Tech giants start by disassembling systems

Chapter 152 Promoting

2020 11 Month 5 Day.

Su Chen is currently on a business trip to Suzhou.

Just after the high-speed train passed Kunshan Station, my phone suddenly vibrated three times in a row.

The first message was from Lin Wei: "President Su, it's an emergency, please call back as soon as possible."

The second message came from Zhang Haotian: "Boss, there's an overseas report you should take a look at. It's already been forwarded to your email."

The third message came from Lu Ming: "Su Chen, have you seen that report? Several overseas clients of Tianyu are already asking about it."

Su Chen put down the DRIE cavity amplification solution document he was reading and called Lin Wei back.

"explain."

"Mr. Su, last night an international organization called IDSA—the International Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Safety Alliance—released a report. The report specifically mentioned our light armor, stating that its technical specifications are highly compatible with military protective materials, and recommending that governments worldwide implement export controls and reviews on Hongyuan Feiniao's light armor materials."

"What's the background of this IDSA?"

"I checked—it's registered in Washington, D.C., less than two years old, and its website lists several so-called 'aviation safety consultants,' but they have little authority. The problem is—this report was reposted by Reuters and Bloomberg."

Su Chen remained silent for two seconds.

"continue."

"Starting this morning, several international clients who had previously been in contact with us suddenly backed out. Boeing's VP of Supply Chain canceled the video conference scheduled for next week, saying that 'internal processes need to be reassessed.' Toray Industries also sent an email saying, 'Given the current international climate, cooperation is temporarily on hold.' Hexcel didn't reply at all."

What about domestically?

"Domestic customers are not affected for the time being. The meetings between AVIC and Huawei are proceeding as planned. However—there are problems with processing trade. Previously, seven or eight international customers planned to bring their own carbon fiber for light armor treatment, but now five of them have suspended their cooperation intentions. The remaining three are still observing."

Su Chen leaned back in his seat, his gaze fixed on the fields rushing past the window.

How much has the external revenue from processing imported materials decreased?

"About 60% to 70%. However, processing with supplied materials itself accounts for a small percentage of Light A's total revenue; the main loss is in advance payments—approximately 120 million."

"Um."

Su Chen's tone was unusually calm.

Lin Wei hesitated for a moment: "President Su, who do you think... prepared this report?"

Su Chen did not answer directly.

he was thinking.

IDSA—an organization less than two years old—suddenly named a startup in Shenzhen, China? The timing is perfect, just two weeks after the Flying Bird Technology Summit, at a time when global media are buzzing about light armor?

This is no coincidence.

There's someone pushing this from behind the scenes.

Who?

DJI? Hangxindatong? Or some other real international stakeholder?

Su Chen thought about it and felt that DJI was unlikely to be involved. Given Wang Tao's style of doing things, he wouldn't resort to such underhanded tactics—besides, DJI itself was also within the scope of IDSA's crackdown, and DJI's situation in North America was more sensitive than that of Hongyuan Feibiao.

Hangxindatong? He Zhiqiang is indeed cunning, but as a domestic company, he doesn't have the ability to manipulate NGOs in Washington.

That leaves only one possibility—the real stakeholders in carbon fiber.

Toray? Hexcel? Or the forces behind them?

The emergence of lightweight armor has threatened the global carbon fiber composite materials industry. While those carbon fiber giants are outwardly discussing cooperation with Hongyuan Feiniao, they are secretly preparing a "safety assessment report" to smear Hongyuan Feiniao, which is entirely within their capabilities.

Su Chen understood.

"Sister Wei, it doesn't matter who did it. What matters is—how we deal with it."

"you say."

Three things.

Su Chen's voice became sharp.

"Firstly, starting today, light armor will be prioritized for supply to strategic partners of the Flying Bird Alliance. All alliance members will be ranked according to their joining time, with strategic partners taking priority, followed by ordinary members. Non-alliance customers who want to purchase light armor? Yes—but they must first join the alliance or wait in line for production capacity to be released."

"Won't this drive some customers away?"

"Those who are turned away are customers who are hesitant to commit to anything. Those who remain are true partners."

Su Chen paused for a moment:

"Furthermore—think about it, what will those companies that are hesitant to join the alliance do when they hear that light armor will only be supplied to alliance members first?"

