Upon hearing the name China Post, Wang Wei was utterly speechless. Indeed, in China, no logistics company could match China Post in terms of scope and transportation capacity. It was a super logistics enterprise capable of delivering mail to the Himalayan base camp and to border outposts in uninhabited areas within hundreds of kilometers.
If Jiangnan Group were to transfer all its logistics business to China Post, it would truly be able to completely replace SF Express's functions.
But was Huang He out of his mind to want to hand over his business to China Post?
"Chairman Huang, you should understand why so many logistics companies are emerging in China, why China Post is continuously losing money, and why no company chooses China Post to undertake its logistics business!" Wang Wei asked helplessly.
"Of course, I understand. China Post's fees are not only expensive, but its business model is also very rigid. They are even reluctant to provide large-volume cargo transportation services, and the mailing speed cannot be guaranteed, being much slower than most logistics companies. China Post is truly a terrible choice for businesses," Huang He said with a smile.
"Chairman Huang, since you understand these things, please don't tease me with China Post, okay?" Wang Wei said irritably.
"How am I teasing you!" Huang He grinned. "Post is indeed one of our choices, but it's a choice made out of desperation."
"What do you mean by a choice made out of desperation?" Wang Wei asked.
"Naturally, it means that if Boss Wang refuses to undertake our Jiangnan Group's logistics business, I've calculated that our current group business contract is for one year, starting from last November and ending at the end of this November. This means that if Boss Wang is ruthless enough, he can directly refuse to provide us with logistics services starting from December. There are still seven months left. So, after seven months, I'll have to seek help from the post office, unless we have our own logistics company."
"Your own logistics company!" Wang Wei's pupils contracted. "Are you planning to acquire other logistics enterprises?"
"No!" Huang He shook his head. "To be honest, besides your company, Boss Wang, there isn't a second logistics company that I find satisfactory. So, if Boss Wang doesn't sell his company, then we Jiangnan will have to build our own logistics company!"
"You build it yourself!" Wang Wei was stunned. Due to his close cooperation with Jiangnan Group, Wang Wei knew that Jiangnan Group had recently expanded significantly, opening hundreds of branches nationwide almost every month and launching sales outlets in hundreds of new cities each month. This included thousands of mobile stalls and over a dozen fixed flagship stores.
At this moment, all of Jiangnan Group's human, material, and financial resources should be concentrated on the expansion of the blind box business. How could they possibly have the spare capacity and funds to run their own logistics company?
Did Huang He understand how troublesome this was?
Where did he get so much energy and money?
"Chairman Huang, your 200 million RMB cannot establish such a logistics company!" Wang Wei said.
"Well, 200 million is a bit small, but what we need to do and the costs involved are far less than those of your traditional logistics companies!" Huang He said with a smile. "First, our logistics company only needs to provide services to our Jiangnan Group. It will not take on external business in the early stages. This makes our business model extremely simple: we only need to set up a headquarters and then recruit drivers and trucks."
"There's no need for complex business management, nor for sales personnel. Management is extremely simple, almost equivalent to adding a department to the company, with no administrative costs."
"At the same time, because we already have various branches across the country, and these branches have their own office buildings, it's easy to vacate some space to serve as warehouses for our Jiangnan Logistics, without any additional expenses."
"Simply put, my 200 million will only be used to recruit drivers and trucks. Most of the other costs can be omitted. I had someone calculate it: approximately 50 small trucks for each province, totaling 1,600 vehicles, costing 160 million for the vehicles. The headquarters would also have 200 large trucks, totaling 100 million in vehicle costs. Added to other miscellaneous expenses, our own Jiangnan Logistics could be established with about 300 million. It's only 100 million more than buying SF Express, but we can achieve nationwide coverage even earlier than SF Express!" Huang He said with a smile.
"Heh heh..." Hearing Huang He's words, Wang Wei could only let out a dry laugh.
In fact, Huang He still lacked experience. Wang Wei, with the company's complete data, knew very well that Huang He was overestimating the number of vehicles. If he were to arrange it, it wouldn't even require 300 million, at most 200 million worth of vehicles would be enough to meet all of Huang He's company's needs. After all, all vehicles would only serve Huang He's company, without detours or rerouting for other clients, thus reducing the required number of vehicles.
However, this discovery brought Wang Wei no joy. Instead, it made him very upset. The fact that Huang He was so openly calculating this for him meant that Huang He had made up his mind to establish a logistics company.
