covering a wide range of products. Of course, the largest number of contract manufacturers are in mainland China, such as Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron, Quanta, and Orange Mobile Phone Factory."
If Mr. Chen is willing to promise Apple and Orange Phone the same battery supply treatment, I can mediate and persuade the shareholders and board of directors to transfer orders to the Orange Phone factory, but the maximum I can offer is 40%.
Cook said carefully.
"40% is too low! At least 80%!"
Chen Yansen looked directly at Cook and said.
What he wants are orders, jobs, and the torch of humanity!
"Fifty percent, that's my greatest sincerity!"
Cook shook his head, his attitude resolute.
“In that case, I’ll talk to Shan Xing tomorrow,” Chen Yansen said nonchalantly.
Although by this time, Sansung had already built two large factories in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen provinces in Annam, with a combined annual production capacity of 200 million units, accounting for 50% of Sansung's total global production.
However, as long as they offer the bait that "Orange Technology is willing to supply the latest generation of deep blue batteries, making Shanxing the second mobile phone brand in the world to use this product," they can naturally persuade Samsung.
Cook panicked upon hearing this.
His biggest concern is that once Shanxing obtains the third-generation Deep Blue battery, it will turn around and launch a new model, further eroding Apple's market share.
Apple and Orange Technology are competitors, as are companies like Sunstar, Lenovo, Huawei, LG, and Sony.
Moreover, contract manufacturing is not a high-profit segment, so whether Apple outsources to Foxconn or Orange Phone Factory, it makes little difference to Apple.
Furthermore, the two companies had never encountered any problems in their collaboration on the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6, which was also an important reason why he was willing to make concessions.
Generally speaking, outsourcing product manufacturing to competitors is extremely risky: firstly, there may be quality issues, and secondly, core functions are easily known in advance or even copied and imitated.
However, judging from actual cooperation, Orange Technology has always been at the forefront of the smartphone industry. Innovations such as under-display notch, facial recognition, triple-camera modules, and full-screen gesture design have all been led by Orange Technology. Moreover, Orange Technology has never leaked any information about Apple's new products before the launch event.
This is enough to prove that Orange Mobile's factory not only has excellent OEM skills, but also top-notch process optimization capabilities.
"Sixty percent! But I demand that Apple always have the highest priority in battery procurement." Cook quickly conceded.
"Sixty percent? I can't offer exclusive purchasing rights then."
Chen Yansen leaned back in his mahogany chair and said in a calm tone.
The implication is that if Apple's level of sincerity is only 60%, then at most, they will only supply Apple with goods, but not with exclusive rights.
They may sell their third-generation deep blue batteries to mobile phone manufacturers such as Shanxing, Huawei, and Xiaomi at any time.
Cook pursed his lips, looking conflicted.
He knew very well that "exclusive purchasing rights" meant that Apple could become the only mobile phone brand besides Orange Technology to have the third-generation Deep Blue battery for at least six months, which would be enough to help Apple stabilize or even regain the market share that had been eroded by Mountain Star.
But Chen Yansen's attitude was very clear: 60% of the orders could not buy him this exclusive right.
More importantly, he is just a professional manager at Apple. Although he has some decision-making power, major cooperation projects must be reviewed by the board of directors.
Thinking of this, Cook said very frankly, "Mr. Chen, 60% is indeed the limit of my authority. If Orange Technology is willing to authorize Apple to use the language analysis development tool, I may be able to persuade all shareholders to increase the order by half a percent or 10% on top of the 60% limit."
He mentioned speech analysis development tools because Apple's Siri performed worse than Xiaomi's Xiao Ai and Huawei's Xiao Yi in continuous interactive voice scenarios.
After analysis by the R&D team, the root cause of the problem lies in the fact that the speech analysis development tool has a powerful algorithm model that can significantly improve the performance of the voice assistant in a low-cost, low-computing-power, and high-output manner.
Just like some of the biomedical technologies in the United States, they won't sell their patents to China, not even if you offer money.
"Seventy percent! I'll take care of the licensing issue for your speech analysis development tools."
After a few seconds of contemplation, Chen Yansen gave his reply.
"I can't guarantee I can convince the board, Mr. Chen. Please give me two days. I will give you a definite answer before the Internet Conference ends."
Cook responded, paused, and then added, "Mr. Chen, if Orange Mobile wants to become the next Foxconn, it would be best to give up the mobile phone, computer, and digital peripheral business and reduce competition with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Cisco. Only in this way can it get more OEM orders from various industries."
Chen Yansen smiled but didn't reply.
In his view, mobile phones and computers are extensions of DeepBlue, Tiangong, and Xingyuan Technology's products, so there's no reason for them to cut off their own limbs.
Besides, if we really give up on the research and development stage, will the giants in the foreign semiconductor and consumer electronics industries really put orders on our doorstep?
This is a complete dream!
Only by having strength and value can you win orders!
Otherwise, if we rely entirely on others' charity, wouldn't we be begging for food?
He, Chen Yansen, must earn his money standing up!
Just as the two were having an in-depth conversation, representatives from Shanxing, Cisco, and Megaupload also rushed towards the branch building in Luzhou Prefecture.
In contrast, the drinking party organized by Ma Liyun and Li Yanhong seemed rather quiet.
The dozen or so internet entrepreneurs that were barely assembled were all second- or third-tier figures in the industry, such as Liang Zhangjian, the CEO of Ctrip, who was repeatedly defeated by Kuaipao Travel.
(End of this chapter)
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