The new generation of industrialists: roles and responsibilities

China's manufacturing sector is still undergoing a slow recovery.

In the past two years, there have been many voices denouncing China's manufacturing industry. A topic that is often discussed at the moment is: Can China's manufacturing industry continue to improve, and where should it go next? Can China's manufacturing enterprises successfully transform and upgrade in the new round of era change?

We can analyze it from the perspective of the general background of the times, or from the perspective of the industry itself or technology, but in the final analysis, the future of Made in China will depend on a new generation of young entrepreneurs. support. Looking back nearly 40 years after the reform and opening up, isn't the economic development led by the older generation of entrepreneurs such as Ren Zhengfei, Liu Chuanzhi, and Zong Qinghou to work together! Today, entrepreneurs of the previous generation are gradually retreating behind the scenes. In the new business transformation, a group of young and new faces are constantly stepping forward and becoming the main force in the current transformation of Made in China.

Let's call them For the new generation of industrialists, they are both self-made entrepreneurs and successors from family businesses, a group of people mainly born in the 1980s and 1990s. Dou Junsheng, deputy director of the Department of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, School of Management, Zhejiang University, said that compared with the new generation of the post-8090s, the first-generation entrepreneurs' entrepreneurship is often driven by survival, so their spirit of enduring hardships is often very strong. Only earn some hard-earned money, and they can still stick to it. At the same time, because they are all winners after the big waves, although they are grassroots, they often have strong learning ability and understanding, so they may have a slightly higher grasp of macro political and economic trends, as well as market sensitivity or sense of smell.

However, the new entrants are not without some advantages. They all have a good educational background, often receiving better education than the previous generation of entrepreneurs, and many of them have international education. background, which also gives them a more international perspective.

Up-and-coming

In the interview of "CEConline", Zhou Guangbing, Shao Yiqun, Chen Zhongda and Xing Wenjie all started their own businesses in the manufacturing field, while Xi Lei and Sun Lingfeng were in the manufacturing industry respectively. Successors to both family businesses, both born between 1980-1990. Although they are young, there may be a gap between their steadiness and the previous generation, but they are not superficial. Their entrepreneurial experience has also made these young talents show a sense of maturity beyond their own age. While seeking recognition, it also pays more attention to practicality and practicality. "Youth is just a label put on by the outside world," said Shao Yiqun, general manager of Shenzhen Tuonengyi Lithium Battery Technology Co., Ltd. This is the youngest interviewee. Born in 1990, she believes that behind this , relying more on personal attitude and ability.

Shao Yiqun, who entered the lithium battery industry for the first time, was in contact with customers who were older than him. However, as a post-90s generation, she did not show any timidity, but relying on her professional ability and seriousness. Attitude to win customers' trust and respect for her. At the start-up stage of the company, Shao Yiqun spent more than two years to follow up with a customer. "I have always insisted on contacting customers, and continued to pay attention to the dynamics of the other company. During this period, I will also discuss the other party's products and company strategies with customers, and provide customers with my own professional insights." This tenacity finally moved the other party. For Shao Yiqun, this is not just an order, but a recognition.

It is true that youth has undeniable advantages in the business process, whether it is personal energy and physical strength, drive and drive, learning ability, more open mind and other factors are relatively good; but another On the other hand, mature mentality, rich experience and industry accumulation all require time and experience, which is also a problem they cannot avoid.

Zhou Guangbing, born in 1980, is now the general manager of Shanghai Aloger Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. He entered the sensor industry to do foreign trade business in his early 20s. When he visited a client before starting a business, a senior who had been in the industry for nearly 20 years told him about the challenges of the industry and the confusion of the company, "After going deep into this industry, we will find that there are many things that we cannot do. Taking sensors as an example, China can only sell a few hundred yuan, while imported sensors will sell for thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan, but we have to use them, and the competitiveness of domestic sensors is greatly inferior by comparison. With expectations for China's future sensor industry and Zhou Guangbing, the senior said to Zhou Guangbing: "If you can persist in this industry for three years, I will invest in you to start a business."

