dognovel Chapter 21 Factory Visit
Chapter 21 Factory Visit
"What's wrong?" Lin Feng asked.
Wu Wenjie said, "The factory is located outside the Great Wall, and the boss's surname is Chen. However, they mainly take export orders, and they don't take many domestic orders. Also, they usually charge a mold opening fee or a plate making fee. Screen printing a logo might be cheaper, but it will still cost extra."
"Approximately how much more?"
"It depends on the quantity. If you need 500 units, it will probably cost an extra 10 to 15 yuan per unit. If you need less than 500 units, it will probably cost an extra 20 yuan per unit."
"Can we go take a look at the factory?"
"I'll make a call and arrange it." Wu Wenjie walked aside and made a call. After exchanging a few words, he hung up and walked back.
"It's arranged. Mr. Chen will be waiting for us at the factory at 2 PM. His factory is in Longhua, about an hour's drive from here."
At noon, the two of them grabbed a quick bite of roast meat rice on the back street of the market.
At one o'clock, Wu Wenjie hailed a taxi and drove towards the outskirts of the city.
As the car drove out of the city, the scenery outside the window gradually became chaotic. Factories, warehouses, and self-built buildings were mixed together.
Longhua was an early industrial area in Shenzhen, and many electronics factories, plastic factories, and hardware factories are still located here.
The taxi stopped in front of a three-story gray factory building with a sign that read "Xinfeng Electronics" hanging at the entrance.
The factory looks quite old. Several trucks are parked in the yard, and workers are going in and out, keeping the place busy.
A middle-aged man in his forties greeted Wu Wenjie with a smile.
"Ah Jie, welcome!"
"Boss Chen, business is booming!" Wu Wenjie shook hands with him. "This is Boss Lin, who came from Chengdu. He wants to order a batch of customized MP3 players."
Boss Chen glanced at Lin Feng, probably thinking he was too young, but out of respect for Wu Wenjie, he still shook hands warmly: "Boss Lin is young and promising, welcome, welcome."
"Mr. Chen, you flatter me."
"Please come in, we'll talk in the guest room."
The meeting room was on the second floor, with various certification certificates and sample displays hanging on the walls. Boss Chen made tea, and the three of them sat down.
"Ah-Jie said on the phone, 'Boss Lin, you want to make custom-made machines with your logo. How many do you need?'"
"Three hundred units. The logo will be silkscreened, and the packaging will be designed separately."
Mr. Chen nodded and took out several documents from his drawer: "This is our factory's standard configuration and price list. Take a look."
The quotation was quite professional, listing the parameters, configurations, and prices of the main control chip, flash memory, battery, casing material, and other components.
It has similar configuration and design to the purple sanding machine that Lin Feng saw in the market this morning, and the unit price is marked as 290 yuan.
"This is the price for the bare unit. Custom orders will incur a silkscreen printing fee. For 300 units, it's an extra 20 yuan per unit. Packaging design is charged separately, depending on its complexity."
"That's 310 per unit. Mr. Chen, is there any room for negotiation on this price?"
Boss Chen glanced at Wu Wenjie.
"Our configuration and price are already the most cost-effective in the Longhua area. Look at the main controller, it's the latest solution from Sunplus, with low power consumption and good sound quality. The flash memory is from Samsung, and we have a long-term partnership with our distributors, so our purchase price is lower than the market price. The battery uses BYD cells, which have a long cycle life. This price is already the lowest we can go."
He spoke sincerely, but then secretly glanced at Wu Wenjie.
Wu Wenjie lowered his head and drank his tea, without replying.
"Boss Chen, can I take a look at the production line and materials?" Lin Feng asked.
"Of course, come on, I'll take you to the workshop."
Several production lines are running in the workshop. Workers wearing anti-static suits are assembling, testing, and packaging at their workstations.
Boss Chen then led them to the materials area, pointing to the components on the shelves and explaining, "This is the main control chip; we inspect every batch that comes in. This is flash memory; look at the packaging, it's very clean. The batteries are over here; each batch has a quality inspection report..."
