Agricultural giant since 1983

Chapter 454 Battle of the Standards
"Can we do marketing and promotion? Of course we can! And we can do it very well. In recent years, Wandashan has rapidly changed from a regional dairy brand to a well-known national brand, and its sales rank among the top in the country. This is because of our Good marketing! But is this the only advantage we have?" Li Lei asked rhetorically.

Then without waiting for others to answer, he continued, "There is a bucket law in management. A bucket is about how much water a bucket can hold depends on the shortest piece of wood; a bucket wants to be filled with water. , each plank must be equally level and undamaged, if one of the planks of the barrel is uneven or there is a hole under a certain plank, the barrel cannot be filled with water.”

"If this law is applied to the dairy industry, then the boards that make up this wooden barrel should include the following parts: milk source, technology, marketing, and channels. We analyzed one by one. Marketing and channels are the longest in YL and MN. board, even if we lead, the margin is not too big!"

"In terms of technology, MN has obtained the new packaging technology provided by Tetra Pak, and it is provided to them for free. In terms of cost, they are even lower than us; on this board, we also have no decisive advantage ; Therefore, if we make moves in the above-mentioned fields, the cost performance is not high!"

"But in terms of milk source, we are far ahead of other companies in the country. It can be said that apart from Changfu Dairy in Fujian, there is no third dairy company in the country that has a modern pasture under unified management, whether it is YL, MN or Sanlu and Guangming, they all adopt the method of cooperating with free-range farmers, setting up milk stations to purchase raw milk, and then transporting it to factories for processing.”

"The advantage of this method is that the money for the construction of milk sources can be saved, and the funds can be used on the cutting edge of marketing and promotion; however, the disadvantage is also very obvious, that is, the quality of raw milk cannot be guaranteed, from milking to production and processing. It takes too long and the resulting dairy product is not of good quality!"

"Wanda Mountain has built many modern pastures across the country. The quality of the raw milk produced is very high and uniform. The time from milking to the start of production and processing is only a few hours, so our Wanda The quality of Shan’s dairy products must be the best in the country! It’s not so easy for YL, MN, Sanlu, and Guangming to catch up with it!”

"Competing with YL and MN in terms of marketing promotion and technology, the cost performance is very low. At least tens of millions of dollars will be spent to see the effect. If the competition is fierce, hundreds of millions or even billions or tens of millions will be spent on it every year. Hundreds of millions are possible, and it is difficult to widen the gap with them!"

"However, the effect of making a fuss about quality is different. If MN and YL want to make up for this shortcoming, they have to spend hundreds of millions to billions of dollars to build a modern ranch. It is hard to say whether YL can take it out. MN will definitely not be able to get it out, and they still have to solve the problem of the gambling agreement. If they want to build enough modern pastures, this will not be completed in a short period of time, at least within the time stipulated in the gambling agreement. Niu Gensheng will definitely not be able to achieve this! It is pure fantasy to achieve this in three years!"

"So we can start from the perspective of quality and establish the status of the first domestic dairy company in one fell swoop, leaving companies such as YL, Guangming, and MN far behind! Our advantages in this field are really too great. If we develop In the new battlefield, other dairy companies will definitely be beaten to the ground!" Apart from Wandashan, only Changfu Dairy is doing well, but Changfu Dairy is only a regional dairy company. There are huge shortcomings in marketing, channels and other fields, and it is completely unable to compete with Wandashan.

"In the past, the competition among major domestic dairy companies was mainly marketing competition, milk source competition, and even public opinion competition. Many companies showed their own special abilities and fought together, just like the feudal lords in the Spring and Autumn Period!"

Marketing competition and milk source competition are easy to understand, but what about public opinion competition? In fact, it is very simple to put it bluntly. It is to use major media to discredit competitors. Among them, MN and YL are the most fierce. In the future, YL has spent 600 million to support the company, and published hundreds of negative news about MN in dozens of media across the country. The scale and scope of the company are jaw-dropping.

This kind of public opinion competition has been going on since then. A few years later, the An Yong incident was exposed. This time it was MN who took the initiative to provoke the war. Their brand manager An Yong cooperated with a public relations company and published it in newspapers and magazines. The article said that YL and Sanyuan's milk powder harmed children, and at the same time hired trolls on the Internet, pretending to be the parents of children to post attacks on competitors.

