51: Chapter 51 The Acquisition Battle Comes to a Close

June 1st. Huaqiangbei.

At 7:00 AM, the owners of the "electronic waste" recycling area opened their shops as usual and hung up the signs offering high prices for used mobile phones.

But today was a bit different.

In the past, at this time, the purchasing teams from Transsion and Bird would already be waiting outside, but today, Bird's trucks had arrived, while not a single Transsion vehicle had shown up.

"Old Chen, where are the Transsion people?" asked the owner of the neighboring stall, poking his head out.

"I don't know. They were fine yesterday. Their manager even said they wanted to collect 5 million units this month, so why are they pulling this stunt now that it's June 1st..."

Boss Chen took out his phone, wanting to call the purchasing manager of Transsion to ask what was going on.

"Don't worry, they're probably just trying to squeeze Bird on price again. Sigh, it's a shame, I won't be able to make that much money today."

"Old Li, you should be content. Because of those two companies, we aren't losing money on waste phones anymore, we're actually making more. It doesn't matter if we lose out for a day or two."

"That's true."

Bird wasn't stupid either; once Transsion didn't show up, they would also crazily suppress prices.

So, this situation was the one thing these recyclers least wanted to see.

But when Boss Chen found the phone number, a mass text message made him jump up instantly.

"Respected partners: Due to technical adjustments, Transsion Technology is suspending all used mobile phone recycling business effective immediately. Resumption time will be notified separately. Thank you for your long-term cooperation, but we suggest you find other partners. — Transsion Supply Chain Management Department"

The few of them looked at each other, seeing the disbelief in each other's eyes, and one by one, they hurriedly gathered around with their phones.

"Suspended? How is that possible? Didn't they just open a new factory in Africa? They definitely need these waste parts."

"Are you stupid? Using a few waste parts from production here is one thing, but over there... do you want to ruin their market?"

"Weren't they supposed to give us a quota of 5 million? How did it end up like this?"

"Could they be trying to drive the price all the way down?"

The more they discussed, the more afraid they became, and a sense of panic began to spread. After all, the words Transsion used this time were indeed quite serious, but Old Wang remained relatively calm.

Isn't this just a classic case of 'crying wolf'? Transsion has played this trick so many times.

The serious wording this time was just to teach them a lesson. However, second-hand recycling is always about whoever pays the highest price, and they weren't fickle people; they were just protecting their own interests.

Similar scenes were playing out simultaneously in multiple recycling hubs. Over the past three months, the competition between Transsion and Bird had made them accustomed to these stable days, but now...

...

Hangzhou, Bird headquarters.

Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming looked at the news flooding the industry, sneered for a while, and then tossed his phone to the side:

"Shen Fei is playing this game again. Does he have any fresh tricks? He's done this over 20 times in three months; does he really think I'll believe it? Although, he put on a pretty good show this time; the wording is quite scary."

The secretary on the side felt something was off, but seeing the overconfident Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming, he ultimately chose to remind him in a low voice: "General Manager, then… should we continue collecting? We just signed a 300,000-unit contract with the Xijiang side yesterday, and we even added 4 yuan to snatch it away from Transsion."

"Collect! Why wouldn't we?" Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming slapped the table, and a confident smile rose on the corners of his mouth.

"If Transsion collects, we must collect. If Transsion doesn't collect, we must collect even more. Just take this opportunity to drive the price down; those recyclers have been getting more and more presumptuous. This is the perfect opportunity to kill off all those small recyclers. Once we monopolize the recycling channels, Shen Fei won't be able to collect even if he wants to. By then..."

Hahaha... The expression on Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming's face became increasingly arrogant. They let them take advantage last time, but that won't happen this time. He was going to make 100 million on this batch of goods!

After he finished laughing, the secretary slowly stepped forward again: "But... General Manager, our special funds have already been spent."

"Go apply to General Manager Li Xiangdong, just say this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming's eyes had become fanatical; this was definitely an opportunity. At this moment, he wouldn't listen to anyone.

"I calculated before that Transsion consumes at least 500,000 units a day. Now that they've stopped, all these goods will flood towards us. As long as we collect them at a suppressed price, when Transsion can't hold out and resumes acquisition, we'll sell them off and make 10 yuan less per unit. After all, stopping the production line is a huge loss."

...

That afternoon, Bird released an announcement in the recycling group: "Bird Technology continues to acquire used mobile phones. Prices are fair, cash settlement."

Once the news was out, the recyclers who had been "abandoned" by Transsion grabbed it like a lifesaver and shipped all their backlogged goods to the warehouse designated by Bird. Although the price was a little lower, at least the goods weren't stuck in their hands.

After these people left, they kept cursing Transsion. In the past, when they held events, they at least sent out a notice, but now... Bah!

Just like that, in the first week, Bird collected 800,000 units.

Looking at the phones piled high in the warehouse, Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming reported triumphantly to General Manager Li Xiangdong: "General Manager Li Xiangdong, we now control 70% of the market supply. When Transsion realizes their 'crying wolf' plan is useless, they'll have to kneel and beg us."

General Manager Li Xiangdong looked at the report, a hint of suspicion rising in his eyes: "Did Transsion really not collect a single unit?"

"They really didn't. I sent people to stake out their main collection points, and not a single Transsion truck appeared." Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming patted his chest to guarantee it, though suddenly he also realized something was off. But this concerned decision-making and kickbacks; the plan absolutely could not be stopped easily.

"General Manager Li Xiangdong, Transsion is definitely trying to suppress the price. This time we absolutely cannot give in; let's see who can't hold out first. Once their production line stops, it's definitely not a matter of a few million. Although they aren't collecting on the surface, maybe they've developed some small market and are collecting secretly behind the scenes. We absolutely cannot let their 'empty fort strategy' succeed."

Under the persuasion of Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming, in the second week, Bird collected another 1.2 million units. Originally, they were prepared to sell to Transsion at a high price at the end of June, so they hadn't prepared that many warehouses. Now that the inventory was full, they had to temporarily rent three large warehouses to continue storing them.

At the same time, Bird's working capital began to tighten. Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming had to go to the Finance Department: "Approve another 30 million. We can collect over a million more next week. By then, all the money from the sales will go to your Finance Department."

The Finance Director looked at the 120 million in remaining working capital on the books and said hesitantly: "We can't approve any more. General Manager Zhou, wouldn't this be too risky?"

Looking at the hesitant look of the Finance Director, Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming slammed the table instantly. Although the two were of equal rank, he was carrying the orders of General Manager Li Xiangdong. At this moment, he was one level higher.

"What's risky about this? Transsion must have these goods, otherwise the production line will stop. Do you know how much money that would lose? Approve it quickly! We're waiting to use the money."

"It's not that I won't approve it, there really is no money on the books. This money has to be reserved for expanding into the Africa market. Transsion is about to release phones, and we need to intercept them. Also, you go get a detailed investigation report. Otherwise, if Transsion really doesn't collect anymore, this batch of goods could crush us to death. I still have to clean up your mess."

Seeing the unyielding Finance Director, Supply Chain Director Zhou Ming was also furious. He snorted fiercely and then left the office... He was going to make this petty person pay.