sbdcsierra Chapter 451 A Fantastic Gamble
Chapter 451 A Fantastic Gamble
Liu Chuanzhi received the intelligence on Friday afternoon. Yang Peng returned from Jinan, but instead of going to the company, he dragged his suitcase directly into Liu Chuanzhi's office. The suitcase wheels were covered with half-melted slush, leaving two gray streaks on the marble floor. Liu Chuanzhi glanced at the floor, said nothing, and simply moved the freshly brewed cup of tea on the table to the side to prevent it from being knocked over by the suitcase.
Yang Peng pulled a kraft paper envelope from the box. The envelope was sealed with a blue stamp bearing the English abbreviation of Hualian Technology. He placed the envelope in front of Liu Chuanzhi, then took a step back, standing beside the desk with his hands clasped in front of him.
Liu Chuanzhi tore open the envelope and pulled out the stack of papers inside. The first page was a summary table of test data, densely packed with numbers—power consumption, clock speed, yield rate, packet loss rate, GPU rendering frame rate. Each indicator was followed by a comparative value, comparing it to the performance parameters of similar products from Texas Instruments during the same period. Liu Chuanzhi flipped through a few pages, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. When he reached the last page, he slammed the stack of papers onto the table.
"A yield rate of 48%? Didn't you say last time it could consistently be above 60%?"
"Last time we talked about their internal target values," Yang Peng said. "That's the actual data we got. This data was taken directly from within Spark."
"What about power consumption?"
"It's 20 percent higher than the design value. The GPU part is the most troublesome—there are two key rendering scenes that always result in screen tearing. Their testing team said it's a problem with the underlying algorithm, and it can't be fixed by adjusting parameters. Liu Jun said that someone at Lingyun's internal meeting has already proposed a backup plan, and they're also discussing a chip solution from Texas Instruments."
Liu Chuanzhi picked up the data again, flipped to the middle page, which showed a yield curve. The first half of the curve was barely legible, but the second half plummeted, like a clothesline snapped underfoot. He stared at the graph for about ten seconds, then closed the report, picked up the landline on the table, and dialed an internal number.
"Notify all vice presidents that there will be a meeting in the main conference room in half an hour."
After hearing something said on the other end of the phone, Liu Chuanzhi raised his voice: "I said, in half an hour. Whoever isn't there doesn't need to come."
He hung up the phone, stood up, tucked the report under his arm, and walked towards the door. At the door, he turned back to look at the mud stains on the floor and said to Yang Peng, "Next time, put on clean shoes."
It was 4:30 PM when everyone arrived in the conference room. Several vice presidents from Yixiang were present. Vice President Zhao, in charge of production, sat to Liu Chuanzhi's left; Vice President Qian, in charge of finance, sat to his right; and Vice President Sun, in charge of marketing, sat by the window, a cigarette dangling from his hand, unlit. Several photocopies were laid out on the table—Liu Chuanzhi had the administration department make five copies of each page of the report Yang Peng had brought back, one for each person.
"Spark's phone has been delayed," Liu Chuanzhi said bluntly, his hand resting on the report. "The chip's mass production yield is less than 50%, power consumption is 20% higher, and there are unsolvable bugs in the GPU. Their internal goal was to release it in January, but now it looks like it will be delayed until the second half of next year at the earliest."
"Is this news reliable?" Vice President Zhao took off his glasses, wiped them, and then put them back on.
"Direct source. We have people inside them, and it's already been verified."
"What about all the stock we hoarded before—"
"Not enough." Liu Chuanzhi stood up and walked to the end of the conference table, where a whiteboard stood. He picked up a marker and wrote two numbers on it—one was "Add 500 million," and the other was "Lock down all supplies." "Right now, all the usable mobile phone components on the market—screens, cameras, batteries, touch chips—regardless of brand or price, lock them all in. Long-term contracts are also possible, with deposits up to 40%. These are exactly what Xinghuo is lacking right now. Their second-tier suppliers can't be helped—that takes time, at least three to five months. By the time they're helped up, we'll have already taken over the market."