Soon this public opinion turmoil was detected like the Weiwan incident, and the leading personnel were also arrested by the police; what is more intriguing is that MN soon issued a statement, saying that this matter was An Yong's own initiative, and he never asked his superiors for instructions and did not discuss it with colleagues.
Since then, at important nodes such as the Winter Olympics and the signing of Messi, there have been many public opinion offensives to discredit competitors. This war is protracted and cruel.

"The next thing we want to set off is quality competition, and only large companies can survive this competition, because small companies cannot establish modern pastures that can provide stable milk sources! Therefore, the domestic dairy market Soon there will be a transition from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, and small companies will close down and be annexed one after another, leaving only a few giants! And what we want to do at Wandashan is the biggest giant!" Li Lei continued.

It is impossible for Wanda Mountain to learn from Qin and destroy the six kingdoms to rule the world, not to mention whether the market competition can reach this level, even the country does not allow the national dairy market to be monopolized by a single company, even if Wanda Mountain has COFCO and The shares of these two state-owned enterprises in the Great Northern Wilderness are also not acceptable.

"Why don't you say, Mr. Li, that you can be the richest man in the country! Few people can match your profound vision and long-term layout, even if you look at the whole country!" Mr. Gao of COFCO didn't wait for Li Lei to finish speaking. I couldn't help applauding. Originally, Li Lei urged Wandashan to invest a lot of money to build a modern ranch. He also had a slight criticism, thinking that investing this money in expanding production and marketing would definitely have a better effect, but looking at it now, I have to Admittedly, people are indeed more thoughtful than themselves in considering issues.

Although the construction of a modern ranch took up a lot of funds from Wandashan and delayed their time to catch up with YL and Guangming, it also laid a solid foundation for Wandashan’s future development, making Wandashan the only one in the country with high-quality and stable farms. If one of the dairy companies in the source of milk really launches an attack from this field, regardless of YL, MN, Guangming, and Sanlu, they will all be beaten to the ground and completely powerless to parry.

"Now the country is collecting the first draft of the dairy industry standard, and we, Wandashan, are also in the invitation ranks. Since this is the case, it is just right to use this opportunity to raise the standards of raw milk and various dairy products! In order to use our advantages to use industry standards The situation is fixed!" Wang Desheng, the general manager of Wandashan, immediately came up with a specific implementation plan. He is still very sensitive in this regard, which is why Li Lei has not changed people.

In the original history, when the national dairy industry standard was first drafted, MN formulated the standards for pasteurized milk and ultra-high temperature sterilized milk, YL formulated the raw milk procurement standards, and Guangming formulated the yogurt standards; because these companies are in these fields. There are certain advantages. MN and Tetra Pak quickly mastered pasteurized milk and high-temperature sterilization technology through cooperation. YL has the most abundant milk source. Bright has learned advanced yogurt production technology by letting Danone take a stake.

When these three companies formulate industry standards, they will definitely proceed from their own interests, and their influence on national standards also exists objectively.

However, the consequences were very serious. At that time, the proportion of small-scale free-range breeding in the field of dairy farming was relatively high, accounting for more than 70%, and the number of dairy farmers with more than 100 cows was less than 30%. Whatever you grow, you can feed the cows, the protein content is unstable, and the total number of bacteria is too high.

The protein content and the total number of bacteria are the key factors to measure the quality of raw milk. Since free-range breeding cannot meet the requirements, the standard can only be set at a lower level. The final raw milk purchase standard is that the total number of bacteria per milliliter does not exceed 50. It is 10 times higher than the standard of 5 in the United States and the European Union. At this time, the standards in many countries and regions in the world are below 20; the minimum protein content is 100 grams per 2.95 grams, which is also lower than developed countries. More than 3.0 grams standard.

This is not the most irritating thing. When the new national standard for raw milk is introduced in the future, the protein content will drop from 100 grams per 2.95 grams in the original standard to 2.8 grams, while the standard for the total number of bacteria per milliliter of milk will change from the original standard. 50 rose to 200 million.

