Chapter 150 Intelligent Manufacturing

Although Qian Ming was very serious when he introduced SAAS, he was obviously not as passionate as when he introduced the Amway sharing economy project.

There are two main reasons. The sharing economy is still mainly based on 2C projects, which is easier to understand and explain.

SAAS is mainly for 2B, which not only involves many technical issues, but also involves a lot of vertical industry knowledge. And in different industries, product details vary greatly.

Compared with the eloquent talk when talking about the sharing economy, Qian Ming's introduction this time was stumbling, and from time to time he needed supplements from his subordinates who were directly responsible for the project.

I have to ask Qian Ming, who doesn’t really understand why he invested a bunch of money.

This involves the second question.

When Cao Shen released the open source cloud computing framework, in order to promote SAAS entrepreneurship, he announced the establishment of a special fund of 1 billion yuan, and the investment would be completed within one year.

Just kidding, this is a trend that Mr. Cao, the most popular figurehead on the Internet, personally pointed out.

There's a big guy charging ahead, why don't you follow him quickly!

As a result, early investors with a keen sense of smell such as Qian Ming stepped down one after another, which also helped promote a wave of enthusiasm in the SAAS industry.

Qian Ming didn't understand this "new thing" very well, and he spent a long time researching it, but he didn't actually figure it out.

It's the kind of state where you have to understand something, don't know how serious it is, and can't answer detailed questions.

But Mr. Cao said yes, it must be the outlet and the direction!

So he exploited his strengths and avoided weaknesses. If he didn't understand the product technology, he would leave it alone. I have read countless people and know how to judge people.

Therefore, when choosing investment targets in this field, Qian Ming basically focuses on "people".

Investment, in the final analysis, is about investing in people, Qian Ming comforted himself in this way.

People were optimistic about it, and they invested money, but not even a bubble popped up.

Qian Ming was really not satisfied with this result. This is also the reason why his introduction is becoming more and more sluggish now.

The development of these SAAS companies is really not as good as expected.

Qian Ming also discovered that SAAS is a big pit during the process of post-investment management!

Especially the key direction that Mr. Cao mentioned at the beginning is “intelligent manufacturing”!

It was because of Mr. Cao's words that all SAAS companies in his field were working in this direction.

A pit, it’s a real pit.

First of all, from a large level, manufacturing is divided into two factions, the process faction and the discrete faction.

The so-called process school, a rough understanding means that physical or chemical changes occur during product processing.

Moreover, this processing process is continuous, the process is standardized, the process flexibility is small, the product is single, and the raw materials are relatively stable.

For example, chemical industry, medicine, petrochemical industry, steelmaking, and power generation.

The production model of this kind of enterprise is based on formula.

In terms of job scheduling, because it is a continuous production method, it does not need and cannot be accurate to the process level. Instead, scheduling is based on the entire production line as a unit.

Such enterprises generally have a certain scale, because the characteristics of process-type production require a relatively high degree of automation in the entire process.

The scale is so small that we can’t even afford automation equipment.

It is obviously not possible to make steel with human flesh these days.

Therefore, to build SAAS for this type of enterprise, the most basic thing is to first figure out the interfaces of various automation equipment.

In this way, you can get the data and "connect" all the equipment to issue and monitor work instructions.

Do you think this is easy?

It’s not easy at all!

There are a lot of equipment involved in producing different products!

And there’s no way to reuse this thing!

Can the equipment used to produce lubricants be the same as the equipment used to produce Yuting? It's obviously different.

Therefore, don’t think that you can start selling SAAS and collect money after finally setting up a factory.

no!

If you change a factory, you have to do it all over again in a different position!

Even if they both produce lubricants, the processes and equipment may not be exactly the same!

Moreover, after you get the data, you have to convert the operation instructions into operating instructions for each unit and equipment and control parameters for various basic automation equipment.

In human terms, your instructions must be translated with each device into a machine language they can understand.

Different devices, especially operating systems, are different, and the human words they can understand are also different.

Moreover, even if it’s the same operating system, damn, there are different versions!

Some of them are not compatible!

Just tell me, is this a good job?

Well, wait until all these problems are solved for you.

You face two problems. If it is a large company, they do have the ability to pay, but they have many requirements!

One moment, you will be asked to customize this, and another moment, you will be customized to that. A moment, you are not satisfied with it here, and a moment, it is not up to standard there.

The SAAS charging model does not rely on buying software, but on subscription.

In other words, you won’t be able to collect any money for the various customizations you made in the early stage. What you can collect is an “annual fee” paid once a year! It ranges from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.

You said, you have done such a big thing and only need this little money? It’s not enough to raise an engineer!

Then you have to get more customers. You have to get a lot of customers to make money.

In addition to the aforementioned products that cannot be reused and have to be reused, there are not many large-scale process-type factories.

In the petrochemical industry, take out your fingers and count how many companies there are?

Moreover, large companies pursue stability and reliability, so how can they give such a critical software order to a startup company. If you go bankrupt, who should I turn to?

Small customers, small customers don’t want to pay at all, okay?

Just kidding, I used the traditional MES system and PLM system very well.

If you insist on coming to build SAAS for me, I will cooperate with you in the research and development for a long time. It feels about the same when you use it. Your functions are not as complete as others.

Still want me to pay? Have to pay every year?

