Twenty years of cold chain

Chapter 35 Capable of Taking on Great Responsibilities

This time, Pang Shiyou rushed back from out of town again, busy with business negotiations and networking, traveling both domestically and abroad for research. Even amidst this hectic schedule, he didn't neglect his professional skills, actively transferring advanced foreign technologies to domestic companies. This included significant contributions to the research and development of the Ice Energy Group. Hu Shutong, deep down, longed to share Pang Shiyou's burdens.

In the conference room, Hu Shutong witnessed the aura of Pang Shiyou when negotiating with companies. He sat there calm and composed, yet his presence was profound and unassuming. The atmosphere of the entire conference room was a stark contrast to the meetings Hu Shutong had attended at Minghe Group. Although they were sitting opposite each other, it was as if a fan-shaped area had unfolded around Pang Shiyou, with everyone glancing at him intentionally or unintentionally.

Most of the people at the conference table were R&D personnel from the Bingneng Group. Sitting directly opposite Pang Shiyou was a fair-skinned, dignified man named Liu Yu, the vice president of Bingneng Group in charge of technology. Furthermore, Hu Shutong noticed that Kang Xingkai was also among the dozen or so people sitting against the wall in the back row.

Each person had a stack of materials about one centimeter thick in front of them. Liu Yu gave a brief opening speech, and then Pang Shiyou spoke up, "I think Bingneng's new U4 product is very competitive, but before it is launched on the market, I think there are still technical aspects that can be explored. Judging from the existing materials, I think it is necessary to further transform the product's advantages. The more comprehensive the content in this regard, the richer the technical specifications of Nanjiao will be."

Everyone present nodded in agreement. Then, Pang Shiyou looked at Hu Shutong and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Hu Shutong, a graduate of Mingjiang University in 97, the first class of students majoring in cold chain logistics. He is currently a postgraduate student. He is also a young technical pacesetter in Qingyan City, Qingning Province. After the New Year, he will be the only student in the cold chain food laboratory of Mingjiang University and will also be a member of the South Suburb Technical Group."

All eyes turned to him, and they felt that the person the old professor had brought was extraordinary.

"I've entrusted him with this technical demonstration. The product advantages I just mentioned have also yielded corresponding results. Now, let him introduce them."

Hu Shutong had made ample preparations for this meeting and then proceeded to explain point by point: "The U4's body weight is 15% to 20% lighter than similar domestic products. Based on an annual mileage of 200,000 kilometers per vehicle, the U4 can save 14,000 yuan in fuel costs. The U4's box-type overall load-bearing structure is more corrosion-resistant, and the body has a service life of up to 20 years. This means that the U4 does not require the replacement of the body and chassis together, which will reduce the replacement cost for customers by about half."

There are many technical personnel present, and the group is naturally aware of U4's advantages. This speech mentioned a lot of data, but it was still nothing special.

But what Hu Shutong said next surprised everyone present.

"For many refrigerated delivery companies, sometimes the quantity is not the problem; the more specific the needs, the more challenging it becomes. For example, a truck can carry ten tons of celery, but the partner only needs five tons, and the ice cream company also needs five tons. In the past, this would require two trips, but the U4's fully enclosed structure and superior cargo weight allow for the addition of partitions, making it suitable for frozen, chilled, and ambient temperature goods, thus serving multiple purposes in one truck."

After reviewing the prepared materials, Hu Shutong continued, "The U4 floor has excellent load-bearing capacity, giving it a significant advantage in unloading. Goods can be loaded directly onto forklifts by separating the entire truck bed. In other words, customers' products can go straight to the warehouse. Efficiency equals cost, and the U4's competitiveness is evident in many aspects."

At this point, the meeting room became tense. The R&D team had done an in-depth study of the U4's advantages, investing considerable effort in comparing factors such as fuel consumption and lifespan. But after hearing this, everyone was deeply moved.

The people at Ice Energy focused on the "points," highlighting superior hardware and meticulously detailing even the differences in a single screw to outdo their competitors, believing this to be their secret weapon. However, this college student, building upon that foundation, explored the "surface," taking a bird's-eye view of the entire industry and further mastering the advantages of the U4.

Looking at it this way, the U4's sales manual still has a lot of room for improvement. Many companies have this problem: they like to benchmark against competitors. But benchmarking often involves those wielding swords praising their own sharpness and those using guns praising their own weapons, targeting areas where the opponent is least prepared. A healthy competitive environment is one that clearly explains the strengths of one's own products, without pointing out the weaknesses of others. This also better reflects a large company's confidence in its own products.

Pang Shiyou listened attentively without saying a word, but his agreement with Hu Shutong's statement was undeniable. This conversation made Pang Shiyou realize that the word "chain" had truly penetrated Hu Shutong's mind, becoming a way of thinking for him. Such people are the rarest in the entire industry; they don't focus on trivial details but rather on the intricacies of the subject, which is what makes them capable of great responsibilities.

Judging from the current situation, Hu Shutong's explanation was undoubtedly successful, and Liu Yu looked at Hu Shutong with approval. However, in the blink of an eye, a single sentence caused not only Hu Shutong but also Pang Shiyou to frown.

"Given the many advantages of the U4, is it competitive against semi-trailers assembled from second-hand containers?"

The entire conference room fell silent. This question was actually easy to answer. Comparing the two, listing "ten reasons" would be a piece of cake. But no matter how much you said, the other party only needed one move.

"What does Mr. Liu mean?" Pang Shiyou looked up.

"We have a clear advantage in the fully assembled refrigerated truck market, but the group is being extremely cautious about the South Suburbs issue. If we can provide information that is comparable to that of the container-assembled trucks, the matter will be more reassuring, because the used container-assembled trucks will also be participating in the bidding."

Pang Shiyou frowned slightly. "The South Suburb Logistics Park will have a large volume of long-distance transportation in the future, which will require high levels of refrigeration during transit. It is unlikely that assembled containers will be used."

"Professor Pang, this matter is of great importance, and we have to make multiple preparations. I have great confidence in your student, and I believe that this can be accomplished through periodic and specific calculations. The initial investment in assembling used container trucks is low, but the subsequent fuel consumption and lifespan are issues. Since Hu is an expert in this area, could you please create a specific comparison case for three, five, and eight years, so that whether the savings are made now or in the future are immediately apparent?"

Pang Shiyou stared intently, lost in thought, and remained silent.

"As you know, our technical department is more skilled in materials and components, and they only have eyes for the vehicle. Our marketing department is good at promotion, but their understanding of the product is not thorough. They can only do one thing and talk about another. But Mr. Hu obviously has a more macro perspective. We didn't even consider the forklift part."

Pang Shiyou glanced at Hu Shutong, who neither nodded nor shook his head.

"This will take a lot of time, and Shutong will adhere to the principle of seeking truth from facts and will not embellish the final result."

"Of course!" Liu Yu nodded immediately. "The group has spent a lot of time and effort on the reading room. We have a lot of information on used assembled cars. Hu can come and refer to it at any time."

Hu Shutong's main focus this time was comparing fully equipped refrigerated trucks from competitors, without delving into information on the used sea container market. Finding such information would be far more difficult. Bingneng, as a long-standing competitor, would undoubtedly have firsthand information, and perhaps even some in-depth research.

Hu Shutong thought that instead of spending four hours commuting every day, he might as well immerse himself in the reading room, read through the materials, and then leave. After he proposed this idea, the other party was happy to agree and immediately assigned someone to assist Hu Shutong in every aspect of his work.

And this person was Kang Xingkai.

……