Chapter 788: Return of Xiangjiang
Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_
On May 17th, a Gulfstream private jet landed on the runway of Xiangjiang International Airport.
Although an effort for confidentiality was made, the fastest reporters in the world still got wind of the situation and were waiting at the entrance of the international airport the moment they received the news.
There was no doubt that this aircraft came from Xin, and the owner of the aircraft was the president of Future Group, Jiang Chen.
It was very difficult to interview Jiang Chen in Xin. If he didn’t want to be interviewed, it was difficult to even see him. However, in Xiangjiang, these reporters didn’t have so many concerns and they all clamored him with cameras.
A dozen burly bodyguards formed a circle, blocking Jiang Chen’s surroundings and shoving the crowd out of the way, escorting Jiang Chen to the vehicles sent by the subsidiary.
It was like these were paparazzi chasing an international superstar.
After entering the vehicle, Jiang Chen felt overwhelmed.
He Weicai, the president of Future Group Hua Subsidiary, came to pick him up. The Group’s acquisition of STO was also led by him. No need to explain what happened, but due to some small mishaps, the acquisition failed.
“President, should we go to the company building or hotel first?”
“Hotel.”
“Okay.”
After receiving news from Jiang Chen, the subsidiary already booked for him the presidential suite of the Peninsula Hotel. As one of the only two six-star hotels in the city Jiang Chen stayed there for a few days before with only good reviews to provide in all aspects.
After checking in, Jiang Chen went to take a shower and washed away his weariness.
After putting on a clean outfit and having lunch, he went to the subsidiary in the afternoon.
This building was bought from Mr. Chen and was originally used as the headquarters of Future Technology. However, since Future Technology moved to Xin, this building became the head office for the group’s subsidiary in the region.
It was still called Future Building, although it was much shorter and smaller than the Future Building on Coro Island.
Jiang Chen immediately called He Weicai and other company executives to hold a brief meeting.
“The group has made a decision and the strategy for entering the logistics industry will remain unchanged. We’ll start with the pilot project in Xiangjiang, focusing on the development of the Hua logistics market. The Beta-3 Express Delivery Drone will be our flagship product!”
“I know there is much resistance on the policy side, but this isn’t enough reason for giving up.”
“The subsidiary is already registered and is called Global Express.”
“There are several sets of proposals that have been sent to you from headquarters. I believe you should’ve seen them before the meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss this issue. You can speak freely and bring forward any opinions!”
Jiang Chen’s opening words were as short as always. Within a minute, they entered into discussion.
However, the situation wasn’t as ideal as he expected, and the subsidiary lacked experience in the logistics industry.
However, the lack of experience didn’t matter; the lack of talent could be filled and the lack of experience could be obtained through the process. JD, when it first entered into logistics, was plagued with problems, but they still managed to complete the process.
Jiang Chen could start a VR station dedicated to VRstore service, and it could be a store with dual uses. One would be to act as Phantom Helmet’s experience store, the other use could be to act as the distribution outlet for VRstore.
He discussed this proposal with Xia Shiyu for a long time and determined it to be completely feasible!
The purpose of this in-person visit to Hong Kong was mainly to negotiate with the government, negotiate all the policies, and strive to lay the blueprints for “drone logistics”.
After the meeting was adjourned, the senior executives of the company left. However, Jiang Chen and He Weicai didn’t leave. Instead, they briefly discussed several proposals put forward at the meeting.
But just then, He Weicai’s assistant came in from outside the conference room.
“Wang Wei, president of SF Express Group, made a request to meet with the president.”
Meeting?
Jiang Chen and He Weicai exchanged looks then looked at the assistant.
“We agree to the meeting. Tonight, the location is set at the Peninsula Hotel.” Jiang Chen looked at He Weicai. “Perhaps we don’t need to start a logistics company from scratch.”
“You mean SF?” Although he used a questioning tone, He Weicai seemed to have grasped the key point.
“Yes, that’s what I just suddenly thought of. We’ve been using thinking from 2018 to study the logistics industry for a long time, but conservative practices aren’t necessarily universal. We can do it in a different way.” Jiang Chen reached out and lifted the lid of the table-top teapot, gently resting on one side. “For example, splitting the logistics into two links.”
…
Starting from scratch meant Future Group would need to spend a lot of effort on establishing outlets across the country, set up warehouses, develop transportation plans… and so on. The way to avoid trouble was to acquire, but the country was bound to intervene in the acquisition in the name of anti-trust.
In this case, why not adopt another mindset?
The advantages of drone logistics were mainly reflected in the dispatching of parts. Future Group needed to cover the outlet for hundreds of cities and counties across the country.
Domestically, only EMS and SF Express adopted the direct management network out of all delivery companies. EMS was a state-owned enterprise, so there was no need to consider it. Future Group could fully cooperate with SF Express to solve this problem in the network.
Later, Jiang Chen returned to the Peninsula Hotel and went to the agreed-upon meeting place.
When he arrived, he discovered Wang Wei was sitting in the corner of the teahouse in the lobby and he seemed to have been waiting for a long time.
The headquarters of SF Express was located in Shenzhen. The journey would only take two to three hours from Shenzhen. However, the speed of the other party did surprise Jiang Chen somewhat.
“Hello, you must be Mr. Jiang Chen.” Wang Wei stood up with a smile and extended his right hand.
“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wang Wei.” Jiang Chen shook his hand and smiled. “Now let’s leave the small talk for after dinner. Mr. Wang requested a meeting with me, so what did you want to discuss today?”
“I hope to revisit the letter of intent we sent to Mr. Jiang Chen earlier,” said Wang Wei sincerely.
“To adopt Penglai City’s drone logistics network?” Jiang Chen smiled. “I’m sorry, but building my own logistics company has always been one of the strategic plans of Future Group. Not long ago, we already registered a company called Global Courier. Although it’s very small and business is only focused in Penglai City, surely you should be able to see our ambitions for the logistics industry from its name.”