Although Huang He's greater objective was to intimidate him, to scare him into willingly handing over SF Express to Huang He, Huang He's calculation was not wrong.
With branches spread across the country, starting their own logistics business was indeed a simple matter.
"But..." Wang Wei couldn't help but say, "Chairman Huang, do you really need to do this? Even if you can establish a large logistics company within half a year, if you don't accept external business and only rely on Jiangnan Group's own business needs, it's a complete waste of resources."
"Have you considered that the demand for goods varies in different provinces, and your trucks will not always be full? Sometimes a truck might be loaded with only one-fifth, or even one-tenth of the cargo, yet have to travel hundreds of kilometers. This will waste a lot of logistics costs, and it would be cheaper for you to directly hand it over to us for transportation."
"After all, only logistics companies that operate externally can gather a large amount of transportation needs, ensuring that their vehicles are always full and minimizing logistics costs!"
"I can responsibly tell you that your own logistics operation will cost more than double what you pay us. You will definitely regret it!" Wang Wei said.
"Isn't that simple? Once our Jiangnan Logistics is mature, we can start accepting external business. At that time, we will no longer be partners, but competitors!" Huang He said with a chuckle, leaving Wang Wei so angry he could spit blood.
"Alright, Boss Wang, I'll give you one day. I need your reply within a day. Whether we are family or strangers from now on depends on your choice!" Huang He said forcefully.
Then, he strode away, leaving Wang Wei fuming and slamming the table.
Wang Wei didn't even need a full day. That same afternoon, Huang He received a call from Wang Wei. Wang Wei explicitly refused Huang He's full acquisition request. However, he did not state that he would refuse Jiangnan's business after the cooperation period expired, perhaps wanting to make Huang He realize how unreliable it would be for him to start a logistics company.
"Mr. Dai, it seems your chairman has rejected my acquisition proposal!" Huang He said with a smile to a middle-aged man sitting opposite him at the dining table after receiving Wang Wei's call.
"Heh heh!" Mr. Dai merely gave an awkward chuckle and remained silent, as he didn't know how to comment on his boss's decision.
From his heart, he also felt that Wang Wei's decision was correct. Of course, for himself, this decision was also the best possible outcome.
His name was Dai Tiejun, the head of SF Express's transportation department, and a trusted subordinate of Wang Wei. He had been working with Wang Wei since Wang Wei's early days, for eight years now.
Within SF Express, Dai Tiejun was considered one of the top five individuals, with an intimate knowledge of the entire SF Express logistics operation, knowing every route by heart.
Huang He's visit to Dai Tiejun was naturally to poach him. After all, running a logistics company wasn't something that could be done by simply having an idea; it required professionals.
After a short while, Dai Tiejun's phone rang. Glancing at it, he saw it was Wang Wei's call.
"Tiejun, where are you? We're about to have a meeting!" Wang Wei asked.
"Boss, I'm out handling some matters, and I might not be able to return to the company for a while!" Dai Tiejun replied.
"Tiejun, I don't need to elaborate on our relationship. Tell me honestly, has anyone approached you recently, trying to recruit you?" Wang Wei's intuition was indeed sharp. He immediately sensed that Huang He might try to poach his staff, as Huang He's plan to run his own logistics company would require talent!
So, Wang Wei began calling key personnel in his company. At the same time, he knew Dai Tiejun's personality well, knowing he was somewhat shy. Therefore, he decided to be direct and nip the problem in the bud.
"This..." As expected, Dai Tiejun hesitated, his speech faltering. Hearing this, Wang Wei generally understood who Huang He intended to poach.
Thus, he began to reminisce about the times they started their business together, recalling how they slept under the fuel tank of their first truck to prevent theft, how he lost his first shipment and had to pay ten thousand yuan in compensation, and how he sold his house to ensure their wages were not delayed.
He also mentioned how he had given Dai Tiejun three days of leave to go home when Dai Tiejun's mother was ill, a treatment that no other senior executive had ever received. In short, he was dwelling on the hardships of the past.
Remarkably, this strategy proved quite effective. Dai Tiejun became even more conflicted.
"Let me say something!" At this point, Huang He snatched Dai Tiejun's phone, put it on speaker, and spoke directly into the phone, "Boss Wang, let's not talk about these useless things. My company can offer Tiejun 10% of its shares and the position of Chief Executive Officer right now. Can you offer that?"