bookmarkrole Chapter 133 The Era of Racing
Chapter 133 The Era of Racing
On the day the first month's data came out, Han Lu printed out two copies of the report and took them to Zuo Cheng's office.
"Delivery on-time rate: 98.6%, damage rate: 0.02%, customer satisfaction score: 4.8." She placed the report on the table, paused, and then said, "Tongshun Express has contacted us, requesting that the test flight be expanded to all five of their delivery areas, not just the mountain routes. He Qiang said their peak delivery season at the end of the year is approaching, and they hope we can accelerate the deployment pace."
Zuo Cheng flipped through the report and closed it.
"Were there any other contacts?"
"Yes, we are currently in talks with three companies, located in two provinces, all of which are medium-sized regional logistics companies."
He pushed the report aside, picked up his water glass, and took a sip. The market logic is simple: the data from the first customer is the most valuable endorsement. With Tongshun Express's case study, subsequent negotiations will face much less resistance.
"Develop the city partner program and promote it together with these three companies when you're negotiating with them."
Han Lu opened her notebook and quickly wrote it down.
"The core of the partner program is technology licensing plus operational training. They are responsible for local promotion, while we provide the system and after-sales support, ensuring standardized service, and profits are shared proportionally," Zuo Cheng said. "Don't set the entry barrier too high. At this stage, we need to get started and scale up before we can make any real difference in terms of scale."
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Over the next three months, Zuo Cheng didn't make much of a splash, but the number of city partners in 402 quietly increased to five.
Suzhou, Nanjing, Anhui, Fujian, and Hunan—each province has its own delivery point, and each point has a local logistics company using the 402 system to accept orders. The delivery routes cover remote areas that used to take three hours to reach by manual couriers.
The method of expansion is not complicated; Han Lu summarized it in four words: "Talk with data."
In her first month, she flew to three cities, never bringing a proposal to meet clients, only a laptop with Tongshun Express's actual test data and flight logs. She showed clients comparisons of delivery times, damage rates, and cost settlement methods, then asked one question: "Is your current data better than this?"
The client usually remains silent for a while, and then says that he is willing to talk.
After the partnership agreement is signed, 402 will send a team of three to five people to the local area for two weeks of deployment and training, establish a local operation and maintenance system, and unify service standards. The number of drones connected has exceeded one hundred, with a cumulative delivery mileage of nearly 100,000 kilometers and a zero-major accident record.
Data scrolled line by line on the large screen in conference room 412. Shen Yiming leaned back in his chair, holding a pen in his hand, twirling it continuously.
"The expansion is progressing faster than expected, but problems are also emerging. Climate conditions vary greatly across regions, and the path planning algorithm is less adaptable to the hot and humid environment of the south than in the north. Perception accuracy is also inaccurate on rainy days, requiring targeted optimization."
Zuo Cheng looked at him.
"How long will it take to get it done?"
"One week. The main focus is on adding a rain sensing module, introducing a visual correction backup solution, and covering interference scenarios encountered by laser ranging."
"We need to stabilize the node cities as soon as possible, and the expansion of subsequent city partners should use the same set of technical standards. We cannot allow version differences to compromise the customer experience."
Shen Yiming nodded, wrote it down in his notebook, and then turned to say a few words to the engineer next to him.
At this moment, Chen Hao pushed the door open and came in, also holding a report in his hand, but his expression was a little strange.
"Boss, Huafeng has made a move. They announced a 50% price reduction for their drone logistics service and launched a large-scale media campaign in several key cities. Several clients we were in contact with have been swayed and are starting to waver."
Zuo Cheng took the report, glanced at it, and placed it on the table without touching it.
Which companies specifically?
Chen Hao mentioned three names, one of which was close to signing a contract.
"Set a time with them," Zuo Cheng said. "Send them the data from the past three months. Don't explain, don't try to persuade them, just let them compare it themselves."
Chen Hao hesitated for a moment.
"With such a large price difference, is data alone enough?"
"What would you like to buy?" Zuo Cheng looked up. "Would you rather buy something on sale, or something that saves you money? If our drones are 40% cheaper than manpower, then the customer is actually paying a truly low price; it's just that the numbers on their bills aren't as small as ours. Help them figure this out, and they'll choose for themselves."
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Three days later, two of the three hesitant clients sent back formal letters of intent to sign contracts.
Another company went to Huafeng and signed a three-month zero-fee agreement.
When Han Lu told Zuo Cheng the news, he was looking at an analysis report on the flight trajectory of a drone.
"They've gone, so they've gone," he said. "Huafeng's 'zero fees' won't really be zero fees; they'll have their answer in three months."
Han Lu didn't say anything more, but wrote a note in her notebook: Follow up in three months. She added another line next to it: When is Huafeng's zero-fee period due? Follow up.
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News from Huafeng spread very quickly.
Two months into the price war, Huafeng's accident rate began to rise in its logistics test flights across five cities, with one delivery crash leading to customer complaints. The cause was attributed to insufficient stability of the flight control system in high winds, and Huafeng's older version failing to keep pace with market demands in terms of updates. Video of the crash circulated on social media for two days, with the comments section filled with skepticism.
The complaints were not handled well, and several test flight customers terminated their cooperation and demanded compensation from Huafeng.
Lin Jianhua sat in Huaxin's conference room, holding an internal report. Huafeng's market share had dropped from 40% at the beginning of the year to 31%, a decline of nearly 10 percentage points in just over two months. He turned to the last page, which contained a set of comparative data: 402's logistics drone market share was 27%, and it was still rising.
Two lines, one going down and the other going up, will eventually intersect at some point.
The assistant knocked on the door and said there was a meeting to attend.
He closed the report and didn't move.
Lin Jianhua knew this round couldn't be won through a price war. Huafeng's technological accumulation was the result of five years of hard work, but Zuocheng's iteration speed was much faster, with new versions being released every few weeks. He couldn't win by competing on technology, scale, or price.
He needs to think about changing direction, what piece to place next, and what path to take.
Outside the window, the assistant knocked lightly on the door again; this was the third time.
Lin Jianhua then got up, straightened his suit collar, and walked out the door.