A formal contract naturally wouldn't be signed that quickly.
A celebrity endorsement contract is much more complex than a supplier contract, involving many legal clauses and diverse regulations such as advertising shoots and post-production promotion.
Although Tan Jincheng had never personally experienced how problematic agency contracts could be, he had heard plenty about them, thus a professional lawyer was needed to review this contract.
Therefore, both parties agreed to officially sign the contract this Saturday, July 9th, at Tianyu's Shanghai headquarters.
By then, Brother Chun can also fly over from Chengdu.
Tan Jincheng, meanwhile, spent these few days overseeing the rollout of the Shanchi series prototype vehicles.
The parts suppliers, spread across Jiangsu and Zhejiang, were also very cooperative, continuously sending parts via expedited shipping.
The first batch of plastic part samples has been fully completed, with only some modifications remaining.
Over the past month or so, Shanchi Vehicle Industry's R&D department and employees from Zhang Mingcan's factory mold department worked overtime, even on Sundays, finally achieving Boss Tan's set goals.
The Shanchi series' exterior colors are only available in black and white.
The design features sharp edges, with the black rendering appearing very cool, giving off a sleek vibe, while the white is relatively softer.
Aside from battery capacity, there are no other differences between the high-end and low-end versions.
Compared to current commuting methods, the low-end version is more cost-effective.
According to Shanchi Vehicle Industry's current team's market research, the low-end version should sell better.
Creating a high-end and a low-end version with different pricing is also intended to truly push sales of the low-end version.
Therefore, future production capacity will lean more towards the low-end version.
The parts suppliers currently contracted are for 40,000 sets annually, so Tan Jincheng is no longer limited to a monthly production of 3,000 units.
Since the factory space is sufficient and initial employees have already been trained, the HR department is still recruiting.
In the future, hiring will be based on the maximum capacity the current factory can accommodate.
Based on current estimates, Shanchi Vehicle Industry's factory can accommodate a maximum monthly production of 5,000 units, requiring approximately 150 frontline employees.
Currently, the number of frontline employees is controlled at around 100.
Including Tan Jincheng and other mid-to-high-level management, finance, marketing, administrative, and R&D teams, Shanchi Vehicle Industry now has a workforce of 150 employees.
From planning in late March to early July, Shanchi Vehicle Industry's basic personnel framework has been completed.
The endorser has been found, the marketing plan has been finalized, and subsequent advertising campaigns are also being planned.
At this point, Shanchi Vehicle Industry can truly say that everything is ready, all that's lacking is the east wind!
The pressure is now on the production department, which needs to assemble at least 20 prototype vehicles within three days!
Today is for test-assembling all exterior parts.
While exterior parts are not as critical as core components like batteries and motors, they are still very important for a small electric scooter.
Firstly, they must be aesthetically pleasing, with perfectly aligned seams, to leave a good first impression on customers.
"Not bad. A few more tweaks in some areas and it'll be perfect. For a first mold test, this result is already very good,"
Wang Chao said, looking at the product's mating surfaces and nodding with satisfaction.
Zhang Mingcan, beside him, laughed heartily,
"I told you, Xiao Tan, just relax. We've been making motorcycle exterior parts for so many years. Although electric vehicles have some differences, handling them will definitely not be a problem."
"Indeed, I don't understand these things. It still relies on you, Brother. Later, we'll need your mold department to liaise with us to complete the modifications as soon as possible,"
Tan Jincheng said with a smile.
"Don't worry, we definitely won't delay your business,"
Zhang Mingcan assured.
To be honest, plastic exterior parts are quite troublesome.
The level of machining these days is just average, and the quality of employees is ordinary.
If the two factories weren't close by, allowing for timely communication, Tan Jincheng wouldn't believe things would go so smoothly.
Besides Tan Jincheng, Zhang Mingcan also breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't believe what Haiping had said before, but now, working with Tan Jincheng, he realized this young man was truly not simple.
He paid promptly, but working with him also came with a lot of pressure.
It was indeed a sense of pressure.
Zhang Mingcan had never experienced this when working with well-known motorcycle manufacturers before: tight deadlines, heavy tasks, and if things didn't work, he'd just throw money at it.
This truly made him feel both love and hate.
But it was good.
They made a lot of money from this batch of molds, and it also opened up a new plastic product business for him.
Previously, the several injection molding machines in the factory were no different from decorations, aside from occasionally taking on external mold trials.
Zhang Mingcan was very envious of the business of manufacturing products, as this was much more profitable than making molds.
However, he had been unable to open up this market.
It wasn't that he couldn't get business, but it was simply unstable.
Now it's better.
They signed a one-year supply contract with Shanchi.
Now it depends on Xiao Tan's market promotion capabilities.
Once Shanchi electric vehicles establish a foothold in the market, subsequent expansion is almost 100% certain.
By then, he could also be like Haiping, buying several more injection molding machines and making another fortune.
Furthermore, in addition to the current development of products internally coded SC001 and SC002, another product, FC001 FC002, is also under development.
He had seen the renderings, and the molds and plastic parts would be relatively simpler.
As for the internal structure, he hasn't seen it yet, but he absolutely must secure that!
