Chapter 7 Chapter 1 Strategic Priorities

American futurist Alvin Toffler said: "A company without a strategy is like an airplane flying in bad weather. There is also the risk of running out of fuel!” Throughout Suning’s 20-year growth history, especially when focusing on those important turning points in Suning’s growth history, it is not difficult to find that strategic drive is the basic growth model of Suning, and strategic priority is Suning’s One of the key factors of success. As a private enterprise, Suning has rapidly grown from an air-conditioning store of less than 200 square meters to a large chain enterprise with more than 150,000 employees. Today's industry leader, along the way, Suning has become the No. 1 enterprise in China's commercial retail business and the No. 2 private enterprise in China.Suning's rapid growth reflects the rapid development of China's economy and the rapid growth of Chinese private enterprises in the process of reform and opening up.

When Suning started its business in 1990, the supply of color TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines in China's home appliance market was in short supply, and they were selling well, especially color TVs.How should Suning choose its own market positioning?Of course I hope to sell color TVs.But at that time, selling color TVs required planning indicators, and buying color TVs required color TV tickets.Zhang Jindong once said about his entry into the industry at the beginning of his business: "I very much hope that I can sell color TVs, but color TVs were very nervous at the time. Buying color TVs requires a ticket. Domestic color TV sales are mainly through state-owned commercial channels. Imported color TVs require Relying on overseas relations." Although they are all home appliances, air conditioners are expensive and consume a lot of electricity. Whether it is a one-time investment or long-term use, it is far beyond the consumption capacity of ordinary consumers. It is a luxury, which makes consumers "Keep it at arm's length", although the market is small, you don't need an air-conditioned ticket to buy it.Therefore, Zhang Jindong had no choice but to "give up the heat and seek the cold" and specialized in air conditioners that were considered "luxury" at the time.This is not to say that Zhang Jindong's choice is completely passive or random.The reason why he chose air-conditioning instead of entering other industries is because he has his own insight and judgment on the future development of the air-conditioning market.

A few years later, Suning has developed into a leader in China's home electronics industry.The author once asked Zhang Jindong specifically about this matter, and he said: "I am not willing to follow the trend in doing things. I do what other people do, or I am still a bit adventurous. Nanjing, the 'stove' The midsummer heat in Nanjing is unbearable and there is nowhere to escape. Everyone wants a cool world. Although it was difficult to buy air conditioners with the economic income of most residents at that time, hospitals, scientific research institutes, and computer rooms of enterprises and institutions And some high-income residents already have a realistic demand for air conditioners. I feel that with the improvement of residents' income levels, air conditioners will definitely have a large market in the future. As the saying goes, "If you want to sail a big ship, you must wade in deep water." A large market means more opportunities. When others didn’t pay attention, I quietly took the lead in entering, and when others found out and followed up, I had become bigger and could accomplish a lot.” Zhang Jindong’s industry selection thinking is similar to that of today’s investment masters and masters in the stock market. Shares are very similar.The success of this approach depends on vision and mentality-whether you can discover potential stocks, and whether you can endure loneliness.

Hammer, a famous strategic management scientist, divides companies into three types: rule makers, rule receivers, and rule breakers.The first type is the market leader in their industry, who is the biggest beneficiary of vested interests under the existing rules; the second type is the market followers who surrender to the strong, they have to endure the pain of following the rules, and try to share the existing rules The third category is not bound by traditional rules and is not willing to be a follower who swallows. They dare to take risks, collide with old rules, seek breakthroughs, and create new rules at the right time, becoming a force full of vitality in the market.

Air conditioners are seasonal products, which poses a problem for manufacturers and sellers: they cannot be sold in the off-season, and a large amount of inventory leads to a shortage of funds; and in the peak season, there is a shortage of supply due to insufficient production in the off-season.At that time, the sales of air conditioners were basically monopolized by state-owned stores, and they usually started to get goods in the peak season in March every year. This made life difficult for manufacturers in the off-season that lasted for several months, but it could not change the status quo.According to this situation, Zhang Jindong pioneered the "off-season payment and ordering" model, and paid a deposit to place a large number of orders in the off-season, so that the manufacturer has working capital and can continue production.Moreover, the procurement cost of spare parts in the off-season is low, and Suning can still get a very low purchase price. In the peak sales season, wouldn't the price be invincible with the low price and sufficient supply?Therefore, since 1991, Suning has paid the factory in advance every year during the off-season, and worked hand in hand with the manufacturer to advance and retreat together. Suning's advance payment reached 100 million yuan at the highest.

Formulating industry rules has always been the patent of the strong, while the weak and latecomers are accustomed to learning, obeying and waiting, and dare not go beyond the threshold.However, as a latecomer and weak player in the air-conditioning industry at that time, Zhang Jindong quietly changed the rules of the game in the industry without the knowledge of his powerful competitors, established a brand-new cooperation model with manufacturers, and unknowingly overwhelmed his opponents. Some competitive advantages vanished.It is precisely because of the industry's innovative model of "ordering in off-season and paying in off-season" that Suning was able to stand out in the classic business war of "eight major shopping malls besieging Suning" that broke out in 1993 and caused a sensation all over the country.Moreover, since then, the innovative gene has been implanted into Suning's "body".

Market first or service first?When most people choose to do the market first and then the service, Suning chooses to do the service first and then the market.On the surface, there is no difference between the two, because both are doing the same thing, but the sequence is different.However, the subtlety and difference lies in the order in which things are done.Do the market first, and the service will follow the sales. I will provide the service after you buy something. Often the service can’t keep up with the sales, and finally drag the sales. Customers are anxious, think about all the after-sales problems, prepare the solutions, and then do sales. In this way, service can not only become a strong support for sales, but also sometimes directly stimulate sales, and even the service itself becomes a sales force. one of the contents.

In the early days of the business, when everyone was fighting for supply and price cuts, Zhang Jindong firmly believed that the essence of the retail industry, especially the home appliance retail industry, was service.When colleagues in the industry are looking for third-party companies to undertake services in order to save money and management troubles, he clearly stated that "service is the only product of Suning". Every time Suning enters a city, it is "the store is not open, service first"-enter the community to clean range hoods and stoves for residents, and repair air conditioners for free, and move customers who are unfamiliar with Suning with sincere services.Therefore, the Suning trademark has become the first famous service trademark in the domestic retail chain industry.Wherever Suning goes, service has become its most basic and important competitive advantage, which is second to none in the industry.

