Creating value—the eternal theme for corporate survival

　　Why do businesses survive? What is the purpose of running a business? I once posted a Weibo message that summed it up like this: First, people strive to stay alive; then, they strive for a decent life; next, they strive for more people to stay alive; and finally, they strive for a better life for even more people.

　　To be alive is to survive—a fundamental biological need. Living, on the other hand, is about the quality and value of being alive. A person’s life reflects their value through their sense of responsibility—responsibility toward family, friends, and society. The extent of this responsibility corresponds precisely to the value that person has created. Thus, I believe that the very purpose of a company’s survival lies in its ability to create value—both internal and external. Internal value refers to the material needs that the company itself must satisfy in order to stay alive—that is, simply to exist. External value, meanwhile, is the value the company creates for society. It’s precisely this external value, as reflected in society’s perception of the company’s existence, that constitutes “life” itself.

　　Internal value:

　　What creates value? Where does money come from?

　　Create value through gauze—money comes from customers’ pockets.

　　Customers pay you because they recognize the value of your product—and because that product delivers the value they need.

　　Does the product you produce create value for your customers?

　　Creating value for customers involves three aspects:

　　1. Delivery time (production volume)

　　2. Quality

　　3. Service—we call it “Respect for Customers.”

　　So how do we do it? Let’s take a look at customer reviews.

　　1. The root of the problem lies in the belief that as long as we increase production and deliver the goods, everything will be fine.

　　2. The emperor’s daughter has no trouble finding a husband.

　　3. We’re fed up with your products—there are always mistakes and rework involved.

　　4. 108 complaints about returns and financial losses.

　　How can we achieve both high yield and high quality?

　　First, optimize the processes to increase output per unit of time.

　　Second, we must cultivate a sense of quality.

　　Third, innovate (equipment, technology, products).

　　Today, we’re going to focus on quality—the inherent characteristics of a product and the requirements of our customers. Do you know what the inherent characteristics of the products you manufacture are, and what your customers’ requirements are? Have you ever consciously considered these questions? And if so, have you been cultivating this kind of awareness? In my view, in addition to our training and acquiring professional knowledge, we also need to create the right atmosphere.

　　These images reflect a lack of quality awareness—just as the customer put it: “As long as we increase production and meet the delivery deadline, that’s all that matters.”

　　Such behavior has led to: returns from Ningbo, no orders for the factory, claims, products without batch numbers, damaged cartons, hair, thread ends, and debris.

　　Are these products made by you?

　　Our final products represent the company, and these products are interconnected at every stage. Any quality issue arising at any stage will create difficulties for the next process—and could even result in the final product failing to meet quality standards. This underscores the importance of cultivating a holistic awareness: “The next process is the customer of the previous one.” Such an approach cannot do without effective communication and supervision; therefore, we must carefully manage the relationships among three key parties: the upstream and downstream processes, as well as the quality inspection department. Producers are always the primary persons responsible for quality, and inadequate quality control oversight effectively condones quality problems. In the course of communication and coordination, I emphasize two key points:

　　I. Tolerance and understanding manifest in communication as attitudes and approaches that are not easily accepted.

　　Second, he’s here for the sake of his work, and we should accept and respect him.

　　Can you do it?

　　How do you usually do it?

　　When a quality issue arises or is discovered, do you report it immediately, immediately try to find a solution, or simply cover it up?

　　As explained above, it should be clear to everyone that the existence and development of a business essentially involve continuously creating value—among which, a key aspect is creating the value that customers need. In other words, by effectively managing standard process flows and conducting on-site operations, we can deliver the value that customers truly require.

　　If operating according to the process flow and on-site management regulations can meet the product’s own requirements, then what about the customer’s special requests? Why would a customer choose our product over others, even for the same product? What needs to be highlighted here is our core competitiveness. What exactly is our core competitiveness? “Low cost and rapid response.”

　　Steps to Create Customer Value:

　　1. Unify our thinking: I am a Zhongjian person.

　　2. Identify the right goals: Aligning team goals with individual goals.

　　3. Understand the process: What are my responsibilities?

　　4. Identify the right customers: What value have I created?

　　5. Outcome-oriented execution: Actions that are results-driven and produce tangible, exchangeable outcomes.

　　At the invitation of Qingdao AP Company, on March 19, Chairman Wang led the Zhongjian team to attend the company’s spring annual conference. At this conference, Chairman Wang provided a detailed overview of Zhongjian Company’s development journey since its establishment and delivered a splendid presentation of Zhongjian’s business card to guests from all over the world.

　　The photo shows Chairman Wang introducing the new factory site of Zhongjian Company to various business guests.