"Alright, you guys continue your research. Brother Zhang, would you like to come to my office for a bit?"
"No need to sit for a bit. I need to go back to the factory and arrange production for the parts we just confirmed. How about we go out together on Saturday?"
"Alright then, but I'm not free on Saturday. I have to go to Shanghai on Saturday,"
Tan Jincheng said with a smile.
Zhang Mingcan casually asked,
"What are you going to Shanghai for?"
"I found an endorser for the vehicles and I'm going to sign the contract. But I can't tell you which celebrity it is yet, haha."
This matter is currently internal to Shanchi, with no more than a handful of people knowing about it.
Although the basic framework for cooperation has been set, it's best not to reveal the information for now to avoid any unforeseen changes.
"Ah? Xiao Tan, you're playing such a big game? You're even hiring a celebrity endorser? That costs a lot of money!"
Zhang Mingcan said, a little surprised.
"It's alright, not a big-name celebrity. You know, a complete vehicle isn't like individual parts. If you don't get a celebrity endorsement or something, no one will recognize your brand. There's no other way."
Zhang Mingcan's mind quickly grasped the logic, and he couldn't help but sigh,
"That's true. It's not easy for you to get this factory up and running, Xiao Tan. The investment is really significant, sigh."
Signing the contract is just the first step.
To make a brand well-known, advertising costs are essential, and marketing expenses are also huge.
"Yes, I took too big a step at the beginning, and now I'm suffering the consequences. I should have taken it one step at a time."
"Haha, since you've done it, don't worry about those things. If you have any funding gaps, you can come to me, Brother. I've built up some connections with banks over the years. I won't say too much, but getting you a few million won't be a problem."
Seeing Tan Jincheng complain, Zhang Mingcan also extended an olive branch at the right time.
Last time, he helped him rent a factory and contacted some equipment suppliers.
It was essentially just a matter of making a few calls, yet it brought him nearly 4 million yuan in orders, and the mold fees were barely even negotiated.
What does this show?
It shows that this young man is sensible and knows how to be grateful.
If there really is a funding gap, he could just make a few calls and use his connections to help him solve it, even acting as a guarantor would be fine.
Zhang Mingcan wasn't worried that Tan Jincheng couldn't repay the money; he still had two well-operating trading companies, so any cash shortage would only be temporary.
It's just that this young man is an outsider, his entrepreneurial period is short, and he's truly too young.
Otherwise, with a factory like this, even if he had nothing else, banks would be eager to offer him loans.
A factory with an expected annual output value of 100 million yuan would be a hot commodity anywhere.
In a poorer county, they would even offer free land and loans for you to expand production.
"That would be great! I really do have a need in that area. It would be best if you, Brother, could help make some introductions,"
Tan Jincheng quickly said.
Zhang Mingcan patted his chest and looked at Tan Jincheng with a grin,
"Small matter. Go back and wait for me to arrange the production tasks, I'll give you an answer in the next couple of days."
The young man is still a bit green, not knowing how to play the "poor card" with the higher-ups.
With his two trading companies and this factory, if he really needed a loan, crying poor to the right people could easily get him ten million yuan or more.
However, Zhang Mingcan didn't point this out.
For a young person, taking things one step at a time is also good.
As Tan Jincheng himself said, taking too big a step can lead to trouble.
His current low debt ratio might not be a bad thing.
Everything has two sides.
If you truly cry poor to the higher-ups, and something goes wrong with them, you could easily get implicated.
Now the factory is built, prototype cars are almost ready, and an endorser is being hired.
Once the advertisements are launched, things won't turn out too badly.
Like this, it's also quite good.
For the sake of orders, Zhang Mingcan indeed put in his best effort, inviting Tan Jincheng to dinner the next evening, with good news to share.
This efficiency truly astonished Tan Jincheng, making him exclaim that being a local and having run a factory for many years indeed provided an advantage.
However, he didn't realize that Tan Jincheng himself contributed to this, as the orders for two Shanchi molds and plastic products, totaling nearly 4 million yuan, significantly boosted Zhang Mingcan's factory's net profit this year.
Using this year's efficiency as collateral, Zhang Mingcan could arrange for the bank to provide Tan Jincheng with a 5 million yuan loan.
Again, Zhang Mingcan was not at all worried that Tan Jincheng wouldn't be able to repay it.
He had calculated with Zhang Haiping that Tan Jincheng's profit share from Jinpeng Trade alone this year could exceed ten million yuan.
Furthermore, he had visited Jinyi Industry and saw that although it had not been open for long, everything was running smoothly.
Moreover, Xiao Tan's business acumen is still a crucial point.
By the Canton Fair in October, Jinyi Industry, which focuses on electronic product export, might reach a new level.
Conservatively estimated, these two companies could bring Xiao Tan over 10 million yuan in income this year.
Providing him with some help while his connections at the top are not extensive would only benefit Zhang Mingcan, with no downsides.
This was like an investment.
Zhang Mingcan saw the potential in Shanchi Vehicle Industry and Tan Jincheng, and decided to accumulate some favors while Tan Jincheng had not yet fully established himself.
In the future, there might be unexpected gains.
(End of Chapter)
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