From the perspective of capital, whether or not it is due to the overheating of the media, these new forces born in the 8090s have aroused strong interest in the capital market in recent years. However, in terms of investment logic, most of the capital is more inclined to product entrepreneurs, and value the entrepreneur's own experience and experience in the industry.

The difference in values between the two generations caused by age difference, life experience and thinking is also a problem they need to face. The father of Xi Lei, the general manager of Dongguan Zhenyuan Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., successfully runs a wire sheath plastic factory. Zhenyuan Electronic Technology was a wedding gift from his father when he got married in 2014. Xi Lei, who was born in 1988, had a different philosophy from his father. His father was opposed to foreign trade. "People who haven't met and chat on the Internet are unreliable. How can they do business for you? They are all liars. "So only do the domestic market.

The young Xi Lei can look at the world more leniently and believes that foreign trade business is easier to do than domestic business, there is no account period, and the settlement is fast. But the lack of experience also taught him a lesson, because he believed that an old customer easily agreed to the other party's deferred settlement without knowing the specific reasons, and did not consider the follow-up risks at all. Returning, being scolded by his father.

Because of a customer visit, Sun Lingfeng, vice president of Guangdong Henderson Metal Products Industry Co., Ltd., had a conflict with his father. His father hoped that Sun Lingfeng could call the person in charge of reception before the customer visited the factory and remind him to do Good on-site management, Sun Lingfeng asked his father, why did he remind him now? Sun Lingfeng didn't make the call, his father was very angry, but his father and the company's management went over and read it and were very satisfied. After the client's visit, his father went to Sun Lingfeng with questions, and he explained to his father, "What we have to do is not to remind him, but to make him think that it must be done, and that it is good for him. , instead of you ordering him to do it."

Sun Lingfeng believes that his father's generation prefers to do things by themselves, but it is impossible to do everything by themselves after the company is big; and the previous generation likes to do everything in one step. "I often tell my employees, I allow you to make mistakes, because if you make mistakes, you will do better next time, and I want you to have the heart to improve; instead of asking him to give me the perfect result right away, which in turn makes He has a learning mentality, he will do it automatically next time, and you don't need to worry about it, there is still a big difference between us and our parents."

In this regard, Dou Junsheng told "The World" According to the analysis of "Managers", the manufacturing enterprises led by the previous generation of entrepreneurs are often still in the stage of experience management, and some are already exploring the transition to a modern management system, but more may be learning and imitation. The new generation of entrepreneurs first came into contact with the modern western management system. Some of them actually worked in internationally renowned multinational companies and had practical experience, but at the same time they also knew its shortcomings, so they tended to look at it more rationally. The so-called modern management system, with a stronger kind of critical thinking to treat and analyze.

However, the hard-working spirit of the older generation is still highly admired by the new generation of industrialists. In the interview with "CEConline", these young talents are very recognized. The market position built by the hard work of a generation, the spirit of bravery, persistence, and steadfastness have become the key to their future learning. They generally believe that the new generation of industrialists, on the basis of their practical work style, have added some broader perspectives, are relatively active in thinking, and have a more personalized understanding of products, and have embarked on their own journey. segmented market.

Passion emerges

“I hope Made in China is no longer synonymous with cheap and inferior quality, I hope to tear off these labels!” Shao Yiqun said frankly. In the early days of the company's establishment, Shao Yiqun often encountered a very difficult problem. When some customers get the company's products, they ask why the products are not cheap, they think the products made in China should be cheap. "Actually, I'm very unhappy after hearing this. I think it's all in the past. Now made in China, both in terms of products and services, have improved a lot."

