"Rent a warehouse?" Ye Zhi asked, a little surprised. She frowned, "That's not a good choice."
"What?" Feng Jie was a bit bewildered.
Ye Zhi analyzed, "Renting a warehouse can indeed reduce initial costs and speed up the courier company's expansion. But given the current trend in real estate development, in just a few years, rent alone will become a huge burden for Feitong. It's more stable to buy warehouses now..."
Feng Jie: ???
Shouldn't Feitong be their competitor? Why was Ye Zhi considering the enemy's interests?
"General Manager Ye, is this the main point?" Feng Jie reminded her helplessly.
"You mean that Feitong's speed?" Ye Zhi said dismissively, "Compared to before, guaranteeing delivery within five days is indeed a big improvement. But with our Shunda having set the standard, this is simply not enough."
Feng Jie: ...
Was this still the Ye Zhi he knew? Did she truly not understand the severity of the situation?
"General Manager Ye, you can't underestimate Feitong like this!" Feng Jie persuaded her earnestly, "Feitong first used price wars to snatch a large number of customers, and then building warehouses and increasing speed are all about narrowing the gap with Shunda and further squeezing Shunda's living space!
For most people, there's no significant difference between four or five days for delivery. No one will pay extra to change to Shunda express just to receive it a day earlier! If you truly do nothing, the money you spent buying Shunda will be completely wasted!"
Ye Zhi said with a hint of amusement, "You're getting so anxious, did you forget you're an undercover agent?"
Feng Jie's face darkened. What was the point of him working so hard?
Seeing that the double agent was about to get angry, Ye Zhi quickly said, "Don't worry, I have a plan for this."
Feng Jie breathed a sigh of relief. This was the Ye Zhi he knew!
He said with some concern, "Are we going to engage in a price war with Feitong? But Feitong has directly stated that they guarantee no price increases for six months. If we engage in a price war, can Taoxun afford it?"
He knew Ye Zhi was very wealthy, as if she had an inexhaustible ATM, but extending the battle line for half a year would cost an astronomical sum.
"Of course not! A price war is essentially burning money. This kind of burning, even a landlord wouldn't have enough reserves!" Ye Zhi said without hesitation, "So we won't play the price war. Let them play it themselves!"
Feng Jie was stunned, "How will we do that?"
Ye Zhi glanced at her watch, and with a slight curl of her lips, said, "You'll know very soon. Follow me."
Feng Jie was completely confused. He followed Ye Zhi to the development department, where Chen Wei was also present.
"How is the preparation coming along?" Ye Zhi asked.
"It's all ready. It will go online precisely at ten o'clock," Chen Wei replied.
"Well done." Ye Zhi nodded. Seeing the hands of her watch point to ten, Ye Zhi calmly said, "Launch it."
Feng Jie became even more bewildered. Why couldn't he understand anything they were saying? Could it be that his undercover identity was being disrespected again?
Ye Zhi reminded him, "Open the Taoxun app and take a look."
Feng Jie skeptically took out his phone and opened the Taoxun app. Then, a pop-up window appeared, [Taoxun Direct Sales, Next-Day Delivery!]
Feng Jie was stunned!
After the pop-up, he clicked on the new section named "Taoxun Direct Sales" within the app. The products were dazzling, and many cities were already covered by the next-day delivery service.
Feng Jie finally understood why Ye Zhi wasn't panicking at all in the face of Feitong's price war.
Feitong could indeed use low prices to snatch customers, but could it make Taoxun Direct Sales use Feitong's courier service? No, it couldn't!
From the opening of the website to selling goods and delivering them, Ye Zhi firmly held every link that carried the risk of being controlled in her own hands. Moreover, the money from each link went directly into Taoxun's own coffers!
If this continued, Feng Jie truly began to suspect if Ye Zhi would go directly into manufacturing.
As for the so-called Feitong speed, was it even comparable to Taoxun's next-day delivery? It was a blatant slap in Feitong's face!
"General Manager Ye," Feng Jie said sincerely, "This move of yours is truly brilliant! Was your previous business trip a final inspection before the direct sales warehouse was put into use?"
"Yes," Ye Zhi smiled calmly, "I had the intention of doing direct sales from the beginning, but there were too many aspects to consider, such as warehouses and logistics, which is why it was delayed until today. However, it's a pity that next-day delivery doesn't cover all cities, only densely populated major cities. My ideal speed is next-day delivery, but that will have to wait a bit longer."
Feng Jie: "... Please leave some room for Qianbai and Feitong to live. Are you trying to make Feitong crash and burn?"
"I wasn't trying to compete with them," Ye Zhi said with a smile, "But I'm really grateful to Feitong this time. Their price war at this moment is like a celebration for us. It's really quite embarrassing."
Feng Jie: ...
You always say you're embarrassed, but when have you ever truly felt embarrassed?
However, Feng Jie, like Ye Zhi, had now started to consider Feitong's situation.
Ye Zhi's "secretly crossing the sea" maneuver had completely removed her from the battlefield of the price war, wasn't this putting Feitong on the spot? Oh dear, Feitong and Qianbai are so pitiable, it seems they have no good ways to deal with this!
"General Manager Ye, if you feel embarrassed, why don't I help you call Yao, the Deputy General Manager of Qianbai, to thank him?" Feng Jie said, gloating.
"Don't be so mean," Ye Zhi said with amusement, "Also, pull your lips together. Qianbai is your former employer after all. Is it appropriate for you to be smiling so happily?"
Feng Jie came back to his senses. Right, he was still a spy, so being too happy wasn't really appropriate. Wait, no matter how mean he was, could he be meaner than Ye Zhi?
Compared to the relaxed atmosphere on their side, Feitong and Qianbai were in an uproar.
Yao Hongbo and Yang Xu had already made several calls, and they had communicated several times, with each conversation ending unhappily.
Yao Hongbo was suffering from a terrible headache. He hadn't expected that he would have to convene another video conference with those investors so soon.
The investors were very dissatisfied. Now that they had finally gathered, they naturally unleashed their frustration on Yao Hongbo first.
"Distinguished board members, you can scold me later. What I have to say is very important," Yao Hongbo said helplessly. Then, he informed everyone about the launch of Taoxun Direct Sales.
A wave of shock swept through the crowd.
"Distinguished board members, Qianbai supported Feitong's price war," Yao Hongbo took a deep breath, "Nothing more than intending to use this method to squeeze Shunda's living space. The warehousing, logistics, and labor for couriers all cost money. As long as Shunda couldn't get business, it would become an unhealable wound for Taoxun, requiring Taoxun to continuously inject funds."