Author: Underwater Wild Fish

"15 million U.S. dollars?" Although Chen Zhiwen had long heard about IBM's high profits, he couldn't help but be surprised when he heard this quotation. It only cost 6 million U.S. dollars to build a logistics center and dozens of trucks. This set

Computer management systems require 2.5 times the hardware.

"Yes, and that's not all. If we want to install GPS on every truck and transmit some information about each store through satellite signals, the price will be very expensive. I have also consulted relevant companies. One month

The cost may be hundreds of thousands of dollars, and if Costco opens new stores in the future, the cost will increase," Pierce said.

"This price is too expensive." Chen Zhiwen also frowned. He really wanted to be smart. Even if it was much worse than the most ordinary small supermarket in later generations, at least he could query a lot of information through a computer.

, the simplest one is the inventory quantity. When the supermarket becomes larger and larger, this kind of data will become more and more messy, and more and more manual work will be needed to sort it out.

It's just that in the current era when computers are still not very popular, such a set of hardware + software management systems can only be produced through customization. This is the domain of IT giant IBM, so he asked Pierce to contact IBM to try it out, although there was a quotation.

He was mentally prepared that it would be very expensive, but he still didn't expect that the price would be so high, far exceeding his budget.

Pierce continued: "I have analyzed the logic of this management system. Using satellite transmission is actually faster. We can completely replace it with manual work. We can sort out the branch information and send it to the headquarters, and then people from the headquarters will do it.

Enter the computer, and the transport vehicle does not have to be equipped with a GPS. Our distance is not too far, and there will basically be no traffic jams. As long as we relax a little more on time control, there will generally be no problems. In this case, no problem will occur.

Renting satellite signals can save a lot of money, but the entire supermarket data management system is a must, and it is difficult to save this money!"

"IBM's status, coupled with this offer, it is estimated that it is unlikely to give in. Have you consulted other similar companies?" Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

Today's IBM mainly produces large-scale industrial and commercial servers, customized management systems, supercomputers, etc. Its main customers are government departments, military departments, aircraft, automobiles and their large parts companies, large construction companies, and university research institutions.

, banks, insurance and other giant companies are super giants in the United States and even the world. At its peak, its market value was estimated to be 25% of the GDP of the United States that year. Later generations of Microsoft and even the Apple empire cannot compare.

A big store will bully its customers, and a big customer will bully the store. This is an ironclad law of business. Trying to make customers like IBM cheaper is probably more difficult than reaching the sky.

"Yes, it's a company run by Chinese just like you Eric, called Wang An Company." After saying that, Pierce found a business card from his wallet and handed it to Chen Zhiwen.

"Wang An Company? Do they have this business?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

Although Midea is not currently involved in the computer business, it will definitely be in the future. Therefore, he also knows a few of the most famous computer companies in the United States. The most famous one is of course IBM, and the second one basically belongs to Wang An.

.

However, because the current computer is quite different from the computer Chen Zhiwen defines in his mind, he does not pay much attention to this aspect. If Costco does not urgently need to seize the development opportunities during the prime time, there is no need to use a data management system.

.

"Yes, Wang An's main product is small computers, but they also want to enter the mainframe computer market. However, IBM's main customers are the military, government, banks, large automobile and aircraft companies. Such customers, Wang

It can be said that it is very difficult for An Company to grab business, so they are also very interested in our business. However, because they have no experience in this area, I dare not let them try it casually. Moreover, there is another big problem that they do not understand.

Retail, we want to use feedback from our platform to develop software," Pierce said.

"In this way, the retail supermarket market is indeed in line with Wang An's current positioning. At least IBM has not made any achievements in this field." Chen Zhiwen said.

It’s not that IBM looks down on this market, but the current computers are really too expensive, so expensive that even many Fortune 500 companies have to suffer when placing orders, but military, national defense, large-scale automobile and aircraft projects are important.

It's very high, the data is complicated, and the manpower may not be able to calculate it at all. No matter how painful it is, you can only buy it.

It’s not that banks and other financial institutions can’t do calculations manually, but that data is very important and cannot be wrong. In addition, investment banking institutions need efficiency. The higher the efficiency, the more money they make. In the era of high-speed signals in the future, Wall Street will be a few tenths faster in data feedback.

Second, they are willing to spend billions of dollars to build fiber optic pipelines across the United States. As long as they can make more money, they will naturally be happy to buy high-priced computers.

In the retail field, it doesn't matter. Although the data is large, what if something goes wrong? The worst case scenario is that we have to call in the manual labor again and do it again? If it doesn't work, just lose some money? It's not a big deal.

Therefore, today's retail giants have no intention of engaging in information technology. Only in the 1980s, when Wal-Mart spent hundreds of millions of dollars to launch satellites into space, was it considered the first company in the retail industry to value technology. This investment was laughed at at the time.

He was a fool, but after a few years, Wal-Mart's logistics costs dropped from 8% of turnover to 3%, and no one could laugh anymore.

As for Wang An Company, its main products are small commercial computers, which are computers used by professionals in many large companies, while IBM's main business is large commercial computers. Before the 1960s, these two markets were

IBM had a monopoly until Wang An Company invented a cheaper small computer that took away this small piece of IBM's market.

However, compared to large supercomputers or large server clusters that can cost tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars, what Wang An Company took away was just a drop in the bucket.

The ambitious Wang An naturally wanted to enter the mainframe computer market, but he never had a suitable entry point.

Pierce asked: "Eric, do you mean that commercial computers will be used on a large scale in the retail field in the future? But the average supermarket has not only ten times more SKUs than our Costco, but also many more stores than us. Even Wang An

No matter how cheap a computer company is, there is no way it can afford this kind of cost."