During his college days, when everyone around him was still immersed in campus life, Shao Yiqun began to consider the issue of employment after graduation. After careful analysis of his strengths and interests, he decided to devote himself to manufacturing. “I like real products, I see them coming out of my factory and I sell them, which makes me feel fulfilled. Plus, even in traditional manufacturing, you can discover There are many new models to do it, which is actually a very interesting thing." Compared with the seemingly illusory industries such as the Internet, finance, and real estate, she prefers real things.

Shao Yiqun thinks that when young people talk about entrepreneurship, they seem to be very enthusiastic and self-inflated, and feel that this is very unreliable and unstable. "What is the purpose of starting a business? It's not for the fake name of starting a business. We always have to do something. I don't say anything grand such as national rejuvenation. I just hope that our generation can change the world's perception of what is made in China. Impression. In the future, when everyone mentions made in China, they will feel that this is a guaranteed product, and naturally think of high specifications and high quality."

Sun Lingfeng, who has lived abroad for a long time, returned to China to help his father in recent years Taking care of the company together, I know more and more about the domestic situation, and I have more confidence in China's future. As long as the friends around me say how good abroad is, he will analyze the domestic situation to the other party, proving the current situation in China. It has also become better and better, making the other party feel his pride as a Chinese.

He often jokes with others: "Why does the Japanese toilet can wash the buttocks, how did you come up with it? Because in Japan there is a traditional ceramics industry, and there is also a high-tech electronics industry, two industries. The development is very good, and when combined, new products can be launched, and at the same time, some of the needs of human life can be solved." He believes that China also needs this thing, and Shunde, which has strong manufacturing capabilities, lacks innovation ability the most, while Shenzhen enterprises In contrast, the innovation ability is much stronger. If high-tech enterprises in Shenzhen cooperate with traditional manufacturing enterprises in Shunde, they can continue to launch more innovative products. China needs such cross-border cooperation in the future.

Dou Junsheng said that at this time, the sense of mission and dream played a very important role in their choice of direction. If it is a family business with its own clear core values and dreams, the 8090 generation as a family member has a strong sense of family mission, then sticking to the industry and transforming to high-end manufacturing will become a natural way for them to fulfill the family mission and realize the family dream But the pursuit.

Sun Lingfeng is a typical example. He grew up in Hong Kong and went to the UK when he was in middle school. He didn't return to Hong Kong until he graduated from graduate school and worked in an American company for a year, because his father's company was in There are more business in Japan, and I went to Japan to study Japanese for two years. In fact, his father has always encouraged him to choose his favorite major, but Sun Lingfeng felt that his father would definitely want to go back to help him manage the company one day. As an undergraduate, he chose electrical engineering, which has something in common with metal products, and a graduate student in business administration. . At that time, he thought of going back to work in his father's company one day, but he didn't want him to be unprepared when that day came. He hoped that when he went to the company, he would not simply study, but be able to contribute to the best of his ability. Do business and engineering well.

Sun Lingfeng started to go back to help his father because of a natural accident. In early March 2011, a large earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale occurred in Japan. The earthquake caused a nuclear leakage accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. , Sun Lingfeng returned to his father's company the day after the earthquake. Suddenly returning to China from Japan, he found that the on-site environmental management of the two factories is very different. That year, he began to set a goal for himself, to do a good job in the on-site management of the factory, and established the lean production 5S. At the same time, he hoped that through this change, people in the company would have a sense of identity with himself; with the in-depth understanding of the company, other problems were also exposed accordingly. In the second year, he set the goal to re-establish a complete set of training in the company. The system, going back and forth, Sun Lingfeng will set a goal for himself every year.

Shao Yiqun and Sun Lingfeng started from the perspective of personal ideals and industrial revitalization. Besides, many new-generation industrialists began to pay attention to the impact of their companies on the environment. The rapid development of China's economy has inevitably caused the deterioration of the environment. In recent years, the smog that has continuously attracted the attention of the whole people has made everyone realize this. "With regard to environmental protection, this is a responsibility that an enterprise and a manager must undertake." Xing Wenjie has attached great importance to the environmental protection responsibility of the company since the beginning of the company. He co-founded Jiangsu Deya Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., which is an enterprise that combines R&D and production of outdoor high-definition LCD digital signage with smart city information services. He is now the deputy general manager and one of the shareholders of this enterprise.

