Chapter 459 We have a traitor!
Compared to Li Liangyi who was in a good mood, Qing Jingbin, who had just arrived in Jinling, was not so relaxed.
As the sales director of NSK Group’s China office, 1997 was a very critical year for him.
Although Japanese bearings entered the Chinese market very early, to some extent, they were still held back by Japanese car companies that were a step slower than the Germans.
From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, Volkswagen put several classic models in China for local production. However, until almost ten years later, in 1997, Toyota and Honda were still hesitating about how to The way and attitude of joint venture.
This led to the fact that the entire Chinese automobile market in the 1990s could be said to revolve around two models.
Santana and Jetta.
They all use SKF bearings.
Although bearings are known as the joints of industry, and any equipment with rotating parts inevitably needs to use this seemingly inconspicuous component, there is no doubt that automotive bearings have a huge impact on both sales and profits. It has an absolute advantage in all aspects.
The success of German cars in China has directly allowed SKF to account for 60% of China’s imported bearing sales. However, Japanese companies such as NSK and NTN still cannot reverse the situation despite their higher proportion in the industrial field. Overall, it's an unfavorable situation of being suppressed and beaten.
Under this circumstance, NSK has begun to consider officially upgrading the Huaxia office to the Huaxia region and building a bearing factory in Luzhou and Suzhou respectively.
And if Qing Jingbin can produce strong enough performance in the past two years, then there is a high probability that he can go one step further and sit in the highest position left to the Chinese people at NSK, that is, in the Huaxia Region Deputy Minister.
So this matter cannot be ignored by him.
It is not difficult for Qing Jingbin to investigate the situation of Jinling Iveco.
It is true that bearing manufacturers are suppliers of Party B compared to OEMs, but in daily contact and communication, they are often much stronger than Party A as they hold key technologies.
What's more, NSK is still a foreign company, and people are absolutely superior to others.
It is normal to develop some eyeliner relationships within the OEM or dealer network.
So Qing Jingbin didn’t spend much effort and got some information from a Jinling Iveco worker over a McDonald’s meal.
“You said that starting from November this year, the newly produced Iveco will be replaced with a batch of domestic parts?”
When I just heard the news, the former’s first The reaction was ridiculous.
Before he came to Jinling, he had thought that some of his peers might have deliberately lowered prices to compete and steal business. However, he considered the suspects from NTN to FAG to SKF, but he never thought that Jinling Iveco would be so bold. Use domestic bearings.
“Yes, I heard it from my second uncle two days ago. He works as an inspector in the technical research and development department of our factory. He said that each car can make thousands of dollars more in profit. ”
The young man who was found lowered his head and took a bite of the burger.
The treatment given by Jinling Iveco is good, but for him, there are still few opportunities to eat this kind of foreign fast food.
“You don’t want word of mouth? Are you using fake and shoddy parts to replace imported goods, or key parts like wheel hub bearings? Customers will find problems after driving hundreds of kilometers, and my reputation will also be affected by that time. Stinky!”
Of course, Qing Jingbin could not be stupid enough to reveal his identity publicly when he was developing an informant. Therefore, he had always used "a car dealer who wanted to get some inside information" as a cover for his activities.
It is reasonable to show such anxiety at this moment.
“I don’t know the specifics, but I haven’t heard that the marketing department is going to change the after-sales standards. I think there won’t be any big problems. Most customers don’t care about parts. Which supplier is it from?"
The young man opposite shrugged:
"Actually, I know that many drivers will directly replace sub-factory parts when repairing their cars, so what? Eneske’s Japanese bearings are too expensive. Replacing four bearings at a time can cost dozens of dollars, and I haven’t heard that the quality is any different from the original ones.”
"Nonsense, the kind of sub-factory parts you are talking about are..."
Qing Jingbin swallowed it up mid-sentence.
Of course he knows that what the other party said is completely true, because the so-called "auxiliary parts" sold by Shunsuke Haneda from Japan are only twenty or thirty yuan cheaper than the official ones sold by NSK, but the quality is exactly the same. Obtained through special channels and sold privately.
Including Qing Jingbin himself also participated in it.
It is naturally impossible to say this kind of thing.
But they do this in a measured way. The quantity of goods they put on the market each time is not large. Jinling Motors cannot rely on these three melons to build cars.
