Chapter 22 the only sure thing

Today, Suning is walking on a road with infinite scenery.But as the poet said, every delicate flower is watered with blood and sweat.Looking back at Suning, we can still see the hardships of Suning's every step of the way.What seems almost axiomatic today was actually just a vague cognition back then.Behind all the "inevitables" that seem today, there were unpredictable misguided paths hidden back then.Through crossroads one after another, Zhang Jindong led Suning to grow continuously.In this "garden of forking paths", the only certainty is to support Suning's operation and management with informatization.

Following the path of informatization, we can easily look forward to the development prospects of Suning.As a company that was "beyond Wal-Mart" in Premier Wen's words, informatization is the foundation, platform and condition for Suning to become a world-class company.Without the support of informatization, everything can only stay at the level of imagination.Informatization has created an infinitely broad development platform for Suning. Suning's definition and operational development of chain retail will have a far-reaching impact.Going deep into the interior of Suning, you will find that Suning has done very well in many aspects.It really relies on informatization to transform chain retailing from a labor-intensive economy in the past into a technology-intensive economy that is respected and very competitive today.

The redefinition of commercial value is one of Suning's most important achievements in the past ten years.When Suning proposed to go public, it was at a time when IT was hot, and a brokerage with counseling asked whether Suning could play the IT concept card, because everyone believed that business did not have much value.The broker advised Suning not to go public as a commercial company, otherwise no one would buy Suning's shares. However, after repeated consideration, Suning still decided to unswervingly make a chain, emphasizing its own chain concept.In Suning's view, food, clothing, housing and transportation are basic needs that people can never get rid of.In the commercial field, the chain is an evergreen tree, definitely not a sunset industry.As long as there have been humans, there will have been commerce.Based on this understanding, Suning made its own strategic judgment and choice.

Just judging and choosing the strategic direction is not enough. Many companies have a vision similar to Suning and can see far, but why can Suning succeed?Suning calls many things it does in the background, including the expansion of logistics system, investment in after-sales service, and construction of information system, as "invisible Suning".From another point of view, why does Suning make great efforts and unswervingly do these invisible things? In the 20-year development process of Suning, there must have been many choices. Perhaps taking another path, Suning may develop better than today, and of course it may soon disappear in the torrent of business history.However, history cannot be assumed, and today's Suning cannot be assumed.The reason why Suning has been able to develop to this day is that under the premise of the correct strategic direction, it has a kind of persistence and determination to go all the way to the end.In the 2006 CCTV Person of the Year selection, Zhang Jindong explained persistence: "What is persistence? When we choose a development goal, we must unswervingly work towards this goal and have the ability to resist temptation. , and the ability to withstand setbacks.”

Attachment is associated with temptation and frustration.Persistence is the ability to resist temptation and withstand setbacks.Suning has gone through ups and downs along the way. In the past 20 years, not only has Suning continued to change, but the business environment has also changed several times, but the path Suning has to take has become increasingly clear. As Zhang Jindong said, at the beginning, Suning may have crossed the river by feeling the stones. Most of the time it was based on inspiration and business intuition, and there was no clear plan for the development of the enterprise.Looking back now, even if there was nothing exciting, it was more likely to be passive.Suning's success today has a certain degree of chance. If there is a failure in the process of development, Suning may not have the opportunity to summarize the successful experience.This is a brutal fact.

Suning has been influenced by many thoughts, concepts and phenomena in its development.Many new industries, such as the real estate industry, financial securities industry, etc., are able to get rich overnight or obtain excess profits.Objectively speaking, doing business is really hard, and the profit margin is also very low.When faced with those temptations, Suning needs to keep himself from being disturbed by them and stick to his goal. This is the ability to resist temptation. On the other hand, Suning will definitely encounter various challenges, risks and difficulties from inside and outside in the process of development.When an enterprise faces these problems, whether it chooses to avoid, be depressed, or actively respond to them determines the fate of the enterprise.Suning has a tenacious character. When encountering problems, they will solve them and continue to develop after they are solved.Therefore, Suning can always strengthen his confidence under setbacks and pressure, believe that he will succeed, and believe that God will reward those who work hard.This is the ability to withstand setbacks.

In addition, a down-to-earth and dedicated style is also the key to Suning's success.The most basic thing for an enterprise to succeed is to do everything well in a down-to-earth manner.Doing business and retailing is not a big deal, it's all small details.But details determine success or failure. If an enterprise can do every detail and every little thing well, then it will not be far from success.In Suning, the style of the entire enterprise emphasizes doing things in a down-to-earth manner and not rushing for quick success.As long as you do things well in a down-to-earth manner, it will happen naturally in the end.Dedication is another reason for Suning's success, because nothing can be obtained by opportunism.In the early days of its establishment, Suning had no resources and no experience. Only by investing more and paying more than others could it be possible to develop ahead of others.

It is often said that character determines destiny, and the style of an enterprise actually determines the destiny of this enterprise.The correct direction, feasible path, coupled with dedication and enthusiasm for the cause, finally created today's Suning. Suddenly, Suning was 20 years old. The 20-year-old Suning is standing at a historical juncture, before the curtain of a new era that is slowly opening.In the past 20 years, Suning has grown from scratch, from small to large, and from big to strong. Today, Suning has become the king of home appliance chains and can already represent the highest level of Chinese retail chains.However, there is still a lot of work ahead of Suning.

On the one hand, Suning must truly assume the responsibility of representing China's distribution power, continue to deepen its own internationalization, and compete head-on with the previous learning objects "Wal-Marts". Is Suning ready? On the other hand, according to incomplete statistics, by 2020, China's urban population will be about 900 million, and the rural population will be about 600 million.At that time, the urbanization rate will increase to 60%, and 300 million people will move to cities, which will be the largest population migration in the world.For a relatively unfamiliar field such as the vast rural market that needs to be developed in the future, should Suning innovate in the entire business model and service system?How to innovate?

Suning has a broader stage and is facing a more complex competitive environment.From not being a leader in the industry in the past to becoming a leader in the industry now, Suning needs to undertake greater innovation tasks.Looking ahead, there may be a smooth road ahead, or an invisible abyss.Now Suning needs to be more sober and persistent than before. What will amaze people about Suning in the future is that it will trigger a lot of thinking about management - can the enterprise grow infinitely bigger?Where is the limit?When Suning expands to 3,000 stores, or even bigger, 30,000 stores, how will Suning manage and build its own system?These are not only the problems that Suning itself has to face, but also the management problems that companies in China and the world are trying to solve, and they will also be the most anticipated problems in the future.This is obviously more exciting than entering the world's top 500.

Where will Suning go in the next decade?What kind of new heights can Suning reach with the help of the informatization ladder?We will think and care together with Zhang Jindong and every employee of Suning.