As the number of companies they deal with continues to increase, Xing Wenjie and his team found that many low-cost, low-efficiency companies still exist and occupy the market, and they disagree. However, when some enterprises invest a lot of human and financial resources and use advanced environmental protection technology and high-cost production capacity technology to produce, they are unable to defeat those low-cost, crude and original technology production enterprises in price competition. "Because the price basis of competition between the two is different, this goes against the principle of fair competition in business, and will also set back the development of conscientious enterprises that support environmental protection and de-capacity."

But Xing Wenjie chose to undertake, The concept of environmental protection has now been absorbed into the company's guiding strategy by the management team. He hopes that the company can influence customers with environmental protection values and gain everyone's approval. When choosing suppliers and customers, they will require the other party's production equipment and waste discharge indicators to meet the relevant national standards, and require the other party to hold the corresponding qualification certificate.

It can be found that this generation of young industrialists has a very obvious brand of the times. They advocate equality, democracy, and even some idealism, but at the same time they also pay more attention to efficiency and corporate responsibility, and are more daring. keep trying.

On the way forward

In the past two years, the news of factory closures has come one after another in China's manufacturing provinces: several thousand manufacturing enterprises in Dongguan went bankrupt, and traditional manufacturing enterprises in Wenzhou went bankrupt. Every day in the industry, companies are dying, and many manufacturing companies across the country are facing a crisis of trust...

Such examples can go on and on, from the supply-side reforms introduced by the Chinese government in the past two years and " The "Made in China 2025" policy also shows that China's manufacturing industry, which was developed by relying on mid-to-low-end industries in the past, is coming to an end, and changes and upgrades are necessary.

However, this transformation cannot be completed in a short time, and the burden of the future will undoubtedly fall on the shoulders of the new generation of 8090 generation. Dou Junsheng pointed out that this stage just happened to meet them. From this perspective, their transfer to the high end of the industrial chain is a specific evolutionary stage in a regional manufacturing or industrial development process. For the new generation of entrepreneurs, they often have a more international perspective, a more systematic knowledge structure, and a specialized technical background, which help them find their own unique position faster and effectively build its own characteristics.

Chen Zhongda, born in 1984, worked as an agent for more than ten years before he started a manufacturing plant. He deeply understands that the current market is full of unbranded and low-quality earphones. Chen Zhongda has been asking himself a question: China actually has the ability to manufacture brands, but why is there not one of the internationally renowned earphone brands from China?

This is indeed what Chinese enterprises lack at present. The ability of enterprise promotion is very low. Chinese enterprises are still not doing enough in international brand promotion; , The single-minded thinking is solved by promotion, and the result is more and more dead. On New Year's Day in 2015, Chen Zhongda established his own company, Dongguan Yunshi Electronics Co., Ltd., focusing on making small wired earphones and focusing on the high-end market. He decided to make moving iron earphones. He hoped that the company could become China's moving iron earphones within three years. Top brand. Such a goal makes him have extremely strict requirements for quality. He has set up 8 testing procedures, 20 sets of special equipment for electro-acoustic device testers, and the price of one set is close to 30,000 yuan. , to ensure quality. At the beginning of production, the employees are always 600,000 years old. The production supervisor thinks that the strict requirements for quality are nitpicking. If you propose to improve the quality, it will increase the cost. Chen Zhongda said: "How much do you need to increase the cost? Plus, improve quality at all costs."

Shao Yiqun also positioned its products in the mid-to-high-end market segment, and resolutely refused to take the popular and low-cost route of Chinese manufacturing. Even in the traditional industry of lithium batteries, she always insists on trying to explore new models to add more added value to products. And cost is indeed a big problem for the manufacturing industry. In the past, you could make money by building factories in China, but now more and more companies are placing factories in lower-cost countries such as India, Vietnam, and Mexico, that is, in China. There is basically no cost advantage to build a factory, and the original development path of the low-end industry has no market.