Lin Feng picked up a motherboard and examined it closely. The workmanship was indeed excellent, with full and smooth solder joints and clear circuit board traces. He then picked up a battery, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be solid.
"Mr. Chen, could I use a multimeter to check the battery voltage?"
"Sure, sure, Xiao Zhang, go get a multimeter."
A young worker brought over a multimeter. Lin Feng took it, skillfully set it to the voltage setting, and connected the red and black probes to the positive and negative terminals of the battery, respectively. The dial displayed 4.18V.
"The full charge voltage is 4.2V, and it's currently at 4.18V, which is normal," Lin Feng said. He then tested several other circuits nearby, and they were all between 4.15V and 4.20V, showing good consistency.
Mr. Chen's eyes showed surprise: "Mr. Lin, your technique is very professional."
"I've learned a little bit." Lin Feng put down the multimeter. "Boss Chen, do you mount these boards yourself, or do you outsource them?"
"We assemble the critical components like the controller and flash memory ourselves, but outsource the smaller components like resistors and capacitors. We have our own SMT production line; would you like to take a look?"
"it is good."
The three arrived at the surface mount technology (SMT) workshop, where machines were humming. Several automatic SMT machines were working, precisely placing tiny components onto circuit boards. The workshop was rather hot, and several technicians were monitoring the machines.
Lin Feng looked around and got a general understanding of the factory's situation. Although it wasn't large, the management was fairly standardized; after all, it handled export orders, so it had the capability.
The three returned to the reception room and sat down to drink tea again.
"How is it, Mr. Lin? Are you satisfied?" Mr. Chen asked.
Lin Feng nodded. "Overall, it's good. But the price is still a bit high for me. I'm making student activity souvenirs this time, so the profit margin is limited. Do you think you could lower the price a little?"
Mr. Chen smiled and replied, "It's not that I'm unwilling to lower the price, it's just that our costs are what they are. Here's the deal: if you produce 500 units, I'll give you a discount of three yuan per unit. That's my bottom line."
Lin Feng shook his head, attempting one last bargain. "Boss Chen, three hundred units, 290 yuan each, is that alright?"
Mr. Chen shook his head: "Mr. Lin, our factory's profit margin isn't that high. The price of 310 is already a discount I gave out of consideration for A-Jie. You should know that we take export orders; this configuration can sell for $50 a unit in Europe."
The other party was unwilling to lower the price. Lin Feng looked at Wu Wenjie beside him, who shrugged and gave him a "helpless" look.
"I'll think about it and give Boss Chen an answer as soon as possible." Lin Feng was also planning to look at a few more companies and compare them.
"Okay. Here's my business card. Feel free to contact me anytime." Boss Chen handed over the business card.
It was already past four in the afternoon when they left Xinfeng Electronics' factory. On the way back inside the city, Wu Wenjie asked, "How was it, Brother Lin?"
"The factory is nice, but the price is a bit high," Lin Feng replied truthfully.
"I understand. Everyone tries to be shrewd in business. But I've dealt with Boss Chen for many years, and he's reliable. The price he quoted is reasonable."
Lin Feng looked out the window at the fleeting street scenes. The price of the 310 was 93,000 yuan for 300 units. He had a 60,000 yuan deposit and the profits from the previous batches of goods, which was barely enough.
But he also needs to set aside money to negotiate copyright with Tang Lei. That's not a small amount.
"Brother Jie, besides Xinfa, are there any other manufacturers we can choose? Something with the same quality but a lower price?"
Wu Wenjie thought for a moment: "The lower the price, the lower the quality. You can find small workshops to make them, and they'll save you thirty or forty yuan per machine. But I advise you to stay away from those kinds of goods."
Lin Feng fell silent.
On the way, Lin Feng kept thinking that there must be cheaper factories, but Wu Wenjie might not be willing to take him there.
After all, as an intermediary, the manufacturer has to give him a rebate.