Great Power Technology

That evening, an urgent work contact form from the joint command headquarters was delivered to the small red building on the upper floor, and then went to the business department with the signature. Two hours later, an official letter was delivered by expedited method. onto the desktops of all relevant companies.

In Lujiazui, Shanghai, several senior executives were discussing in the Greater China office of SCHOTT, China's largest manufacturer of photolithography machines and special glass.

"You have all seen the formal letter sent by the other party. They require the urgent purchase of a batch of high-purity glass to be used to manufacture key instruments for the deep space telescope project in Guizhou. The purchase quantity is large, 1200*1200MM circular We need to purchase 400 lenses, and there are also lenses of other specifications.”

"Such a purchase volume will basically consume more than 70% of the items surviving in our warehouse, which will greatly affect the safety of our inventory."

"In addition, releasing so many special glass products at one time will have a huge impact on the entire market, which may lower market prices, which is overall detrimental to our subsequent development."

“So, after comprehensive consideration and combined with the actuarial opinion of the company’s financial office, we recommend conditionally accepting this purchase demand.”

"The condition is that the purchase quantity is reduced to 50 pieces, and the price needs to be increased by 50%."

"You know, even a purchase of 50 pieces has actually reached the peak of our monthly shipments - I mean among similar products."

The speaker was Reeves, Vice President of Production of SCHOTT. When considering a contract, he would consider more issues of costs and benefits. If there is no way to maximize benefits with one delivery, he would rather not do it.

After all, there are very few substitutes for the special glass produced by SCHOTT around the world. This is a seller's market, and he is not worried at all about how much impact a refusal to cooperate will have on his company.

"Reeves, your analysis is correct, but I think that when cooperating with China, especially on this kind of official project, we can't just consider the profit gains, but also the gains from the soft interface. .”

"This time the other party's procurement is for key scientific research projects. If we can help them solve their urgent needs, it is likely that they will still favor us in the next cooperation. I think that even if there is a short-term impact on the market, we should still satisfy their needs."

"There is enough inventory in the warehouse now. Other less important orders can be pushed back first, and priority should be given to ensuring the official supply from China."

Avery, SCHOTT's vice president of strategy, retorted.

He has been in China for many years, and the strategies he implements are more inclined to cooperate with China. He has achieved very good business gains in the past many years, so he has a strong voice.

After he spoke, Reeves couldn't refute directly, but based on the businessman's instinct, he still wanted to persist.

"Avery, what you said is right, but we must also consider business rules. I think even if we do not fully meet the needs of the other party, they should be able to understand. After all, we are a company and we also have implementation requirements. Difficulty."

"How about this. I can make some concessions and not raise the price, but the quantity supplied must be reduced. Four hundred pieces is too much. I can supply 100 pieces at most."

Avery frowned. He wanted to continue, but an old man in the middle of the venue interrupted them with a wave of his hand.

"Both of you have made the right considerations. There is no need to continue arguing. Let's do this. 200 pieces will be supplied at the original price. We will respond to their inquiries immediately. This time they must not only inquire from our company, but also from us." We can’t let others take the lead.”

"However, with the quantity of 200 pieces, I believe not many people are willing to take it out. This will do too much harm to the company's long-term interests."

The speaker was the General Manager of Greater China, who was the actual decision-maker of the entire meeting.

Everyone nodded, but Avery still had a bit of worry on his face.

"Will Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. in the island country supply all products through PO? They have this capability."

"Impossible. Their relationship with the Chinese authorities has always been very poor. It is impossible for them to take the initiative to help at this time. Believe me, with the current strategy, we can build a good relationship with them this time."

At the same time, the Greater China office of Japan's Asahi Glass Company is also holding a similar meeting, but the topic of this meeting is completely different from that of SCHOTT.

What they consider is not how much they want to supply, but how to supply as much as possible.

"President, this time we plan to supply 600 pieces to the other party, and add another 200 pieces based on their demand. Do you think it is feasible?"

The old man on the screen nodded and asked:

"Are you sure that the number of 600 pieces can win this order? What about the price concessions?"

"80%, this is the most sincere price we can offer."

"If 80% doesn't work, then reduce it by 10%."

The man in the conference room sighed in embarrassment, and finally nodded. The president on the screen saw his expression and said with a relieved expression:

"Mikami-kun, I understand your concerns. Shipping at this price may eat up your profits for an entire quarter, but this is what we have to do."

"Even if they don't choose us, we must show our utmost sincerity!"

"Because you can't imagine how vulnerable we are in front of them!"

"Even if it only makes them a little dissatisfied, it may be a disaster for us!"

The man in the conference room stood up solemnly and said loudly to the camera:

"Yes! Mr. President!"

At 14:00 in the afternoon, SCHOTT received a reply.

The reply letter is only 5 words long.

"You're out."

Reeves looked at Eli sitting opposite with a wry smile, and said to him helplessly:

"It seems that the other party feels that we are not sincere enough. Which company do you think will win this order?"

"Asahi Glass Company, no doubt about it."

"Why?"

Reeves asked confused.

"Because of their reply, we are out. Damn it, I don't know how much energy I have to spend this time to make up for the relationship with the Chinese officials."

"Out? It's just that you were eliminated in a less rigorous bidding. It doesn't seem to be a big deal."

Halfway through his words, Reeves suddenly seemed to react, and his expression instantly froze.

"You mean"

Eli sighed.

"That's right. It seems that this return-to-state project is much more important than we thought."

"This was not a normal purchase at all, but a compliance test."

"Sorry, we."

Before he could finish his words, a secretary suddenly opened the door and walked into the conference room with a document in his hand. He looked at the two people sitting face to face and said in a slightly trembling voice:

"In the letter I just received, NEO announced that the supply price of rare earth elements to us will increase by .300% starting from today."

Avery and Reeves looked at each other and stood up silently.

"This time, we're really out."