With the advancement of Suning's nationwide chain stores, the express train of Suning's "Sunshine Service" has opened all the way from Nanjing to Beijing, from Shanghai to Xi'an, and from Shenzhen to Urumqi... Suning not only opened chain stores across the country, but also built a synchronous A unique service network.It is reported that Suning currently has 10,000 junior installation engineers, 5,000 intermediate installation engineers, 1,500 senior installation engineers, 5,000 maintenance technicians, 2,000 second-level maintenance technicians, 700 first-level maintenance technicians, 500 maintenance engineers, and senior maintenance engineers. With 300 members, this professional team is still growing and maturing.

A research report published by "Harvard Business Review" in 1996 pointed out: "Come again" customers can bring 25% to 85% of the company's profits, and among the factors that attract them to "come again", the first is service quality good or bad. Services allow Suning to take the lead in the increasingly homogeneous competition in the industry. Today, home appliance chain stores have spread all over China's large and medium-sized cities, and are entering the vast rural market.If you want to ask who is the founder of China's home appliance chain, ordinary consumers, including many people in the industry, may not think of Suning who has been keeping a low profile, keeping a low profile and focusing on development.

In 1993, after the famous "small sampan" battle against the "United Fleet", Suning became the overlord of China's air conditioners.However, soon after, the situation suddenly changed, and Suning faced new challenges: the supply of home appliances in the Chinese market went from being in short supply to exceeding demand. In spite of this, it initiated the reform of the market channel model, proposed to "control the terminal and realize the flat channel", segment the market, directly penetrate into the secondary and tertiary markets, and even directly build terminals; on the other hand, consumers are interested in The requirements for richness of goods, comprehensiveness, speed and economy of services are increasing day by day.In this context, the traditional forward logistics from the producer to the consumer becomes the reverse logistics from the consumer to the producer. Faced with the transformation of the market structure where "terminals are king", Zhang Jindong keenly discovered that only large-scale store openings can adapt to the expansion of the scale of upstream production enterprises, and only chain development can meet the needs of consumers everywhere.Therefore, Suning took the lead in adjusting and changing its business model to adapt to the market. On the one hand, it seized the opportunity of the melee in the air-conditioning industry and the continuous entry of new brands, and constantly developed new partners to maintain its traditional wholesale business advantages; , The successful experience of Japanese home appliance chain companies, combined with China's national conditions and industry development characteristics, repositioned its overseas offices, shifted from wholesale business to retail business, and transformed some offices into subsidiaries. Set up retail specialty stores in localities, try chain operation, take the road of chain monopoly, and make the retail business bigger and stronger. In February 1996, Suning held a high-level meeting, and Zhang Jindong officially made a strategic transformation decision: from the "wholesale center of gravity" to the "retail center of gravity", and tried chain operations.By October 2010, the number of Suning chain stores had reached 1,300. The chain operation pioneered by Suning has triggered the reform of China's home appliance industry, and chain operation has become the mainstream of the development of the entire industry. When chain operation became the mainstream and the only choice for the development of China's home appliance companies, the labor-intensive basic characteristics and the rapid development of the entire industry resulted in a lack of mature talents with rich experience and professional knowledge, which became almost all home appliance chain stores. The bottleneck of enterprise development and the troubles that are difficult to solve.In this regard, many companies are used to adopting the previous practice of recruiting or even hiring headhunting companies to dig out so-called talents from the society.However, the actual effect of this old idea and old method is not satisfactory.This is because it is not only difficult for people who come in this way to meet the requirements of the enterprise in terms of professional quality and skills, but also their various ideologies, values, and ways of thinking will also cause huge impacts and challenges to the corporate culture, making it difficult to integrate and manage. Zhang Jindong believes that the core of chain operation is to "copy" one's own business management model. The success of chain operation depends on whether the "copy" is out of shape, the speed of "copy", and the cost of "copy".Among them, the most important thing is the need for a large number of standardized and professional talents.Among them, standardization not only refers to their professional skills, but also includes their values ​​and ways of thinking.Based on such thinking, Suning decided to start implementing the "1200 Project" in 2002, establish its own unique "talent factory", and introduce 1,200 college students at one time. Through the customized production