Chapter 206 Overseeing the Rear and Riding the Waves
Seeing Jinlong Braised Food Shop reminds me of Jinlong Fast Food Shop, then I think of Haishi Takeaway Association, then Ren Peng, the owner of Yipinxiang Fast Food Shop who is the president of the association, and finally I think of the conversation I heard when I was doing business at Haishi Bank.
It's been a while now, and I wonder if the food delivery platform that Mr. Ren mentioned has been successfully developed.
After giving Zhang Dezhen a brief reply to reassure him, Xu An opened a group chat named "Haishi Takeout Ordering".
This was because a girl named Lin Mengjuan in the "Xu's Fast Food" group chat invited him. It's highly likely that she invited the wrong person, but Xu An didn't leave the group chat. He often lurked in the chat to see which restaurant they ordered the most from.
Undoubtedly, the most frequently mentioned topic in their conversations was Xu's Fast Food Restaurant; almost seven out of every ten comments about the restaurant were related to it.
As soon as I entered the group chat interface, before I even had a chance to scroll up and read the chat history, I saw a group member send a freshly taken photo and a message to the group.
The photo shows a plate of spicy and fragrant barbecue served in a disposable lunchbox, but Xu An noticed a simple takeout order stapled to the plastic bag underneath the lunchbox.
The takeout order only had three lines of information: the name of the barbecue restaurant, the recipient's name, and the recipient's phone number. Besides that, there was no other information on the order.
Mr. Ren is not doing a good job. He didn't even put the platform's logo on the takeout orders, which could have made a deeper impression on consumers.
Exiting the photo preview page and returning to the chat interface, I found the group members chatting enthusiastically, with many asking which platform offered this service and if there was a link.
As soon as these words were spoken, a kind-hearted netizen immediately posted a link.
Alright, that saves me the trouble. I don't have to search for this platform myself based on clues. Xu An clicked on the link without hesitation, but because the web version wasn't compatible with mobile screens, it was a bit difficult to read on his phone.
The homepage looks normal, no different from other food delivery websites. At the top is a large platform logo, below which are the merchants listed on the platform.
Currently, there are 43 merchants on the platform, more than 30 of which are members of the Shanghai Takeaway Association. The remaining merchants sell a variety of things, including spicy hot pot, barbecue, and even a hand-pulled pancake vendor.
He randomly clicked on a store, and the webpage redirected to the merchant's page. Xu An's expression suddenly became tense.
Well, how should I put it... it's not exactly the same, it's practically identical, a complete copy of their own ordering page!
From the merchant logo at the top, to the menu display, to the contact information page (address and phone number), and even the payment page, there's not a single difference...
No, you didn't create your platform by referencing "Let's Eat," so how could you copy and use products from your own small workshop?
Suddenly, Xu An thought of a possibility. It wasn't that the person in charge of this platform didn't want to completely replicate "Let's Eat" (a Chinese cooking website), but time was tight and the task was heavy, so they could only pick on him, the easiest target. More likely, the person in charge had found Ye Ning and directly bought the website code to use.
To confirm his suspicions, Xu An found Ye Ning's account and sent him a message.
"Ye Shen, has anyone been asking you to create a food delivery platform lately?"
"Nothing lately, what's up? Has Mr. Xu come up with a new commission for me?" Ye Ning replied as quickly as ever, as if she lived inside the computer.
'I just saw a food delivery platform in Shanghai, and its interface looks a lot like mine. I thought they had you design it too (chuckles)'
'Really? Show me the link!'
Xu An sent Ye Ning the webpage link for "Express Delivery," and about a minute later, Ye Ning sent a new message.
'It really is exactly the same...'
'Oh, I remember now, Mr. Xu, your food delivery page was only recently completed, less than a week ago, and someone else has already placed the same request with me...'
If it took less than a week, then the former boss must have started planning it more than half a month ago? Did he set his sights on it almost the instant our company launched this business?
Mr. Ren has good judgment, but it's unclear whether the powerful figures he's aligned with are strong enough to survive the fierce competition for customers after the market has been divided up.
In the past, when seven or eight food delivery platforms were backed by big bosses and large capital, they were losing money every month when they entered the battle for customers, and the money was being thrown away like waste paper.
They were throwing money around so aggressively that Xu An managed to eat free takeout on seven or eight platforms for half a month using just one phone number...
In fact, when Xu's Fast Food Restaurant first launched its delivery service, Xu An considered whether to turn it into a delivery platform like "Eat It" (a food delivery platform), but ultimately gave up on the idea.
Even with memories of the future, it's difficult to outmaneuver capital unless you win a multi-million dollar lottery or find a powerful backer. But capitalists aren't philanthropists; they won't give you money for no reason. Even if you manage to build the company and platform, it's uncertain whether your words will carry any weight within the company.
At first, Xu An would occasionally waver, but as Xu's Fast Food Restaurant made more and more money, this idea faded away.
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