Vice President Qian flipped to the financial forecast page of the report, his brows furrowing deeply. He typed a series of numbers into the calculator and then slammed it onto the table. "President Liu, our cash flow is already very tight. The previous two batches of stockpiled goods have tied up nearly 300 million yuan. If we add another 500 million, our debt ratio will exceed the red line. And the banks—"
"I'll talk to the bank," Liu Chuanzhi interrupted him. "You just need to tell me how long the money in the account will last."
"It should last three months, but if this batch of goods hasn't sold by then—"
"If Spark's phones don't come out within three months, there won't be another company on the market that can compete with Nokia and Motorola in the smartphone market. Once we've locked down the supply chain, Nokia and the others will have to come to me to buy their products. At that point, it won't be us begging to sell; it will be them begging me to buy."
Vice President Sun finally lit his cigarette, took a drag, and the smoke slowly dissipated above the conference table. "President Liu, there's something I'd like to mention. Our people went to talk to Xinghuo's battery supplier in Shenzhen, and Hongguang Optoelectronics, the screen manufacturer—they didn't even get in the door. They don't accept orders for unreasonable requests. It's not that they think the price is too low, they just won't take it. When our people asked why, the boss of Hongguang said that President Ling had fixed their production line, taught them how to adjust the parameters, and even sent a technician to the factory—he said that these things can't be bought with money."
The meeting room was silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, the sound of water flowing from the radiator became very loud.
Liu Chuanzhi tossed the marker into the slot under the whiteboard. The marker bounced once, rolled to the edge, and stopped. "Then we'll avoid Hongguang. If they don't sell, plenty of others will. LG panels from Korea, Sharp from Japan, AU Optronics from Taiwan—a little more expensive doesn't matter, the key is speed."
"Sharp's panel delivery cycle is eight weeks," said Vice President Sun.
"Then pay more. Increase the rush fee until they're willing to expedite the production."
Vice President Zhao took off his glasses and placed them on the table, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "President Liu, to be frank, I feel like we're being led by the nose by Ling Yun." Liu Chuanzhi stared into his eyes: "So, what do you think we should do now?"
"Let's hold off for now. Let's sell some of this batch of goods and see if Xinghuo really is behind on their promise—"
"You can wait," Liu Chuanzhi stood up, leaning forward with his hands on the edge of the table. "Can Nokia wait? Can Motorola wait? If you don't seize the market, others will have already filled it. StarPhone has internet cafes and brand experience stores across the country—they've expanded their online and offline channels so much. Just walk down any street in the electronics market, and you'll see a StarPhone store every few steps. Once they recover, will we even have a chance to survive?"
Vice President Zhao didn't speak again. He put his glasses back on, looked at the report in front of him, flipped through two pages and then stopped, his finger hovering over the point where the yield curve plummeted, as if trying to glean some other information from the numbers.
No one objected anymore. Liu Chuanzhi picked up the marker and wrote four words on the whiteboard—"Complete Lockdown." After writing, he snapped the cap back on and turned to face everyone.
Let's vote by raising our hands.
Five hands were raised. No one abstained, and no one objected.
Liu Chuanzhi nodded and put the marker back in its slot. "Vice President Qian, contact the bank first thing tomorrow morning. Vice President Zhao, you're in charge of liaising with LG and AU Optronics. Vice President Sun, keep an eye on those trading companies in South China; they still have a batch of camera modules. Buy them all before the price goes up too much."
After the meeting, Liu Chuanzhi stood alone in the conference room. He walked to the window and drew back the curtains. Below was the night view of Beijing's Third Ring Road, the streetlights forming an endless yellow dotted line. He picked up his phone and dialed a number. It rang three times before the other party answered.
"Mr. Gu, Yixiang has made a decision—an additional 500 million."
Gordon Gu's voice came through the phone, still in his overly clear Mandarin. "My partner is very satisfied. The third payment will arrive by next Wednesday."
After hanging up the phone, Liu Chuanzhi put it back on the table. He was the only one left in the conference room. He stood in the empty room for a while, then went over and erased the words "Complete Lockdown" from the whiteboard. He erased it forcefully, the eraser scraping against the whiteboard with a sharp, short sound—like a blackboard eraser accidentally hitting the metal frame. He threw the used tissue into the trash can, picked up the worn-out report, tucked it under his arm, and pushed open the conference room door to leave.