line of talents, comprehensive, systematic and professional training, Build them into the vanguard and talent cluster of Suning's chain business.This pioneering and leading talent strategy in the industry has made Suning's chain "copiers" more powerful, and the speed of "copying" faster.By October 2010, 18,000 college students had been rebuilt by Suning's "talent factory" and entered into various systems of Suning, becoming the backbone of Suning's development.It can be said that Suning's ability to become the industry leader and leave competitors far behind is due to the large-scale customized talent development strategy represented by the "1200 Project". Suning went public in 2004, and in the following years, Suning has been playing a catch-up role in the industry. In 2009, Suning surpassed its rivals for the first time and won the industry champion. In 2010, it further expanded its advantages. It is expected to open 400 new chain stores throughout the year and accelerate its development. Experts believe that Suning's success has benefited from its endogenous growth - connotative development strategy. After 2005, in order to achieve a large scale and maintain the advantage of the number of stores in Suning, the peers carried out continuous mergers and acquisitions, achieving a leapfrog growth in the number of stores and business area.Suning, on the other hand, focused its attention and resources on the construction of back-office systems and capabilities such as logistics distribution, after-sales service, and information engineering. On the other hand, it carried out drastic changes within the enterprise and implemented refined management.In a word, immerse yourself in practicing inner strength.Although during this period, Suning was under considerable pressure from the fame and sensational effect of its peers, but Zhang Jindong remained unmoved and insisted on the development path of connotative growth. In fact, as early as 2005, when Suning completed the network layout of the first-level key cities in the country, Zhang Jindong clearly put forward the management idea of ​​"the background determines the front" and "efficiency determines the benefit" at Suning's internal meeting, and warned Suning's Cadres and employees: "Scale is very important, and the number of stores is also very important, but these two things are not always important. What is always important is the internal things, the back-end system and the talent system, and the company's values." After more than three years of hard work, in 2008, Zhang Jindong, who has always been low-key, announced with confidence: In three years, Suning will lead the home appliance industry in China.And Zhang Jindong's self-confidence comes from Suning's connotative growth strategy.Today, people see that Zhang Jindong's words have become reality. Large-scale home appliance chains will generate massive information flows. Whether the information can be collected and processed in a timely, correct and efficient manner directly affects and determines the efficiency and effectiveness of the operation and management of home appliance chain enterprises, and even the success or failure of enterprises. Practice has proved that the scale boundary and efficiency boundary of a home appliance chain enterprise depend on the enterprise's information support ability.In this sense, the level of informatization determines how big and strong a home appliance chain enterprise can be. Just as the nature and level of labor tools are the signs of the stage of human evolution and development, the level of informatization means and level indicates that the home appliance chain enterprises are in different business eras. Zhang Jindong began to pay attention to the informatization of enterprises very early.In the early days of its business, many companies in the same industry were still in the abacus era, but Suning had realized computerized accounting and entered the computer era. After launching a large-scale chain, Suning was the first to invest in the development and application of a customized ERP system. Since then, this system has been imitated or even directly used by many peers in the industry. In 2006, Suning invested heavily and cooperated with the world management information software giants SAP and IBM to implement an unprecedented and large-scale information project in the retail industry, which established Suning's absolute leading position in the industry's information level in one fell swoop.The informatization project has brought about a radical change in Suning, recreating a brand new Suning.Supported by the huge advantages formed by informatization, Suning has formed multi-faceted synergistic competitive advantages in procurement, logistics, distribution, after-sales, customer service, and store management, and easily achieved the goal of surpassing itself, surpassing competitors, and leading the industry. Informatization is like a ladder, allowing Suning to reach new heights. An enterprise is a large system composed of many subsystems organically combined.How an enterprise develops and whether it is competitive is not determined by the function and status of a single subsystem, but by the synergy of these subsystems. For home appliance chain companies, people usually only pay attention to their visible side, mainly chain stores, including the number of stores, business scale, product categories, store furnishings, advertising promotions, etc.; rarely notice the invisible side , including procurement, logistics distribution, after-sales, customer