Lin Wei understood instantly.

Light armor is used as bait.

Joining an alliance is the only way to get light armor—essentially turning light armor into an entry ticket to the alliance.

Those companies that were originally ambiguous about the alliance now face a choice: either join the alliance to gain the right to supply light armor, or be excluded.

Given the current popularity and irreplaceable nature of light armor in the industry, the choice for most companies is obvious.

"Secondly, the H-Link open protocol has been upgraded to version V2.0."

"V2.0?"

Completely free. Open source.

Lin Wei gasped.

While H-Link's licensing fees are currently low, they represent a stable source of revenue for Hongyuan Feiniao. Making it completely free and open-source means directly forgoing this revenue stream.

"President Su, this—"

"Hangxindatong has reduced LDCL prices to 20% off plus the first year free, right?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll just open-source it for free."

Su Chen's tone was indifferent, but the murderous intent in his words sent chills down Lin Wei's spine.

"LDCL, even with a 20% discount, still costs money; the first year is free, but the second year still costs money. I'm offering it permanently free and completely open source. What do you think those SMEs in the alliance who are hesitant about switching to LDCL will choose after seeing H-Link's free and open-source nature?"

Lin Wei remained silent for three seconds.

"They will stay at H-Link."

"It's not just about staying."

Su Chen sneered:

"Those companies that have already signed up for LDCL will start to regret it after seeing H-Link become free and open source. LDCL is free for the first year but charges for the second, while H-Link is free forever. They'll do the math."

"But Mr. Su, how will we make money after H-Link becomes free and open source?"

"It doesn't matter if H-Link itself doesn't make money. H-Link is the gateway to the ecosystem, and the ecosystem makes money. As more and more companies use H-Link, their drones will naturally be compatible with our S1 and G1. They buy relay base stations, flight control modules, and lightweight armor materials—that's where the money comes from."

Su Chen paused for a moment:

"Free things are the most expensive. Hangxindatong doesn't understand this principle."

"And the third thing?"

"S1 consumer drone. Price reduced by 20%."

"What?!"

Lin Wei was genuinely shocked this time.

The S1 is one of Hongyuan Feiniao's cash cows, with monthly orders exceeding 5000 units. While the profit per unit is not as high as the G1, its stable sales volume is a major advantage. A 20% price reduction means that the profit per unit will be compressed by nearly half.

"Mr. Su, if the S1's price is reduced by 20%, the profit per unit will only be a little over two thousand—"

"I know."

Su Chen's tone was very calm:

"Hangxindatong's three-pronged approach—reducing LDCL prices to 2.0%, partnering with DJI's FlightCore 2.0, and developing its own 'Tian Shu' flight control chip. They want to take advantage of me from above, so I'll take advantage of them from below."

"The 20% price reduction of the S1 directly impacts Hangxindatong's price range in the consumer drone market. Their low-end products already rely on price advantages to survive. After my 20% price reduction, the S1 is only about 15% more expensive than their low-end products—but its performance is far superior."

"What do you think consumers will choose?"

Lin Wei fell silent.

She knew Su Chen was right.

With a 20% price reduction, the S1, given its performance and reputation, will deliver a devastating blow to Hangxindatong's consumer products.

"Moreover—" Su Chen added, "He Zhiqiang's '100 Enterprises Plan' was already losing customers. After the S1's price drop, what will those small and medium-sized distributors in the '100 Enterprises Plan' think? They'll think—Hongyuan Feiniao's S1 has dropped in price again, and its performance is better, so why should I still sell Hangxindatong's crappy product?"

"If you cut off my customers, I'll poach your distributors."

Su Chen's voice was cold and clear:

"Since they want to play, they shouldn't blame me for flipping the table."

After hanging up the phone, Su Chen leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

He did not panic because of the IDSA report.

To be honest, this happened a little earlier than he expected, but it wasn't unexpected.

Lightweight armor's performance is so superior that it poses a threat to the global carbon fiber industry. Since those carbon fiber giants cannot obtain lightweight armor's technology, they will naturally try to curb its expansion.

But they made a mistake – Hongyuan Feiniao's core market is not overseas, but domestic.

