Steal the enemy's base at the start and build a technological empire.

Chapter 392 ERP, SCM, CRM

At nine o'clock in the morning, Ling Yun sat at his desk, several documents spread out in front of him. They were notes he had made during his inspections in Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Huizhou. The edges of the pages were curled up, and a few pages had folded corners. He flipped through them, closed the book, and set it aside.

There was a knock on the door, and Chen Zhongming pushed it open, holding a black notebook. He sat down opposite the desk, placed the notebook on the table, and said, "Mr. Ling, you wanted to see me?"

Ling Yun nodded and pushed the stack of investigation notes over. Chen Zhongming took them, flipped through a few pages, and looked up.

"Are the suppliers in Shenzhen not very satisfactory?"

Ling Yun said, "It's not ideal. We can make power adapters, batteries, and casings, but we don't have the core technology. The MOSFETs are imported, the battery cells are imported, and the CNC machining is also imported. What we can do ourselves is assembly and casings—low-end products. The high-end products still come from others. This isn't just a problem with one or two companies; it's a problem with the entire industry chain. The suppliers are small and technologically weak. They want to upgrade, but they don't have the money. They want to do R&D, but they don't have the manpower. They want to expand production, but they don't have the land. We're just going around in circles."

Chen Zhongming didn't speak. He closed his notebook, placed it on the table, and looked at Ling Yun.

Ling Yun stood up and paced a few steps. "So we need to do a few things: improve supply chain management, enhance the supply chain's resilience, and help our suppliers grow stronger and bigger step by step. If we want our products to go global in the future, we can't compromise on any step in the supply chain."

He walked back to the table and sat down. He took a sheet of white paper from the drawer, spread it on the table, and picked up a pen. He wrote three words on the paper: ERP, SCM, CRM. After writing, he looked up at Chen Zhongming.

"ERP is for headquarters. It integrates finance, purchasing, production, sales, inventory, and human resources into one system. It breaks down departmental silos, enabling information sharing and resource collaboration. Previously, purchasing didn't know how much inventory we had, sales didn't know where production was scheduled, and finance didn't know when accounts receivable would arrive. Each department worked independently, data wasn't shared, and processes were inefficient. After implementing ERP, all data is in one system, and authorized personnel can view and check it at any time. When purchasing places an order, inventory updates automatically. When sales place an order, production is automatically scheduled. When finance receives payments, accounts are automatically updated. There's no need for manual reconciliation, no need for phone calls, and no need to run around. Efficiency is higher, costs are lower, and errors are fewer."

Chen Zhongming made a few notes in his notebook.

Lingyun said, "SCM is for factories. It connects suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and users. It integrates information flow, logistics, and capital flow. Raw materials go from suppliers to factories, semi-finished products go from factories to production lines, finished products go from production lines to warehouses, from warehouses to distributors, and from distributors to users. Every step must be visible and controllable. Previously, we didn't know when raw materials arrived, how much arrived, or what their quality was. We didn't know how long semi-finished products were on the production line or which station they were stuck at. We didn't know how long finished products were in the warehouse, when they were shipped, or when they reached the user. With SCM, all information is visible in real time. When suppliers ship, the system updates automatically. When factories receive goods, the system confirms automatically. When finished products leave the warehouse, the system tracks automatically. When users sign for receipt, the system automatically closes the loop."

Chen Zhongming jotted down a few more notes. He looked up at Ling Yun.

"What about CRM?"

Lingyun said, "The CRM is for the sales department. It manages everything: customer information, sales leads, follow-up records, contracts, orders, and after-sales service. Previously, customer information was just in the salesperson's head; once they left, the customer was gone too. Sales leads weren't recorded; nobody knew how many times they were followed up, what was said, or what promises were made. Contracts were signed, orders were placed, but no one followed up. If after-sales service had problems, nobody could find anyone to help. With CRM, all customer information is managed centrally. What salespeople follow up on each day, whether they followed up at all, how many times they followed up, and the results—all of this is in the system. Once a contract is signed, the system automatically reminds them of follow-up tasks. If after-sales service issues arise, the system automatically assigns responsibility, showing who handles it, what stage the process is at, and whether the customer is satisfied—all of this is traceable."