service, human resources, financial management, etc. In fact, the invisible system of home appliance chain enterprises is much larger than the visible system, and the management is more complicated.As the types of products operated by home appliance chain enterprises become more and more extensive, the service content becomes more and more abundant, the requirements become higher and higher, and the storefronts become more and more scattered, the specialized division of labor and cooperation of each subsystem becomes more and more important.Each subsystem must not only become stronger and bigger to fully play its role, but also must form a good support and cooperation with other subsystems, that is, synergy. It is precisely based on the above understanding that Suning has been committed to the coordinated development of various systems to give full play to the synergistic effect.As early as the beginning of its business, while striving to expand store sales, Suning invested in the establishment of its own after-sales service system to form a balanced and coordinated development of store sales and off-store services. In 2002, Suning carried out the construction of national chain operation in an all-round way, and clearly stated that the construction of "four major terminals: storefront, after-sales, logistics, and customer service" should go hand in hand, support each other, and develop together. In 2003, when Suning Chain Store faced the bottleneck of talent shortage, it immediately launched a large-scale customized talent development project represented by "Project 1200", forming a unique talent flow production line with Suning characteristics.Batches of high-quality talents have been "produced" and enriched into various systems. In 2006, when the rapid expansion of Suning's stores, business categories, and business regions led to a sharp increase in the complexity of management, Suning immediately launched a large-scale informatization project, using information systems to liberate human brains and hands, which not only improved efficiency , It also greatly reduces the risks in operation, and also greatly improves the management capabilities of multiple systems such as logistics, after-sales, human resources, and finance. The coordinated development and synergistic effects of multiple systems have enabled Suning to have a strong comprehensive competitiveness.As Zhang Jindong said, Suning needs to compete with competitors on different platforms, and the improvement and conversion of competitive platforms just put forward higher requirements for enterprises: they must have comprehensive competitiveness, otherwise they will lose their qualifications for the competition, let alone win . In the journey of national chain expansion, when it comes to the use of mergers and acquisitions, Suning seems to be a bystander in the eyes of the outside world. Some people think that Suning's strength is not enough, and they dare not go head-to-head, and participate in the battle for mergers and acquisitions; others think that Suning's participation in mergers and acquisitions is just a test.Suning will not respond to all kinds of speculation and comments. Since 2009, Suning has continuously and decisively acquired Laox, an old Japanese home appliance chain company, and Hong Kong Laser, which is quite different from the previous style.Many people are very confused about this. At a small media exchange meeting, Zhang Jindong answered frankly and in detail: "The international expansion we are doing now and the accelerated expansion of domestic stores have actually been planned a few years ago. Carry out the progress according to the plan. Frankly speaking, Suning did not have the strength to win those mergers and acquisitions back then, but we were more rational and strictly adhered to the principle of "value mergers and acquisitions". The value in the future strategy, as well as the investment of time and other resources required for integration after our acquisition. The acquisition of Laox and Hong Kong Laser aims to explore the development trend of international home appliance retail models and consumption through the establishment of these two overseas windows. Understand various issues such as local culture, laws, customs, etc. This can not only accumulate knowledge, experience and talents for Suning to carry out large-scale international operations in the future, but also provide practical learning for the development of domestic chains.” After Suning merged and acquired the above two companies, they took advantage of Suning's mature management system to quickly integrate them, and the performance of both companies has been rapidly improved. For many years, people have been accustomed to comparing shopping malls to battlefields, turning commercial activities that could bring people material and spiritual enjoyment into bloody business wars.Under such a thinking and psychology, there is only a life-and-death relationship between people and enterprises, which is more than one and less than the other. The competition in China's home appliance industry has always been fierce. Words such as "blocking", "shopping", and "fierce fighting" often appear in media reports or advertisements of manufacturers and merchants. Suning is in the arena. Although it is difficult to be alone, Zhang Jindong has always hoped to build a business ecosystem with Chinese characteristics through the concept and actions of win-win cooperation: manufacturers cooperate sincerely to jointly optimize the industry. Value