The domestic drone market, manufacturing market, and defense market—these are the core of Hongyuan Flying Bird's business.

Moreover, this base is large enough.

It is large enough to support the wild birds to live well.

Su Chen was not afraid.

Because he clearly knew that once lightweight armor became the standard in domestic industries, Chinese drones, electric vehicles, and mobile phone cases using lightweight armor would naturally have a material advantage in the global market.

Consumers don't care where your materials come from; they only care about whether the product is easy to use and durable.

When domestically produced drones become lighter, stronger, and more durable than their foreign competitors due to the use of lightweight armor—the value of lightweight armor doesn't need Su Chen to promote; the market will speak for itself.

This is the power of materials.

The power of materials revolution.

……

Su Chen's three-pronged approach was implemented that afternoon.

The effect is immediate.

First, there's the alliance.

As soon as the news of "priority supply of light armor to alliance members" was released, 12 companies submitted applications to join the alliance on the same day.

Eight more were added the next day.

The third day had 11 stores.

Within just one week, the number of members in the Flying Bird Industry Alliance surged from 217 to 248.

Six of them were members of Hangxindatong's "6 Enterprises Plan"—after careful consideration, they ultimately chose to leave the program.

Because the light nail polish smells so good.

A company that makes agricultural plant protection drones did the math: if they replaced their current carbon fiber fuselage with a lightweight armor, the drones would be 35% lighter and have 40 minutes more flight time—meaning each drone could perform two more sorties per day.

For plant protection companies that rely on the volume of their operations, this is real money.

For this advantage, the entrance fee to the Asuka League is practically negligible.

The second is H-Link V2.0.

The news of it being free and open source has generated a huge response in the drone developer community.

"Has Hongyuan Flying Bird gone mad? Open-source H-Link for free?"

"It's not insane, it's ruthless. LDCL's 20% discount and first year free seems cheap, but H-Link is permanently free and completely open source—they're not even in the same league."

"I just signed a three-year contract with LDCL, and now I feel like I've been ripped off."

"Can I break the contract?"

Let's see how much the penalty for breach of contract is...

Hangxindatong's "100 Enterprises Plan" added zero new customers this week—yes, zero.

When He Zhiqiang received this data, he reportedly smashed a teacup in his office.

Finally, the S1 saw a price reduction.

The news that the S1 consumer drone has been reduced in price by 20% has become a trending topic on major e-commerce platforms.

After the price reduction, the S1 is only less than 1,000 yuan more expensive than Hangxindatong's entry-level product, but its performance is overwhelmingly superior—4K video recording, 30-minute battery life, GPS+RTK dual-mode positioning, and three-axis mechanical stabilization.

For consumers, spending less than a thousand yuan more can bring about a qualitative leap, making the answer to this choice all too obvious.

In the first week after the S1 price reduction, orders surged by 70%.

Meanwhile, sales of Hangxindatong's entry-level products decreased by 15% during the same period.

Su Chen's three-pronged attack precisely countered He Zhiqiang's three-pronged attack.

You lower your price? I'll be even more ruthless.

You get it for free, but I get it even more free than you.

You poach my clients, I'll flip your table.

……

The media has been keenly aware of the various developments this week.

"Foreign institutions name Hongyuan Feibiao for 'light armor involved in military affairs,' international clients collectively back down—who is pulling the strings behind the scenes?"

This news has climbed to third place on Weibo's trending topics.

The comments section exploded.

"Is this the same old trick again? A Chinese company develops something good, and then they say it's 'involved with the military'? First they said Huawei was involved with the military, now they're saying a drone company is involved with the military?"

"That IDSA is some kind of shady organization; it's only been established for two years. Who would believe it?"

"Light armor is made of carbon fiber, which is inherently dual-use (military and civilian). Following this logic, steel is also related to the military, aluminum alloys are also related to the military, and even air is related to the military."

"Support Hongyuan Feiniao! We cannot allow domestically produced materials to be held hostage!"

"Su Chen is awesome! He made the light armor exclusive to the Alliance, and it was the right decision not to sell it to foreigners!"

Public support poured in like a tidal wave.

While this support cannot be directly converted into orders, it represents an emotion—an anger at the "suppression of technology" and a support for "independent innovation."

This sentiment will ultimately translate into market forces.