"The key to yield is yield. Chen Yifei, Chief Engineer of Hon Hai, explained to Tim Cook, "The yield rate of molds is too low now, and under the requirements of Matrix, all molds must be processed according to the highest processing standards inside and out, and the processing difficulty and cost have increased by more than 100%. But in fact, no one will see the assembly surface at all, and we think that the standard can be lowered somewhat, so that the yield rate will definitely be improved. ”

With only a few days to go before the release of the iBook, the supply chain has gone wrong, and Forconn, which has already received the first order of 50,000 iBook, has only delivered 60% of the orders, and the remaining 40% will definitely not be delivered on time.

Tim Cook had already sent someone to Pengcheng two weeks ago to solve the problem, but with little success, so this negotiation took place.

As soon as the negotiations began, the representative sent by Foxconn vented his bitterness and pointed the finger directly at the design department of Matrix, saying that it was due to the high manufacturing standards proposed by the design department of Matrix, which led to a decrease in the yield rate, so it could not deliver on time.

Before Tim Cook could speak, Jonathan Ivey was the first to speak: "No, this is your problem, we propose standards, you should supply according to the agreement, no matter what method is used, you must not reduce the quality of processing."

Guo Shouzhen, the youngest member of the Guo family, also participated in the negotiation as a senior manager of Forscon America: "Jonny, I admire your insistence on quality. But we still have to be realistic, not to mention how much cost you will increase because of this, just talk about the difficulty of processing, if Forscon can't do it, I believe that there are few processing plants in the world can do it. The formulation of standards must be enforceable, and if no one can abide by the standards, then the standards will have no meaning. Guo Shouzhen paused, "I think Zack should have the same opinion as me." ”

Since the success of i, Guo Shouzhen, who has won the order of i, has made a great contribution to Hon Hai and has been praised by many old ministers. Guo Taiming was also a little impressed by this son, and let Guo Shouzhen enter Hon Hai for training, and gave Guo Shouzhen a position as a senior manager of the North American branch, responsible for communicating with Matrix.

This negotiation with Matrix was crucial, and now everyone can see the potential of Matrix, and many industry insiders and academics have begun to take great interest in Matrix's business model. Renowned journalist and author Thomas Friedman wrote an article in Business Week about Matrix's business strategy.

"The combination of Apple and Dell, the emerging company with the greatest potential to change the landscape of the information age, is also the most innovative business today. That's what Friedman had to say about Matrix.

Guo Taiming understands very well that although Matrix is only a small and medium-sized enterprise in terms of turnover, the annual turnover is expected to be only more than one billion US dollars. But the company is currently in a period of rapid growth, and it is nothing new to double the turnover in a year.

In less than five years, the company's turnover will cross the $10 billion mark, enter the ranks of the world's top 500 companies, and become Hon Hai's largest customer.

Originally, Guo Taiming wanted to come in person, but there was an uproar on the island because of Bai Xiaoyan's murder, and even a small-scale riot occurred, which also affected Hon Hai's daily work. At this juncture, if Guo Taiming was not in the company, there might be some chaos, so he had to ask Chen Yifei, the chief engineer of Hon Hai, and You Xiangfu, the company's deputy general manager, to go to the United States to negotiate with Matrix on his behalf.

Guo Shouzhen's sentence is a big taboo in negotiations, no matter how good your relationship with the other party's boss is, you can't bring the other party's boss out in the communication with the other party's management. You Xiangfu has a sales background, and he knows this well, and he knows that it is not good when he hears it.

Sure enough, not only Jonathan Ivey, but even Tim Cook also looked displeased, and said lightly: "Product quality and supply chain control are the lifeblood of Matrix, and we will not compromise on this." Although it is more difficult to manufacture than similar products, Matrix pays Forsconn twice as much as its competitors. If Foxconn is unwilling to take this money, I believe that Blue Sky and Compal, as well as more OEM suppliers, will take the rest of the orders from Foxconn. ”

Guo Shouzhen didn't expect Tim Cook's reaction to be so fierce, and he was a little out of place for a while.

You Xiangfu hurriedly played a round: "Mr. Cook, we didn't mean that, but we just put forward some reasonable suggestions to your company in a responsible manner. ”

"Matrix doesn't need a recommendation to compromise the quality of the product. A voice came from behind him, and when Guo Shouzhen and the others turned around, they saw Zhang Chen appear at the door of the conference room.