chain, co-creation and sharing; civilized competition among merchants, jointly maintaining industry order and interests, promoting industry development, and sharing the achievements of industry development; between merchants and consumers, merchants provide honest and high-quality services, and consumers consume rationally and civilized Consumption.In the end, the benign interaction of "production", "business" and "consumption" will jointly push market competition into a new era of modern commercial civilization. As early as the early days of Suning’s business, Zhang Jindong paid off-season payments. While helping upstream manufacturers get rid of off-season difficulties, he also benefited a lot from the price of supply. This can be described as a sincere cooperation among Chinese home appliance manufacturers. Create and share classics. Around 1996, when upstream home appliance manufacturers, for the purpose of controlling market terminals, flattened their channels and threatened the survival interests of channel providers like Suning, Suning still insisted on the concept and actions of professional division of labor and win-win cooperation. be resolved.Zhang Jindong did not simply blame upstream manufacturers or directly confront them, but reflected on what value he, as a distributor, could embody in the new market environment, and these values ​​must be necessary and irreplaceable for upstream manufacturers.Therefore, Suning decided to "from wholesale to retail, and start a nationwide chain operation."Facts have proved that it is the rise of the chain operation format represented by Suning that has formed a new downstream circulation system that meets the requirements of the integration and large-scale development of upstream home appliance manufacturing enterprises.The industrial value chain among manufacturers has been fully expanded and improved, and China's home appliance industry has ushered in a period of great development. In 2006, Suning completed a large-scale and high-level informatization project. Suning immediately used informatization as a platform to seamlessly connect with upstream manufacturers, which greatly improved the operational efficiency of the manufacturer's supply chain, and both manufacturers benefited a lot from it.At the same time, Suning also fully mines the massive information it owns, analyzes consumer needs with manufacturers, and discusses product development together, which greatly improves the speed and pertinence of manufacturers' product development.For small and medium-sized manufacturers with low levels of informatization, Suning took the initiative to open a special information platform to help them realize seamless connection with Suning and drive them to improve their own informatization level. In 2009, Suning acquired Laox, a veteran home appliance chain enterprise in Japan, and Laser in Hong Kong. Zhang Jindong repeatedly emphasized on different occasions that he hoped that domestic home appliance manufacturers could make full use of Suning’s overseas bridgehead to enter the international market. Suning is very willing to cooperate with domestic home appliance manufacturers. On the journey to enter the international market, we will go hand in hand, support each other, and jointly expand and strengthen China's home appliance industry.The good news is that in October 2010, Suning's Hong Kong Laser Appliances announced that domestic home appliance brand products such as Midea and Haier have entered laser stores for sale. When the competition in the industry was disorderly and caught in the quagmire of price wars, Suning proposed not to fight price wars, but to fight value wars, because behind the low prices, the real value that consumers should have received was sacrificed.Therefore, Suning still invests huge sums of money to strengthen the construction of the four terminal systems of stores, logistics, after-sales and customer service, so as to provide consumers with more accurate delivery time, required product information and more considerate nanny-style services. Building a business ecosystem together - win-win cooperation, Suning is working hard to turn ideas and ideals into reality, and Suning's own development is a strong proof that it has benefited a lot from it. Regarding the formulation of corporate strategies, monographs on strategic management and MBA textbooks have already given many standardized models and conclusions. It feels as if strategies are formulaic products one by one, just like solving equations, and inserting specific parameters. , the corresponding result will come out.Looking at it from another perspective, just like KFC fast food, under the same process and standards, KFC fast food restaurants all over the world, whether in Iceland in the northern hemisphere or Australia in the southern hemisphere, have the same products and taste. Such a strategy may be logical, but it is mechanical or "dead" because it lacks a soul. Formulating strategy is the primary job of an entrepreneur, because he is the soul of the enterprise, and the strategy of the enterprise needs to be given soul by him, and even the strategy itself is initiated by him. In reality, even if two companies adopt the same strategy, if the soul of the strategy is different, there will be deviations in the strategy implementation process, and the final results will be far different.What kind of soul an entrepreneur gives to a corporate strategy, or what kind of strategy an entrepreneur formulates, depends on his values, life experience, way of thinking, personality, and