"The price of electronic products will become cheaper and cheaper!" Chen Zhiwen said: "If I can't afford it now, it doesn't mean I won't be able to afford it in the future, so I have to prepare first so that I can gain experience in this area before other peers.

It can further reduce costs!”

Not to mention that Pierce, who does not understand the electronics industry, is an elite figure in the electronics industry. Many people cannot predict the future development of the electronics industry.

The biggest advantage of Costco is that the supermarket has a large amount of goods and a small variety, which results in much less data that needs to be processed and is easy to manage. It can be used as the best testing site to provide experience for the use of the entire retail software. This is

The achievement that Chen Zhiwen wants most is to maintain a few more years of experience than his peers, which is an advantage.

The current small-scale testing may not necessarily reduce the logistics cost compared to the price of the computer, but the acquisition of a lot of data and experience will have a great effect when the scale is expanded in the future.

"If that's the case, we can indeed give it a try first, then let Wang An Company be responsible for this matter?" Pierce asked.

"Let's look at the quotation first, as long as it's cheap enough. But we only consider making the hardware for them, and we'll do the software ourselves. As for Wang An Company wanting to use us to try and make mistakes to increase their own capabilities, let alone think about it.

"Chen Zhiwen said:

"My Midea company has a branch here in the United States. The person in charge of this branch is called Woz. He is very good at software research and development. I will contact him in two days and ask him to come here and be responsible for working with

Wang An’s company communication.

As for software, let him be in charge. There should be no such software for managing supermarkets on the market now. Companies that are capable of making software don’t understand retail and don’t have a lot of experience in trial and error. Even IBM is probably the same."

Woz is very capable, but he may not be omnipotent, but a good management must use various talents to complete tasks while understanding the profession. Even if he does not understand this kind of data processing, he will always know what is needed.

No matter what kind of talent you have, you just need to build a team.

"I've heard that writing such software needs to be changed according to the actual situation, which takes a lot of time. Can Mr. Watts stay at Costco for a long time?" Pierce asked.

"It's okay for a period of time. The main thing is to let him build a team and then ask him from time to time." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

In fact, Woz's team has not been developing arcade machines recently. The software and motherboard for Magic Cube have been developed long ago, and the equipment has been tested for a long time. With just one order, Hong Kong can quickly produce it.

It's just that the market demand obviously cannot keep up with the several games in Chen Zhiwen's mind. Under Chen Zhiwen's direction and guidance, the Woz team has already developed "Space Invaders".

As for the market, Snake has also begun to expand under the full strength of Henry Morgan. It is estimated that it will take half a year before the next drama can be launched. This is also for the purpose of maximizing profits. Not every bar owner can

Afford to buy several arcade machines with different games worth three to four thousand dollars.

"That's okay. Since Woz understands technology, let him take a look at the hardware. I'm afraid something will go wrong. I can't afford millions of dollars." Pierce said with a smile.

"Okay, if it succeeds, then our Costco will be the first supermarket in the history of the retail industry to use large computers for management." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

"I hope our large investment will bear fruit," Pierce said. Tens of millions of dollars, if used for expansion, could build four or five new stores. This is for Costco, which currently only has 16 branches.

, is a very large investment. If Chen Zhiwen had not acted arbitrarily, in a normal company, the board of directors would never have spent this money.

After all, the results and performance of a new store can be directly seen, but this computer?

"Yes, computers will dominate the world in the future." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said: "This supermarket management system is actually more important for testing. It may only take two or three months to start building it, but I want to slowly

Perfection requires a long time of exploration in practice, and this can only be relied on you.

I will let Midea dedicate a team to stay at Costco in the future. If you need anything, just mention it. If you don’t need it, delete it. If you have any ideas, you can also say it. These are all experiences, and

Patents, if this piece of software is perfected, maybe we can still make money by selling this software?"

"What do we research and sell to other supermarkets?" Pierce asked.

"It depends on the situation. The really good solution is to sell the old solution after we update the version. This will not only recover the cost, but also prevent other technology companies from developing this kind of technology." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

Enterprise software is actually a big market. Oracle in later generations is the software giant second only to Microsoft. However, this industry requires a lot of resources for research and development. Midea is not good at this, at least not yet.

Yes, but now if we cooperate with Costco, have actual data and technology, and develop a set of software specifically for supermarket management systems, there should be no problem.

"That's not bad." Pierce nodded and said.

Chen Zhiwen continued: "So let's just do whatever we want in the past few years. Let's prepare to build the logistics center? Can Costco get $6 million in cash from its account?"

"It's not enough. Costco has built 6 new stores in the past six months, and the funds on the account are relatively tight. I have used the supplier's account funds to the maximum extent," Pierce said.

"Okay, I'll provide the funds. I'll give you 2 million US dollars first, and I'll give you the rest in two months." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

In two months, arcade machines will be fully rolled out in the United States. Henry Morgan will also need to give him 25% of the account as agreed, and it is even possible to place a new order. Moreover, arcade machines are not only needed in the United States, as long as they are in the United States

If it becomes popular, discerning people in Europe, Japan and even Asian countries will come and offer him money.

As long as next year comes, Midea will no longer be short of funds. Especially in the second half of the year, the Magic Cube is expected to become popular in the United States. By then, it will be able to use profits in units of hundreds of millions of dollars to enter the real high-tech industry research and development field.

Already.

"That would be the best." Pierce said with a smile. He had been planning to ask for money for a long time, but he really had no choice. In order to keep Costco's sales expanding faster than Wal-Mart, he couldn't get a loan, so he just had to borrow money.

I can ask my boss for money!
Chapter completed!