Chen Zhongming closed his laptop and looked at Ling Yun. He asked, "Three systems at once?"

Lingyun said, "Let's all work together. ERP is for headquarters, SCM is for the factory, and CRM is for sales. Each manages its own area, but the data must be interconnected. Orders in ERP must be synchronized to SCM. Inventory in SCM must be synchronized to ERP. Customer information in CRM must be synchronized to ERP. We can't all work separately and then not be able to connect. If we can't connect, it's all for nothing."

Chen Zhongming nodded and made another note in his notebook. He asked, "Who will develop it?"

Ling Yun said, "Jiang Feng, the database at Nebula Technology is finished, and the financial system is running smoothly. Next, we'll work on the application software. ERP, SCM, and CRM are all application software. They have the technology, the manpower, and the experience. Let them do it."

Chen Zhongming asked, "What about the time?"

Lingyun said, "Three months to release a beta version. Six months to officially launch. One year to run it smoothly and see results."

Chen Zhongming thought for a moment and said, "Time is a bit tight."

Ling Yun said, "There's no time to lose. China is currently in negotiations to join the WTO, and progress is very fast. Apart from the United States, there are basically no other obstacles. The United States is now just a matter of bargaining."

Chen Zhongming didn't speak again, only nodded solemnly. He knew the pressure entering the customs would bring to Xinghuo. He stood up, walked to the door, then turned back. "President Ling, who's in charge of the platform's data entry?"

Ling Yun said, "Let's handle them separately. Ma Baoguo will manage the factory data. Zhao Weiguo will manage the sales data. You will manage the headquarters data. Whoever's data is responsible for it, whoever enters it is responsible for it, and whoever makes a mistake is responsible for it. For future usage and inspection results, I will only contact you."

Chen Zhongming nodded, pushed open the door, and went out.

At 2 PM, Ling Yun called Jiang Feng, "Come over here."

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Feng pushed open the door and came in. He was wearing a dark blue T-shirt and holding a laptop in his hand, the screen still lit. He sat down opposite the desk and placed the laptop on it.

"How's the database going?" Ling Yun asked.

Jiang Feng said, "The financial system is running smoothly. The project with the People's Bank of China was accepted last month. Functional testing, stress testing, and security testing all passed. The experts signed it off. The report is out. We are in talks with three banks: two city commercial banks and one joint-stock bank."

Ling Yun nodded. He pushed the white paper with ERP, SCM, and CRM written on it over for Jiang Feng to see.

Jiang Feng glanced at it, then looked up and asked, "Three systems?"

Lingyun said, "Three systems. ERP, for headquarters. SCM, for the factory. CRM, for sales. You'll lead the development team. Three months for a test version, six months for official launch, and a year to run smoothly."

Jiang Feng lowered his head and looked at the paper. He looked at it for about a minute, then looked up.

"What about the technical architecture? What kind of architecture are you using?"

Lingyun said, "B/S architecture. Accessed via browser, no client installation required. Headquarters, factory, sales, and other locations can all use it. The database uses Nebula Database, the server uses the Star System, the front end uses the Star Stream Framework, and the back end uses Java."

Jiang Feng typed a few words on the computer and then looked up.

"What about the team? We don't have enough people working on the applications right now. Cloud computing is currently being pushed forward, and we can't spare any manpower. The cloud version of the database is about to be released, and we can't transfer any more people from there."

Lingyun said, "Recruit. Recruit from Xinghuo Community. The people in the community have skills, experience, and enthusiasm. Full-time or part-time, it's all fine. You set the standards, I'll approve the budget. If we don't have enough people, we'll recruit."

Jiang Feng nodded and typed a few more words on the computer. He asked, "What about data standards? The data formats are different in different departments, how can we standardize them?"

Ling Yun said, "You set the standards. Once they're set, distribute them to all departments, and they must follow them. If they don't, the system won't be online."

Jiang Feng said, "Okay. President Ling, once these three systems are completed, Nebula Technology will transform from a database company into a platform company."

Lingyun said, "Platform company? Your vision is too narrow; you don't even dare to think about it. Platforms are more valuable than product developers; ecosystems are more valuable than platforms. Develop products first, then platforms, then ecosystems. Take it one step at a time."

Jiang Feng nodded, pushed open the door, and went out.