even understanding. What kind of soul did Zhang Jindong give to Suning's strategy?What kind of influence and role did Zhang Jindong play in the formulation and implementation of Suning's strategy? What can a cup of coffee bring you?nice feeling?Cozy enjoyment?However, what it brought to Zhang Jindong was an unforgettable business experience, which eventually evolved into Suning's core competitiveness positioning. In the late 1980s, Zhang Jindong and three companions went to Shanghai for a business trip.After finishing their work, they decided to drink coffee in order to experience the fashionable life in Greater Shanghai.As soon as they walked to the door of a high-end coffee shop, a beautiful welcome lady greeted them with a smile: "Hi, sir! Inside please—" Stepping into the coffee shop, immediately, a burst of mellow coffee smelled in the nostrils.The welcoming lady led them to a table next to a green plant, and as soon as they sat down, the waiter enthusiastically brought four glasses of fresh lemonade, and gently placed a glass in front of each person.The music in the coffee shop is soft and soothing, and the lighting is soft. Together with the richly layered walls and ceilings, they create a very comfortable environment, allowing them to relax after a day of running around. Zhang Jindong and the others ordered a cup of coffee each.When the waiter makes coffee, he first fills the coffee cup with boiling water, waits for the coffee to be cooked, then pours out the water, and then carefully fills the coffee for each person.With such a cup for coffee, the coffee will not get cold in a short time.Sipping mellow coffee, listening to soft music, and looking at the exquisitely arranged surroundings, Zhang Jindong and the others were intoxicated by it.An hour later, Zhang Jindong took out the bill to pay the bill, and there was actually 100 yuan written on the bill.Zhang Jindong’s comfort and pleasure just now disappeared all of a sudden: “Why is it so expensive?” Zhang Jindong was very surprised, but he still paid the bill silently. Although his heart ached to death, you know, these cups of coffee cost him almost one. multiple months' salary. On the way back, Zhang Jindong kept thinking why coffee was so expensive, and a cup cost more than 20 yuan.In terms of materials, it is worth a few yuan at most, and what is the other money spent on?He couldn't figure it out for a while, but when he looked back, he realized carefully that the smiles and soft words of the coffee shop waiters made people feel very good, and the environment and atmosphere were also very special, giving people a noble experience, which was by no means a common experience on the street. Two yuan a cup of sour plum soup drinking while standing in the street is comparable.Although it costs a lot, the coffee is worth it!This "value" made Zhang Jindong suddenly understand that the other ten yuan is the value of the service!Because people not only need material possessions, but also spiritual satisfaction.This cup of coffee made him realize the importance and value of service for the first time. At the beginning of Suning's business, it mainly distributed air conditioners.An air conditioner is not like a TV, which can be used immediately upon purchase. It involves a professional installation process, and lacks the installation process. It can only be said that consumers are buying "semi-finished products."At that time, many people reported that after buying an air conditioner, they had to wait for factory personnel to come to install it, sometimes for ten days and half a month. This backward service became a major bottleneck restricting the development of the air conditioner market.From the distress of consumers, Zhang Jindong also thought of his previous experience of drinking coffee in Shanghai, and realized that service is valuable and is the other half of business success. From the perspective of the development trend of the home appliance industry, service is the home appliance enterprise. The basis of survival.Because, only by providing high-quality services and value-added services can we move customers and win business. Suning, which has just started, although not rich in financial resources and manpower, Zhang Jindong still insists on doing self-operated services, using a professional service team to provide consumers with timely, formal and professional after-sales services, and has made great progress in service details. Strict regulations, such as the "four nos" of door-to-door service-don't eat a sip of food from users, don't drink a sip of water from users, don't smoke a cigarette from users, and don't charge users a penny. When everyone said that Suning sells electrical appliances, Zhang Jindong said: "We don't sell electrical appliances, we sell services attached to electrical appliances. Services are Suning's only products." This differentiation strategy is for Suning It has won the reputation of "sincerity and sincerity, Suning service", and the small store has created a miracle of sales of 60 million yuan and net profit of 10 million yuan in one year.This allowed Zhang Jindong to truly experience the value of service. From then on, Zhang Jindong began to build systematic service capabilities in Suning, and established a service orientation for Suning's brand and social image.Suning started from service, is service-oriented, and pursues the concept of great service, that is, serving consumers, serving suppliers, serving partners, and serving employees. With the continuous expansion of the chain scale and the