Zhang Chen's expression was a little tired, and Guo Shouzhen hurriedly got up to introduce You Xiangfu and Chen Yifei.

Zhang Chen shook hands with the two and pulled a chair to sit down at random, "Matrix's supply chain is fully responsible for Tim, and all suppliers will be included in Matrix's supplier management system. In the supply chain, Tim's decision is the final decision. Similarly, when it comes to product design, Jonny's decision is final. ”

You Xiangfu knew in his heart that Zhang Chen was here to stand up for Tim Cook and Jonathan Ivey. You Xiangfu looked at Guo Shouzhen, this son of Chairman Xindao is still tender, even if you have a personal relationship with the other party, but in business, the other party can make such a big career at this age, how can he make concessions because of a little personal relationship with you.

Zhang Chen's attitude has been quite clear, but if it is really produced according to the standards of Matrix, more than half of the production line equipment prepared by Foxconn for Matrix will be eliminated, and then counting the cost of staff retraining, even if it can get an order for 300,000 iBooks, it will be a little more than worth the loss.

Jonathan Ivey smiled: "I heard Sarah say that you won't be able to arrive until late in the evening, but I didn't expect it to be so soon." ”

Zhang Chen waved his hand: "The trip was relatively smooth, and it was a tailwind, so I arrived two hours in advance." Hon Hai is a very important partner of Matrix, and it is important for them to understand our supply chain management and quality system. ”

You Xiangfu said with difficulty: "Mr. Zhang, frankly speaking, Forscom is indeed in trouble now. As you know, the financial turmoil in Southeast Asia has now spread to East Asia. Forconn's recent capital chain is under great pressure due to the untimely collection of payments. If production is carried out according to Matrix standards, it will be difficult for Foxconn to bear the cost, even if the cost of re-recruiting and training workers is not included. ”

You Xiangfu is not exaggerating, cash flow is the lifeblood of a business. Even an ordinary accountant knows that the first thing to judge the operation of a company is not the income statement and balance sheet, but the cash flow statement.

As long as the cash flow is healthy, even if the company is not profitable, the company will not die. But if there is a cash flow problem, the company will collapse in minutes, even if the expected future earnings and receivables are several times the current funding gap.

Sun Hongbin's Shunchi back then was a typical example.

Zhang Chen nodded: "I fully understand the difficulties that Forscon is facing now, and I would like to express my gratitude to Forconn for its support to Matrix in providing i supply some time ago. However, the quality standard system that should be adhered to is still to be adhered to, and Tim is right, product quality and supply chain management are the lifeblood of Matrix, and we will not compromise on this. If Forsconn really can't meet the requirements, Tim, as the manager of the supply chain, has the power to change suppliers. ”

Chen Yifei is from a technical background, and his personality is more upright, and he can't hide his anger in his tone: "Partner? Your requirements are completely nitpicking! ABCD requires the highest workmanship on all sides, and the assembly surface also requires the highest standard of workmanship, where is this kind of thing? Now that we have encountered a difficulty, instead of helping us solve it, you have fallen into the ground! Is this also a partner?"

You Xiangfu also held back the fire, and there were always people who wanted to sing white faces during the negotiations, so they didn't stop Chen Yifei. After Chen Yifei finished venting, he apologized to Fu fakely: "I'm sorry, Chief Engineer Chen is straight-tempered, don't be surprised." Hon Hai also attaches great importance to the cooperation with Matrix, and the chairman was supposed to visit in person this time, but something was delayed. Mr. Zhang, the profit of assembly and processing is very low, and if Forscon is asked to spend a lot of money to transform the production line, it is really difficult for some strong people. ”

Zhang Chen smiled: "Who said you need to pay for it?"

What does it mean to swim to the rich and confused?

Zhang Chen whispered a few words to Tim Cook, and Tim Cook coughed lightly: "Mr. You, Matrix's plan is to have Matrix purchase the relevant production lines and provide them to Foxconn for free. Forsconn had to ensure that the production line could only be used to produce Matrix products, and that the maintenance costs of the production line were borne by Forsconn. At the same time, Matrix will send a technical support team to the Foxconn factory to facilitate the connection between the two parties. ”

You Xiangfu was shocked: "You provide the production line for free?