So there must be another supplier.
Thinking of this, Qing Jingbin leaned his head slightly and asked in a low voice:
"That new bearing you mentioned, can you make a sample for me to see?"
“You let me steal something?”
One sentence scared the burger out of the hands of the young man opposite:
"That's illegal, I won't do it..."
Although stealing trade secrets is actually a crime, In this day and age, it is obviously impossible for an ordinary worker to understand the concept of the crime of infringement of trade secrets, and this crime is rarely enforced in practice.
However, stealing and committing a crime is the simplest cognition.
"Okay, indeed, I was the one who was rude..." After weighing it, Qing Jingbin decided to adopt a gentle approach rather than a coercive approach:
“You don’t need to actually take out the sample, as long as you can find out where your factory purchases the new bearings, I can give you 100 yuan as a reward.”
"This..."
Obviously, 100 yuan is definitely attractive in this era.
However, the young man opposite was obviously not completely brainless. After hesitating for a moment, he asked doubtfully:
"What are you interested in these things for?"
"I..."
Qing Jingbin was asked for a moment.
Fortunately, his mind was spinning very fast, and he thought of a reasonable explanation in an instant:
“I sell cars, and your factory needs to replace parts, so when I repair the car, The so-called original parts must be replaced, so you have to make preparations in advance..."
For the same parts, there can be a lot of money difference between getting them directly from the supplier or going through the car manufacturer.
Theoretically, the OEM will sign a contract with the supplier, requiring the latter not to go beyond its own supply to dealers or repair shops. However, this kind of contract has almost no actual restrictions, as long as the parts Suppliers should not go too far, and generally no one will hold them accountable.
"Okay, I'll check with you in the next two days, you wait for my call."
The young man finished the last bite of the burger, wiped his hands and left McDonald's.
It should be said that the efficiency of this informant is very impressive.
It was only the next day that Qing Jingbin received news from the other party.
Bearing parts come from Northeast Special Steel Group.
In fact, Qing Jingbin was able to learn all this so easily, mainly because this matter was not a highly confidential matter within Jinling Iveco——
No matter How tightly it is being covered now, when new cars come out in November, if someone is willing to check the supplier changes, or simply dismantle a car, they will know everything.
……
The next day, NSK Bearing China Office in Shanghai.
"Tohoku Special Steel..."
Haneda Shunsuke muttered this name.
He had no impression of this name at all.
NSK’s main rivals in the past were several big brands from Europe. In Haneda’s perception, China’s local brand bearings could not pose any threat to itself.
Qing Jingbin took this opportunity and quickly introduced:
"Northeast Special Steel is a new company formed by the merger of three special steel companies at the end of last year. I feel that it is impossible for them to do it alone in just over half a year. Within the time required, we can come up with products that are comparable to our NSK."
"You are right, Qingjun..."
"If this is the case, there is only one possibility... "
Haneda behind the desk said and touched his chin gently:
"We have a traitor among us!"
"Huh?"
Qing Jingbin was about to get up and deny it, but then he realized that the "we" Haneda Shunsuke was talking about was not him and himself, but It refers to other Japanese companies in China.
Japanese companies going overseas, although on the surface they are constantly fighting openly and secretly, there is actually an industrial alliance.
For example, in the field of machine tools, the bearings exported by NSK to Chinese companies cannot threaten the models sold in China by brands such as Okuma, Makino and Mitsubishi.
Correspondingly, in the field of bearings, the raw materials exported by Datong Steel cannot threaten the models sold by brands such as NSK and NTN in China.
In Haneda Shunsuke's view, the only possibility for a Chinese company to produce products with similar performance to Japanese bearings is that someone broke this rule and sold Tohoku Special Steel more than the limit. parts.
Considering that NSK itself has used a large number of Chunakashima products, and the latter has recently actively invested in building factories in China...
The answer seems to be self-evident.
"Qingjun, thank you for the information you got from Jinling. I will inform the country and let the superiors negotiate with Chunzhong Island."
Haneda Shunsuke raised his head and showed a satisfied smile:
"In addition, if this matter can be properly resolved, then I will also recommend you to the headquarters for the position of deputy minister of the China Region... "
When Qing Jingbin heard this, he half-bent down excitedly and bowed:
"Thank you, Minister Haneda!"
(End of this chapter)