continuous increase in investment in the construction of software and hardware for the service system, Suning strives for excellence and has formulated more than 500 written documents involving various aspects such as quality management manuals and work instructions.After 20 years of practice and development, the experience and thinking that a cup of coffee brought to Zhang Jindong has become the core competitiveness of Suning to become bigger and stronger. No matter in Dingjiaqiao, Huaihai Road, or the current Shanxi Road, there is always a special scene in Zhang Jindong's office, that is a pot of bonsai. Or a small old tree rises from the ground in a pot. Although the trunk has been carved with cracks over the years, it is vigorous and powerful, with few leaves, but it is full of vitality.Stare at it for a moment, and you will feel the tenacity and tension of life rushing to your face. Or in a deep mountain valley, a few mountain flowers are in full bloom on the cliff, full of spring; on the edge of the cliff, an old man sits on a stone and plays the piano, and the sound of the piano is melodious. Or two towering peaks like a knife and an axe, with a small and exquisite stone bridge like a rainbow in the middle.The hiking trails circling among the mountains meander upwards, like a ladder straight into the clouds, without end, which is pleasing to the eye and makes people think about it. Bonsai is a silent poem, a silent song, a three-dimensional painting, and it is a vast world carved by people. Bonsai is generally considered to be a pleasure for the leisure class.As an entrepreneur, Zhang Jindong is very busy working from morning to night. Why is he so obsessed with the beauty of bonsai? Every time he faced such a question, Zhang Jindong either smiled lightly or kept silent.The author had the honor to conduct an in-depth interview with Zhang Jindong this time, and his high-level discussion on "the beauty of bonsai and the beauty of enterprises" can be regarded as the answer to the mystery. Zhang Jindong said that in the process of appreciating bonsai, he realized many principles of running a business. It can be said that the beauty of bonsai and the beauty of business are interlinked. The beauty of bonsai lies first in its artistic conception.The artistic conception here is actually the projection of human ideals on the landscape, stones and trees in the bonsai, and is reflected by them.Entrepreneurs who start a business actually place their own ideals on it, and hope that their ideals will be realized by making the business bigger, stronger, and better step by step.Many people simply think that the sense of achievement and satisfaction of entrepreneurs comes from the possession and possession of money and wealth. This is incorrect, at least one-sided, and the realization of ideals is the greatest satisfaction pursued by entrepreneurs.Of course, the ideals of entrepreneurs are divided into realms, and the artistic conception of bonsai is also different. From the point of view that beauty can bring people satisfaction, sculpture, viewing bonsai and running a business are the same. The beauty of bonsai lies in the design.Beauty has an internal structure and proportion requirements, and is orderly and standard.The difference between a tree in a bonsai and a tree in the wild is that the former has been designed and pruned by people, and this process is carried out according to the author's thoughts, aesthetic concepts and tastes, and what it finally reflects is a kind of natural beauty. The combination of artificial beauty and artificial beauty; the latter is natural, random, and even barbaric. Although it is original, it does not necessarily meet people's subjective expectations.So when we go outing, we seldom leave any specific feeling and impression of beauty on the trees in the wild. 一个企业家能把企业做成什么样，除了取决于他的理想和境界，还取决于他对企业的设计，比如企业的战略规划、体制机制、管理模式、组织架构、流程制度，都是需要设计的。他不能对此不闻不问，放任自流。一家好的企业一定是有目标、有制度、有执行力的企业。 盆景之美还在于创意。我们很少看到两个完全一样的盆景，因为盆景的制作者有着不同的审美情趣与创意构思，所以有所谓的“一盆景一世界”之说。即便是同一盆景，不同的人也会感受到不同的意味。 创意使得盆景多姿多彩，每一个盆景都因此而具有独特的审美价值。如果盆景是工业化、规模化、标准化生产的产品，它就没有多少美感价值可言了。 一家成功的企业，创新一定是它的灵魂，是它成长、成功的理由。再好的产品，都有其生命周期，都有过时的那一天；再强大的市场优势与地位，别人通过模式创新、规则创新都有可能让它化为乌有。创新是一家企业独特的价值所在。没有创新的企业，其价值必定是不断贬值的。在投资者眼里，创新的企业最美。 听完张近东的话，我突然想到，苏宁之于张近东，不就是一个正被精工雕刻的盆景吗？ 张近东喜欢足球，世界杯期间，会忙里偷闲地看几场球。谈及偏爱的球队，张近东说：“我更喜欢德国队，而不是巴西队。” 巴西队一向以阵容豪华、球技精湛著称，走到哪里人气都是最旺的。张近东为什么不喜欢这样一支队员个人能力超强的明星球队呢？ 让我们回望最近的两届世界杯： 2006年，巴西队与法国队对抗的那一场，踢到下半场60分钟时，全明星的巴西队，射门次数居然只有4次，而且没有一次打入门内，这反映出巴西队的进攻乏力。最后，这一支以冠军为目标的球队早早离开赛场，被淘汰出局，令球迷们惊诧不已。 2010年，在南非世界杯1/4决赛中，巴西队教练邓加把全部筹码都压在卡卡身上，他坚信卡卡是这届世界杯的主角。然而，尽管卡卡在中场星光四射，但整场比赛，巴西队没有一人有能力引导其他球员，形成强有力的攻击和防守。最终，被荷兰队1∶2逆转，无缘四强。看完最后的20分钟比赛，很多球迷哭了。4年的期待等来的却是惆怅地离开。 巴西队常常带给人一种时空错乱的感觉：看球员个人在绿茵场上的表演是一种享受；比赛时，他们的团队作战却表现糟糕，惨不忍睹。尤其是当巴西队的球星们发起进攻时，尽管解说员和看台上的球迷们，都扯开大嗓门为这支华丽的进攻队伍喝彩、鼓劲，但华丽的流光溢彩总是短暂的，很快队形就因为队员各顾自己脚下的表演而变得错乱了，看上去很有希望的一次进攻也因之半途而废。带给球迷的，不是进攻的兴奋与激情，而是一种莫名的、被戏弄的愤怒。因此有人说，巴西队踢的不是足球，是绿茵场上的艺术、表演和遗憾。 而德国足球队，极少有个人技术超群的球星。和巴西、意大利等国家的球队相比，德国队的球员都显得很是平凡而默默无闻，有些球员甚至还不是专业运动员！ 然而，这并不影响德国战车的威力，他们频频在世界级的比赛中问鼎冠军，把意大利、巴西、英国、荷兰等足球强队撞下马，谁都不敢轻视，原因何在？ 一位世界著名的教练说：“在所有的队伍当中，德国队从来不会因为个人而出差错。从单个的球员看，德国队是弱势的，可是他们11个人就好像是由一个大脑控制的。在足球场上，不是11个人在踢足球，而是一个巨人在踢，对对手而言那是非常可怕的。” 巴西队球员个人的技术虽好，但如果每个人都只想着表现自我，别人都是你的垫脚石，这样的团队是有问题的。德国队虽然没有什么明星队员，每个人的球技也不见得是一流的，但是他们的配合组织绝对是一流的，队员们将个人激情与球队荣誉融为一体，为了一个共同的目标，全队拧成一股绳，从而发挥出团队的最大力量！ 看球赛，多数人关心的都是谁把球踢进去了，而张近东认为，从组织管理的角度来讲，同时应该关心的是，踢进去的球是谁传过来的，这个球一开始又是谁从对方的脚下截来的。即使最终的结果是3∶0大获全胜，也不能忘记一次次将对方进攻的球扑出去的守门员的功劳。因此，张近东说：“德国队踢的不是足球，是团队管理。” 张近东把对足球的感悟用到了苏宁的管理上。 在家电连锁企业中，连锁店店面是最容易吸引顾客眼球、引起关注的。张近东从德国队获胜的思考中，发现了物流、售后、服务——连锁经营的其他三位重要“球员”，他们虽然很少登台表演，但却同等重要。