Chapter 28 Two Solutions

John came all the way to New York, of course, not just to look at a punch-hole computer. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 Info It was just an excuse for him to come to New York.

A few days ago, he received a telegram from Detroit. The telegram was sent by Maersk, with whom he had an agreement in Denmark.

In the telegram, Maersk told him that because of the battle between Britain and Germany in the Baltic Sea, Maersk Line's business in Europe had been greatly affected. Not so long ago, one of the company's 5,000-ton cargo ship "Kestin Maersk" was sunk by a German submarine.

John had heard rumors before that the German submarine commander was said to have received an order from Hitler himself to fire torpedoes at any ship that appeared to be under British control without warning.

This meant that any neutral ship sailing towards a British-controlled war zone could be attacked without warning. This area includes the English Channel, the world's busiest shipping waterway.

In a telegram, Maersk told John that his father had asked him to lead a fleet to the United States in an attempt to make up for the loss in Europe by expanding its business in the Americas. He hopes that John, as a shareholder of the company, will be able to help with this.

In the end, Maersk told John the approximate time and place of his arrival at the port of New York, hoping to get in touch with John as soon as possible.

John had been waiting for this day for a long time. From the day he found out that the family foundation held a stake in Maersk Line, he began to think about how to use the other party to expand FedEx's business into the field of international shipping.

When he first went to Europe, he made a special trip to Copenhagen and discussed the topic of container intermodal transportation with Maersk for half a day, isn't it just for today.

However, before meeting Ponyster, he had to meet Walter, who had come over specially to meet him. He is now an active duty soldier, and many things are inconvenient to operate directly, so he can only ask Walter to do it for him. And there are some places where he still can't make up his mind and wants to hear the opinion of his old partner.

John was well aware that Hitler was going to take action against Denmark and Norway in early April. Historically, Norway also resisted for several days. Only the Danish Janissaries firing symbolically two shots near the capital's royal palace took less than a breakfast from the time the enemy invaded to the time of surrender.

After Denmark surrendered, some politicians who were unwilling to be slaves of the country went to England and established a government-in-exile. They entrusted the Faroe Islands to Britain and Greenland and Iceland to the United States in exchange for political and economic support from both countries.

Take people's money and people to eliminate disasters. Britain and the United States have received so many benefits (control of Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands is equivalent to control of the North Atlantic route), and naturally will not recognize the Danish puppet government supported by Germany, then Maersk Line, headquartered in Copenhagen, is not a legitimate enterprise in the United States.

Poor Maersk, who came to the United States with a fleet all the way, was waiting for him to have his assets frozen, the fleet to be taken over, and he was banned from engaging in all shipping-related business.

John was sure that when the time came, no matter what price he offered, Maersk would have to agree to this way. Therefore, Maersk Line's meat is no longer a question of whether you can eat it, but how to eat it.

To this end, John prepared two sets of plans, both with their pros and cons, and he was eager to know Walter's opinion.

The first plan is not to contact Ponysk first. Wait until Maersk's fleet is taken over by the National Guard, and then negotiate as a shareholder of the company. This is not done to return to the fleet, but to prepare a case with the government.

When the war is over, John will be able to take over the remaining assets smoothly, and by the way, he will ask for royalties, damages, and so on. It is believed that between a law-abiding citizen of the United States and an "unscrupulous businessman of a former enemy country," the U.S. government knows what to choose.

The advantage of this is that you can almost empty the gloves of the white wolf, and get a transport fleet for nothing. The disadvantage is that it will completely offend the Maersk family. Although it is the U.S. government that has come forward to do evil, does Maersk dare to hate the U.S. government? and not yet the account shall be reckoned against John.

The foundation of the Maersk family is still mainly in Europe, and the United States is at best a back road for themselves. Although it hurts to lose it all, it won't hurt your muscles and bones.

What John needs to consider is whether it is worth it to completely offend Maersk, a European shipping giant, for the sake of a fleet?

The second plan is to set up a new joint venture with Ponysk and transfer the fleet to the new company. In this way, even if Denmark surrenders, it will not affect the business of the new company.

Although the investment of this program is much larger than that of the first one, there are also many benefits. First of all, it can get closer to Maersk Line and lay the foundation for FedEx to enter the global market in the future.

Second, in the pre-war period, he could justifiably use the Maersk fleet to open up a sea transportation channel from New York to Houston for FedEx, solving the company's long-standing shortcomings in the Gulf of Mexico.

Finally, he can also use this to cultivate FedEx's own maritime talent team, and accumulate experience for future surface container intermodal transportation.

This is very important. Talent is ultimately needed at all times. If Maersk can help him develop a management team that is proficient in the maritime business, the value is much higher than the fleet itself.

Because by the end of World War II, ships were really worthless. Think about the eliminated "Freedom Wheel" and "Victory Wheel", how many of them are not wanted to be dismantled and sold for scrap metal in the end.

At that time, John could have built a fleet at the price of cabbage, and the key was whether anyone could run the fleet well. By the same token, if the first plan had been followed, John would have been given a fleet of ships, but no trusted person would have been able to run it for him.

John was a little hesitant between the two options before, but when he introduced it to Walter, the more he talked about it, the more he felt that the second plan was more desirable. People are like this sometimes, and it is not until the moment the coin is tossed that they understand which one they want to choose.

Walter was John's long-time partner, and it would be impossible to detect what he meant.

He directly told John that last year, FedEx made considerable profits because of the implementation of container intermodal transportation and management system reform. In addition to the unprofitable retail logistics business, other businesses, including the newly launched aircraft spare parts warehousing and logistics business, have shown strong profitability.

Walter told John that FedEx could come up with at least $5 million to set up a new company and later land and sea container transportation projects.

With Walter's words, John was even more relieved. He took Walter to the address that Maersk had left for him on telegram. It's a small building not far from the Hudson River Pier in Manhattan, and it feels neither like an office building nor a hotel.

Before he could enter the door, John met Ponyke, who was talking to a few people and walking out.

"Maersk!" John opened his mouth and shouted at him. Without waiting for the other party to agree, he cried out again in surprise: "Oh my God, Randolph, why are you here?" ”