Shenzhen.
Inside a building at the Science and Technology Industrial Park.
A man wearing gold-rimmed glasses slammed the report in his hand on the table and shouted at his assistant.
“Nearly a billion yuan deal! All we earned was a measly few million in liquidated damages! I can’t believe I didn’t hear about this until now. Go find out who stole our order! I want you to put the competitor’s company information on my desk within three minutes!”
This was the headquarters of New Science Manufacturing. This angry middle-aged man was Guan Chaowu, the chairman and CEO of the company.
They were a high-tech company specializing in logistics drones and intelligent software development. They signed a contract order worth 110 million yuan with Shunfeng just two months ago.
The value of this deal was almost higher than their total turnover last year.
When they received this order, Guan Chaowu was so excited that he didn’t sleep for several days. He would wake up in the middle of the night with a smile almost every night. However, they suddenly received news from Shunfeng that they chose to pay liquidated damages and canceled the 110 million yuan order.
This almost made him want to vomit.
On the surface, they only lost a 110 million yuan deal and even received some liquidated damages. However, their losses were in fact far larger than this.
What they lost was the chance of Shunfeng promoting their drone delivery model. This was a billion-dollar market!
The assistant spoke in a trembling tone.
“Boss…”
Guan Chaowu growled in anger.
“Did you not hear me?”
“No, I’m saying, there is no need to investigate.” The assistant had a bitter look on his face as he said, “The Shunfeng CEO visited Jinling a few days ago and immediately changed his mind after coming back from his trip. He even convinced the board.
“There is no doubt that there is only one company that stole our deal…”
The assistant didn’t specify which company it was, but Guan Chaowu instantly reacted. His face turned blue.
“Star Sky Technology… has a drone department?”
“This… I really don’t know. But it seems that Shunfeng has outsourced their entire intelligent logistics network to them.”
“Their entire intelligent logistics network is outsourced? Is Wang Wei crazy?!”
Guan Chaowu was in disbelief as he looked at the frightened assistant standing in front of him. He felt a wave of bitterness and frustration from his heart.
Star Sky Technology…
If this were another company, he could maybe try to retain Shunfeng as their customer and take back the deal.
However, after he heard that Star Sky Technology was the company that stole their deal, he didn’t have any courage to compete anymore. He instantly gave up on this idea.
After all, even major international companies such as Tesla and Mobil, and even the United States Department of Commerce, had to bow down to Star Sky Technology.
What more a “small company” like them.
If they tried to fight back, it wouldn’t even be a fight.
It would be like an elephant stepping on an ant…
Guan Chaowu’s guess was correct. He guessed that Lu Zhou was just bragging in front of CEO Wang, and as a result, lit a light bulb in CEO Wang’s mind. Just like that, an order with a market potential of billions was awarded to Star Sky Technology.
But then again, Lu Zhou was worth tens of billions of yuan. Even though this was mostly Wang Wei’s ideas, Lu Zhou was the one who could make the ideas come to life.
For example, the idea of directly connecting the customer to the production chain was an idea discussed by Lu Zhou and Director Li over tea.
The biggest difference between the future industry and the old industry was the role it played.
Even though they might be similar in some ways, they were mostly different.
Soon after, Star Sky Technology and Shunfeng reached an agreement on the logistics drones project, and a promotional video produced by Shunfeng was released online.
In the video, a uniquely shaped drone took off from a truck at a logistics center. It flew past the H700 tower, a landmark building in Shenzhen, then across the streets of Zhongying Street, passing the mountains and countryside. Finally, the drone placed a letter in the hands of a child. The letter was from the child’s father, who was working far away in the city.
After everyone saw this promotional video, it immediately started a strong response on the Internet.
The discussions were not limited to the emotional and artistic aspects of the video. Instead, it was actually focused on the uniquely shaped drone that flew in the sky.
“What does this mean, is Shunfeng going to produce UAVs?”
“Is this a UAV ad or a delivery ad?”
“Wait a second, isn’t that the logo of Star Sky Technology on the UAV?”
“Star Sky Technology again? Why are they involved?”
“Jesus Christ! Just a few days ago, I was shocked by Star Sky Technology’s holographic technology, and now, it’s happening again!”
“I just want to say, Professor Lu is nutty!”
The vast majority of people were mesmerized by the promotional film.
The people of Shenzhen City were the luckiest ones.
The people living in the pilot zone had already caught up with the trend. They were the first people in the country to experience the convenience of drone delivery.
There would be no need for post office boxes anymore. As long as someone’s window was open, the drone could deliver the package on the windowsill or balcony.
The flight path of the drone was entirely done by the real-time calculation of Star Sky Technology’s quantum supercomputer. As long as there was a signal connection, there was no need to worry about the drone getting lost.
Even if the signal connection dropped, it wouldn’t matter. The drone would continue to travel a certain distance according to the route data previously transmitted. When the signal reconnected, it would then update the route adjusted by the real-time calculation technology.
While operating in urban areas, most of the drones flew above buildings, avoiding crowded streets, and delivered during work hours and late-night when there is less traffic.
Shunfeng was working with Star Sky Technology and was developing a shelf that could be installed on the balcony, similar to an air-conditioning bracket, but for drones to dock and place delivery parcels.
After all, not everyone wanted drones to fly inside their homes.
On one hand, this would respect the customer’s privacy, and on the other hand, it could also avoid many unnecessary issues.
Discussions about Shunfeng’s “smart logistics network” was also happening on Twitter and Youtube.
For example, Yurif Jack, a well-known YouTuber who lived in China for many years, made a special video and expressed his views on this matter.
“I read many skeptical comments on Twitter. A lot of my friends in the US, UK, and Europe think that this technology is not possible. They think China does not respect intellectual property rights at all, and they’re not willing to make changes. They don’t believe in this technology.
“I’ve even seen YouTubers say that when a new technology appears in China, they immediately think it’s better for the technology to not exist. They want bus drivers and factory workers to keep their jobs. But if the technology appears in the west, they will think that it’s amazing.
“In fact, this is a kind of bias and misunderstanding. Other than people with small brains, most of the people have an open and optimistic view of the future.”
“I’m in Shenzhen right now, and I’ve lived here for almost two years. Yesterday, in order to verify this amazing drone delivery technology, I purchased everything in my shopping cart… A few hours later, I saw the cute little guy land on my windowsill.”
Yurif pointed the camera at the packages beside the windowsill. He then pointed the camera at himself and shrugged.
“I know, you guys think that I’m lying or that I’m untrustworthy. In fact, I understand, I know how you feel. If you live in New York, it doesn’t seem like there are any changes happening. Your house, car, neighbors… Everything is the same.
“But if you live in a city like Shanghai, Beijing, or Shenzhen, you’ll see that the city is changing every day.
“Drone delivery is just the tip of the iceberg. For people like me who have lived in China for many years, this is not surprising at all. This is nothing crazy. In fact, there are more important things happening.
“For example, the National Day celebration show.”
Yurif waved the red invitation letter to the camera.
“Fortunately, I received an invitation from them… I will go to the Bird’s Nest and watch the National Day celebration live.
“If everything goes well, my next vlog will be about the celebration.
“I’m willing to bet that it will be more surprising and amazing than the delivery drones!”