在张近东的运筹下，四大终端建设齐头并进，形成苏宁协同作战的体系，共同成为为苏宁连锁事业立下汗马功劳的“健将”。 再以苏宁开店为例，每开一家店，都像是踢一场足球赛。店开得成不成功，商业规划部的选址、设计部门的精心装潢都很重要，但最重要的则是开这家店的全体苏宁人的协同作业，尤其是开店前夕的各路人马。犹如足球赛中的最猛烈的一次进攻，销售突击队的、物流的、售后的，苏宁人从各个不同的城市，像潮水般涌向一个目标，全力以赴而又有条不紊地密切配合，势不可当，直到一举开店成功。 零售连锁行业是典型的劳动密集型行业，有大量繁杂的基层作业需要完成，没有基层员工的努力，任何伟大的战略都会显得苍白无力。在苏宁，每位基层员工都不是战略的制定者，但一定是战略的执行者、实践者，他们通过具体的作业，一步步实现公司的战略。因此，苏宁特别强调上下同心协力。每年“五一”、“十一”销售“大忙”季节，集团所有领导除了必要的留守人员外，其余的都会下到一线基层支援。这已成为苏宁多年来雷打不动的惯例。 张近东身体结实，浓眉大眼，目光坚毅，说话快，思维快，行动更快，是一个典型的中国硬汉。2008年汶川大地震时，全国人民都在为汶川加油——“汶川不哭，中国不哭！汶川挺住，中国挺住！”在很多苏宁员工的记忆中，那场罕见的大地震后，平时极其刚强，什么困难也压不倒、不畏惧的董事长，在苏宁全国营销视频例会上竟然哽咽了。 汶川地震的震级和强度都非常大，连1460公里外的南京市民都感觉到了地震波的威力。 当天下午4点，南京苏宁总部，刚刚被疏散的员工都回到了办公室，张近东立即打电话给成都分公司了解情况。据苏宁电器成都公司副总刘峥嵘回忆，4点半，他们就接到总部的通知，要求联系捐款渠道。此时，离地震发生仅仅过去两个小时。 原来，从电视中看到灾情很严重，灾区很困难，张近东和公司几个高管碰了一下头，马上决定给灾区捐款500万元。 与此同时，苏宁总部火速成立抗震救灾领导小组，第一时间前往灾区现场指导救灾工作，一方面梳理企业自身受灾状况，保障所有员工及其家属安全，并妥善安置受灾员工；另一方面，也希望能够实地了解灾区情况，以便尽快采取相应措施参加抗震救灾工作。 行政管理中心总监王晓兵就是这样一位特使，他当晚便赶赴成都，由于成都机场当时已被封闭，王晓兵先飞到重庆，又从重庆坐汽车赶到成都，查看各个门店员工及受损情况。5月13日又去了都江堰、德阳、绵阳，第一时间向集团反映了灾区的情况。 5月21日是苏宁全国经营视频例会。在例会结束时，张近东突然转变话题说：“在这次地震中，我们的员工有的家里房屋倒了，有的父母受伤了，甚至永远失去了亲人，但我们的员工在这次抗震救灾中表现得非常勇敢，不但积极自救，还对他人进行援助。我们很难过，也很欣慰，在向灾区人民捐款的同时，也必须对受灾员工进行慰问和帮助。” 张近东特拨100万元专项资金，用于对受灾员工家属的慰问，以及在抗震救灾中表现优秀的员工的奖励。 对于灾区的重建，张近东说：“后期灾区人民在进行重建时，还将面临医疗救治、恢复教育、扶助孤残、重新就业等很多现实的问题，这些都需要国家政府、企事业单位和社会各界民众继续关注，鼎力支持。我们苏宁电器全国10万名员工和我个人都将根据灾区实际需要，竭尽所能贡献力量。我相信凝聚全民族的力量，我们一定能够重建更美好的家园。” 在国家民族遇到危难时，个人、企业都要挺身而出，承担责任。张近东在第一时间一方面组织公司捐款，另一方面自己拿出来5000万元。很多人对于张近东个人捐款5000万的过程都很感兴趣，但是，真正了解之后却发现非常简单，没有什么复杂的程序。当了解到灾情比想象中严重得多时，张近东觉得苏宁捐500万是远远不够的。但是作为上市公司，捐献巨额款项需要经过很多程序，于是，他作出了另外一个决定：在18日举行的由中宣部等七部委联合主办的《爱的奉献》——2008抗震救灾大型募捐晚会上个人捐款5000万。他用这种方式来表明他个人的捐款代表了苏宁所有员工的爱心。 对此，有分析人士联系苏宁制度化执行的“阳光1+1”行动评论说，苏宁和张近东正在超越企业经营对物质财富的追求，精心培育人心中的那份善良、倡导社会中的那份感动。 2008年5月27日——奥运圣火在南京站传递。 作为火炬手，张近东放下所有的工作，迈着轻快的步子来到传递地点。尽管久经商海，见多了大场面大事件，但那天张近东还是显得格外兴奋。对参加志愿者活动的苏宁员工来说，今天的董事长有些不一样，一向严肃的他，原来是这么的平易近人，笑起来这么开心、爽朗。 作为南京第24棒火炬手，张近东身着红白相间的运动装，迈着矫健的步伐，一手高举火炬，一手紧握成拳、坚强有力地挥动着，神情庄重而自豪。传递结束后，张近东激动地说：“非常荣幸！非常高兴！能够在家乡南京作为火炬手，把南京这座美丽的城市和热爱生活的南京人民展现给全国，传递给世界！我代表苏宁电器全国10万名员工为北京奥运祈福！中国好运！” 当记者连线张近东谈起现场热烈的火炬传递氛围时，他动情地说：“中国加油，四川加油，不但是10万苏宁人的心声，更是13亿中国人的心声。奥运让我们的民族空前团结，汶川地震让我们的心更近了。今天我们的员工来了近千人，为圣火传递加油，他们放下工作，在此时此刻感受奥运火炬传递的激情，见证我们的民族凝聚力，见证我们祖国的伟大，这是一次团结和爱心的洗礼。” “修身、齐家、治国、平天下”，这是中国人传统的人生理想和目标。家事、国事、天下事，事事关心，也是当今企业家应有的情怀。 作为一家知名大型企业的董事长，张近东认为，奥运是中国百年一遇的盛事，能够成为奥运火炬手，代表所有苏宁员工跑完这神圣一棒，他感到非常自豪。“火炬传递的是全世界人民追求美好、和平生活的愿望，在我们国家刚刚发生罕见地震灾害的时刻，奥运火炬传递具有了更现实的象征意义！全中国人民和全世界人民都对四川灾区伸出援手，相信我们全民一心、团结一致，发扬执著拼搏、永不言败的精神，一定能够克服困难，办好奥运，迎来中华民族的伟大复兴！”然而当话题转到产业发展时，他的语调又变得沉重起来，他说：“我们国家的体育健儿，在奥运会和世界级各种赛事上以领跑者的英姿，为国争光，而我们的制造业却在世界抬不起头，走不出国门。我有点民族情结，但这不是狭隘的民族主义情绪。当你看到上海等一线城市充满着沃尔玛等海外零售巨头时，就知道一个民族工业的咽喉，多大程度掌握在别人手里。” 拥有全球最多人口的中国，一直是众多跨国零售巨头开拓市场的重要目标。一些主要的跨国零售企业早早就进入我国，抢占市场的战略要地：1995年，法国零售巨头家乐福进入中国；同一年，麦德隆与上海锦江合作进入上海市场；1996年，全球最大的零售企业沃尔玛通过与深圳万佳合作在深圳建起了在华的首家“山姆店”。其后，易初莲花、欧尚、百安居、7-11、宜家等跨国零售巨头也纷纷进入中国市场。2004年年底，我国对外全面开放零售市场后，一些后进入我国市场的跨国零售商为了不被竞争对手抛于身后，选择对华现有的一些区域性的零售企业进行股权收购与兼并工作，从而省去其市场开拓的时间。2004年港资的华润集团将在江浙地区具有较强影响的苏果超市收归旗下；2006年5月，全球最大家电连锁企业百思买与位列中国第四的家电连锁商五星电器达成收购协议…… 多年来，张近东一直有一个心病：在日本的商店，除了偶尔能看见海尔的冰箱外，很难看到其他中国品牌的家电产品。中国许多制造企业沦为一个个一无知名品牌、二无核心技术、三无销售渠道、被边缘化了的车间孤岛。从战略高度考虑，当前的中国，非常需要类似沃尔玛的规模和实力的民族企业，只有这样，才能带动中国制造业进入全球化经济舞台，让世界各国的老大妈，方便地买到海尔洗衣机、容声冰箱，让世界各国即将举行婚礼的年轻人方便地买到海信电视、美的空调……并由此让世界各国人民领略中国家电带给他们的舒适生活和幸福体验。 2010年“两会”，胡锦涛总书记出席全国政协工商联和民建界讨论时，对民营经济的发展寄予了殷切的希望。接受记者采访时，张近东解读总书记讲话精神，重点探讨了民营企业的社会责任问题。零售业是一个关乎国家战略的产业，是民族制造业进入世界的咽喉，只有把握渠道的主动权才能把握市场的主动权。如果这个渠道丢掉了，命运势必会掌握在别人手上。在全球化竞争面前，中国商业长期以来还存在市场化程度低、服务业社会化程度低、基础服务设施薄弱等问题，缺少像沃尔玛、百思买那样能够承担起民族流通业希望的企业。因而，在百思买、沃尔玛、家乐福等海外巨头正逐年加大对中国市场的蚕食的同时，面对同样庞大的国际市场，我们的制造业、零售业却始终无法大步前进。 一家企业如何融入社会，如何主动承担社会责任，过去可能还只是一种思考，或者是一个口号，今天则已经到了义不容辞真正去做的阶段。张近东说：“不管是对苏宁这家企业还是对我个人来说，履行社会责任都是不可或缺的。如果未来有一天，国家要参股、控股苏宁，苏宁愿意作这样的贡献。”苏宁是一家目光远大的企业，明白社会责任的重要意义，明白只有承担责任才会获得更大的发展。 如今，肩负民族流通商业使命与责任、光荣与梦想的苏宁，在海外市场上已进入日本和中国香港。有不少业内人士认为，苏宁收购Laox，成为中国家电连锁业跨国购并第一案，具有标志性的意义。但在张近东看来，苏宁的国际化不仅仅关系到企业的发展空间，更承载着一种责任，如果苏宁能站到国际舞台上，将会带动中国家电制造业的产品源源不断地出口到国外。 温总理和张近东，一个是日理万机的国家总理，一个是白手起家的民营企业家。 这样的两个人之间的两次对话，有着怎样的家国情怀、强国强企之梦？ 2004年3月，温家宝总理在无锡调研时会见江苏企业家。其间，张近东向温总理介绍了苏宁电器的发展历程和未来规划：2004年新增100家店，新增100亿元销售额，2009年集团营业规模将达到1000亿元。总理听了很高兴，鼓励张近东说：“要让苏宁成为中国的沃尔玛。” 受此鼓舞，一向低调的张近东，甚至在媒体面前毫不掩饰地展现了雄心：“沃尔玛是这个行业里的标杆企业。我觉得中国本身有这么大的一个消费市场，具备培养出像沃尔玛这样的企业的条件。因为美国只有3亿人，而中国有13亿人，将来至少能培育3个沃尔玛！” 2005年，苏宁新进入32个地级以上城市，新增连锁店140家，店面数量已达到224家，营业收入159.36亿元。 2007年，苏宁在全国152个地级以上城市拥有连锁店632家，营业收入401.52亿元。 2009年，苏宁以1170亿元，941家店铺的经营规模位列中国连锁百强榜榜首，成为中国最大的商业零售企业。单就营业规模来说，比2004年预期的1000亿，多出了170亿元。至此，温总理第一次的嘱托，苏宁圆满完成。 2009年11月29日，温总理再次走进苏宁时意味深长地说：“我曾经说过，苏宁要成为中国的沃尔玛，我今天再讲，苏宁要超过沃尔玛。” 接受媒体采访时，张近东说：“总理到苏宁考察，问得很仔细。总理的话有两层意思，一个是对苏宁的勉励，他觉得我们在企业信息化的运用、企业管理上，做得比较到位。去年尽管遭遇全球金融危机，但我们的表现还是符合国家的发展战略的。总理忧国忧民，他希望中国有自己的沃尔玛，他从国家战略的高度，希望培育一批有规模、有能力的民族品牌。” 苏宁能否实现温总理新的嘱托？张近东在思索什么？他用什么来实现自己的承诺？ 截至2010年9月，苏宁依然位居中国连锁百强榜榜首。 而沃尔玛在全球的连锁店超过8500家，员工210万，2009年销售收入4000多亿美元，而且还在以每年4%左右的速度增长。 尽管有差距，但张近东信心百倍地说：“温总理常说信心比黄金重要。我始终坚信，数据只是结果的一个方面，我们更看重背后的能力。”2008年，苏宁提出“三年内领跑行业”，如今，这一目标已经实现。苏宁不仅是在企业规模上，在品牌、效益、管理、服务、社会责任等方面都实现了全方位领跑，不断创新模式，成为中国民族商业的标杆。 在张近东的心目中，全球连锁老大沃尔玛的现在就是苏宁的未来：“沃尔玛就像一面可以照见未来的镜子，我从中看到了苏宁的未来。今天，我对此依旧深信不疑。”张近东并不认为数据差距有多么可怕，如果简单换算一下，沃尔玛领先苏宁不过二三十年，而中国庞大的市场优势，足以让苏宁快速缩小两者的差距。 在苏宁内部，超越沃尔玛是他们最大的梦想。然而有人担心说沃尔玛依靠强大的采购及信息系统，销售的商品极为丰富，在这方面，苏宁的优势是什么？ 张近东不以为然。苏宁从空调起家，现在的产品线在不断提升，收购日本Laox后，又引进了日本的3C、动漫、影音、乐器等，以丰富苏宁国内门店的产品结构。中国改革开放30年的变化超过了所有人的想象，在未来，只要苏宁能够跟上中国经济发展的步伐，就能够具备实现超越沃尔玛的能力。“也许将来你们在苏宁买到的不仅仅是家电，还会有服装”，张近东的这句话绝不是开玩笑。因为在我们的生活中，像按摩椅、电炒锅、加湿器等原来可以在沃尔玛买到的商品，现在，在苏宁也能买到了。 据媒体分析，中国的家电市场今年大概有1万亿的规模，而且这个市场本身还在增长，苏宁在这个市场上也不过才占到10%多点的份额，可以说是“很少”，所以，张近东经常用“巨大”来形容苏宁面对的未来市场。他说：“我们国家的潜在市场比美国大，孕育出沃尔玛是必然的。我一直讲苏宁不做中国的百思买，而是做沃尔玛。只要消费者有需求，我们都可以做。现在我们做电器销售，以后会不断拓展、深化，除了卖电器之外，我想什么都是可以卖的。2004年，沃尔玛进入南京，将店开在了苏宁总部