Xing Wenjie is not overly worried about the difficulties faced by China's manufacturing industry. He said frankly: "Because the company is not a traditional manufacturing enterprise, the negative impact on the production process is not so violent. However, under the fierce market competition, the company must innovate to stabilize its position. The company currently focuses more on and investment in R&D to provide customers with customized solutions. For example, some customers need to publish relevant information on digital signage. Although it is easy to purchase some hardware in the domestic market, what customers need is a customized set of The software comes to match their content." Seeing this situation, Xing Wenjie provides customized software services for hardware devices, which solves the pain points of many enterprises.

Zhou Guangbing did not say whether the predecessor invested in his sensor company later, and now they have given up many OEM orders and basically transformed into their own brand. When transforming into independent research and development, Zhou Guangbing was also confused about business operations. "About the company's investment in R&D and design of products, some people may ask, what is the significance of doing this, and will there be prospects in the future? At the beginning, I was shaken and doubted what I was doing. But after this period of hesitation, I think the generation born in the 1980s is also a middle force in the society and should be responsible. After we figure this out, we will continue to invest in product research and development to improve product quality.”

Zhou Guangbing believes that the lack of R&D and design capabilities For manufacturing enterprises, the challenges it faces will become larger and larger, and the probability of being eliminated is also relatively high. "Taking Foxconn as an example, they have been very successful in processing, but now they are also helping customers with designs. These are all inspirations for us. As a company that focuses on R&D and design, we will always focus on investing in this area and take technology as the basis. Orientation.”

In response to this phenomenon, Dou Junsheng pointed out that both the supply-side reform and the Made in China 2025 plan are very good opportunities for the new generation of entrepreneurs, because they will allow the entire Chinese manufacturing industry The industry is gradually realizing that the future development trend is no longer low-end disorderly competition, or blind price competition, and the new generation of entrepreneurs are more sensitive to global new things or technological trends, so in technological innovation-driven entrepreneurship Opportunity identification and development are often stronger.

Let's go back to the story of Xi Lei, who took over Zhenyuan Electronics from his father in 2014, and Xi Lei's road was not very smooth. "Wherever you fall, you can get up. At least you don't have to worry about the family's living expenses. Dad can still afford it." After being scolded by his father, Xi Lei was forgiven by his father. Xi Lei made 1 million and 2 million in 2014 and 2015 respectively. In 2016, he had done 6 million in business, but because he trusted customers, the 1.6 million in arrears also fell through with the other party's bankruptcy. Had to adopt austerity policy, the number of employees was reduced from 130 to more than 60, and it took a high salary of 300,000 to retain the head of production.

Although Xi Lei learned a lesson from this failure, learned about some business traps lurking on the road, and discovered the importance of talents and management, he still did not plan to invest money to strengthen management or management. equipment. Because he himself has not yet figured out what to do next, he hopes to use the opportunity of this business contraction and rectification to figure out the future path.

It is true that the new generation of industrialists, as the company's final decision makers and team leaders, are faced with a very challenging job that requires extremely high comprehensive ability, a deep understanding of the industry, Excellent management skills, but also a little understanding of basic common sense in all aspects, but it is still difficult for many new-generation industrialists to have the above conditions at the same time. In the face of fierce market competition, if they are still in a stage of urgent improvement, without strong learning ability and amazing adjustment speed, it will be difficult for them to control the fast-moving carriage of the company. This is also a big challenge for this new generation of industrialists in the future.

Dou Junsheng added that the main challenge faced by the new generation of entrepreneurs may be caused by a path dependence or inertia inherent in the structural imbalance, and the difficulty of changing the system, mechanism and cultural elements may be much higher than that. The difficulty of retrofitting hardware facilities.

Figure / Devin