At that time, many media said that this was a disgrace to China's dairy industry. At this time, Guangming, which had already declined, was also very dissatisfied with this standard. They bluntly said, "Our raw milk standard is almost the worst in the world."

While YL and MN said that these accusations were "pure speculation" and decided to "not respond to this", it is estimated that they have nothing to say.

"The current standards of the United States and the European Union are that the total number of bacteria per milliliter should not exceed 20, and the protein content per 100 milliliters should not be less than 3.0 grams. The raw milk produced by our Wandashan fully meets this standard. And the EU standards! The reasons are all ready-made, since these standards have been tested by the EU and the United States, why don’t we follow them?” Wang Desheng is currently in charge of formulating the first draft of the dairy industry standards and is very familiar with these data .

"It can be said with certainty that it is very difficult for YL, MN, Sanlu, and Guangming to meet these standards, so if they object, can the Ministry of Agriculture pass such standards?" Li Lei looked at COFCO's Mr. Gao. The national standard for the milk industry is led by the Ministry of Agriculture. COFCO and the Ministry of Agriculture have such a close relationship. Shouldn’t it be time for you to contribute?

"Last time, Mr. Li, you also mentioned that the domestic model of focusing on marketing and neglecting milk sources is unhealthy. Many companies spend more than 6% of their funds on marketing, leaving only a pitiful 3% of funds for milk source construction. No! As in foreign countries, the capital share ratio of the three links of dairy farming, dairy production, and dairy sales is 1:[-]:[-], which is more conducive to the healthy development of the dairy industry! COFCO, as a leading company in the domestic agricultural field, has established The correct industry standards are unshirkable!" Mr. Gao said righteously, as a large state-owned enterprise, it is normal to use policies to suppress opponents, and they will use them when they are unreasonable, not to mention that they are fully rational now?

"We can't just watch the quality of domestic milk getting lower and lower, and dare not even buy domestic milk for our own children in the future?" Mr. Gao said with a look of compassion.

This remark aroused laughter from the audience, but Li Lei still had a serious expression on his face. He has experienced the development of China's dairy industry in the future. After 08, domestic milk has indeed become a joke. When everyone buys milk powder for infants and young children, they all rush Gritting their teeth and paying high prices to buy imported milk powder, not to mention the residents of big cities, even the people in small counties, there are a large number of consumers squeezing money through their teeth to buy imported milk powder.

"We will also contribute to this matter. Mr. Gao and Mr. Li are right. We must keep the foundation of the domestic dairy industry and not allow some unscrupulous companies to destroy the entire industry!" The shareholder representatives of the Great Northern Wilderness Group also expressed their opinions Attitude, they also have many connections with the Ministry of Agriculture.

This is why Li Lei wanted to cooperate with COFCO and the Great Northern Wilderness in the first place. If he just wanted to make money, it would be very simple. Just spend as much money as Niu Gensheng on marketing and it would be over. In more than ten years, the His own dairy company has become a large enterprise with a market value of hundreds of billions.

However, if you want to change the national standard, it is not enough to rely on Huinong alone. Enterprises such as YL, MN, and Guangming all have their feet, and they are backed by towering trees. Huinong's ability cannot shake these big trees; and now , Gathering the power of Huinong, COFCO, and Beidahuang, it is absolutely possible to wrestle with them.

"If the standard can be passed according to our plan, then it is only a matter of time before Wandashan becomes China's No. YL, Guangming is behind you!" Li Lei reminded.

"But if this standard is passed according to the plan of other companies, then our biggest advantage will be gone, and we can only continue to spend money on marketing and fight bad battles! So this time we must win this standard battle no matter what! As long as we can If we win, we can talk about everything, and even save a lot of money in marketing. At that time, we don't need to spend a lot of money on advertising, and let the media go to our ranch and milk stations of other companies to see it fairly and fairly. Tell the people across the country the specific situation, and they will know whose milk to buy!"

"We fly to Beijing overnight!" The shareholder representatives of Beidahuang and COFCO responded in unison. They would never let go of this opportunity to increase their investment income.

(End of this chapter)