When you use the Internet, isn't it free at Duxing?

Did you bring my order or save me costs?

Pay, you think too much...

Another faction is discrete manufacturing.

Generally speaking, a discrete enterprise means that there is basically no material change during the production process. The final product is assembled from various materials, and there is a certain quantitative ratio between the product and the required materials.

For example, how many parts of this kind are there in a product, and how many parts of that kind are there.

Typical discrete manufacturing industries include automobile manufacturing, consumer electronics, clothing, machinery and aviation manufacturing.

Because it is assembly work, the production model of the discrete industry is based on the product BOM (Bill of Material), that is, the bill of materials.

Unlike process manufacturing, which schedules the entire assembly line as a unit, discrete enterprises schedule based on priority, work center capabilities, equipment capabilities, etc.

This characteristic leads to complex manufacturing process routes and difficult production organization and management.

For a part, it may require multiple processes, and there are not only self-made processes but also outsourced processes.

When it comes to outsourcing, you have to synchronize the data of the outsourcing process: leaving the factory, entering the factory, cross-workshop transfer, cross-factory transfer, batch splitting and batch processing, etc.

Factories that make different products, these messes are not the same at all!

In addition, the degree of full automation of discrete enterprises may not be as high as that of process enterprises. Some modules are fully automated and some rely on manual labor.

If you want to informatize all the data, you have to add hardware equipment to them to collect the data.

These devices also need to be networked for wireless transmission. Different factories have different networking solutions, complexity, cost investment, and difficulty.

Qian Ming closed his eyes hard, so this is all a trap!

Although my surname is Qian, I really haven’t earned this amount of money.

Moreover, the investors who originally jumped into smart manufacturing SAAS should have had similar experiences to him, and they understand how big the pit is.

When subsequent investors see this situation, who will dare to put money in it!

The operating costs of these companies themselves are still very high, and they need to understand manufacturing, networking, and cloud computing.

How can such a comprehensive talent be obtained cheaply?

Therefore, these companies are about to go bankrupt if customers don’t pay for them, investors don’t spend money, and their expenses are still high.

Qian Ming became more and more sad as the introduction progressed. He looked at Cao Shen and said, "Sir, you can give me some help!"

I was feeling sad in my heart when I suddenly heard Uncle Cao say:

"Let these teams come to my office this week. I want to meet people. If they are good, I will take over."

"What?" Qian Ming was suddenly startled!

Take over?

I heard that right!

His body swayed a little, and he leaned hard against the assistant next to him.

The frail little assistant next to me: Mr. Qian, can you be more careful about your weight?

Qian Pangpang, who was overworked and fat, said happily:

"Mr. Cao, are you kidding me?"

Cao Shen sat up straight:

"No, isn't this good? I said before that I would invest in SAAS, and I have already prepared 1 billion.

Your companies look good. I'll ask Zhang Beixin to inform you of the specific time later. "

Cao Shen knows that industrial SAAS is difficult. It requires unified management of personnel, machines, materials, methods, links, testing, etc. in production to ensure the quality and consistency of finished products.

The industrial Internet is different from the traditional Internet. To be precise, it belongs to the category of IOT.

The traditional Internet basically only includes human operation behaviors, while IOT also has a large number of complex devices driven by mathematical, physical and mechanical principles.

The software in IOT not only assists people in production and manufacturing, but also includes micro-control and drive systems embedded in precision equipment.

What industrial SAAS does is to use software to break the "information islands" between devices and convert multiple heterogeneous data in the physical world into digital information to achieve informatization.

And it can perform data processing, data governance and interaction in real time, laying the foundation for flexible manufacturing.

What Cao Shen wants is to use digital technology to cover the entire life cycle and value chain of products.

"Intelligent manufacturing" is a one-stop socialized mass production of product R&D, manufacturing, marketing, operations and services.

This process is complicated, so industrial SAAS is not developed but used.

You have to run it on a large scale to know where the problems are, how to solve them, and how to optimize them.

Cao Shen is confident about this.

The factory doesn't use SAAS and is unwilling to pay, isn't it because it doesn't take orders?

I have orders, a lot of them!

Place an order and run SAAS for me to achieve optimal results!

Seeing Mr. Cao off respectfully, Qian Ming felt a big stone fall in his heart.

This year, I felt that the projects I invested in were the SAAS projects that I would lose, but I didn't expect that Mr. Cao would pay for them.

Although I looked around and didn't see any good ones, Mr. Cao said he wanted them, so...

Should I find a few more?

So Qian Ming immediately ordered his subordinates:

"See! Mr. Cao prefers SAAS!

This month, except for those who are looking at the sharing economy, all other people should focus on SAAS projects and ensure that they provide Mr. Cao with good targets with guaranteed quality and quantity!"

Zhang He, the director who was originally responsible for the SAAS field, was at a loss, as he was a die-hard fan of Cao Shen.

When Mr. Cao said he wanted to invest in SAAS, he volunteered to take the lead in this direction.

As a result, other colleagues blossomed, especially those who invested in the sharing economy. Several projects had a new round of financing just two months after they were invested.

The few companies he had in his hands were typical of what made Mr. Qian sigh at every regular meeting.

This directly led to his position in the company declining again and again, and he was not strong enough to speak.

Investment companies are so realistic. The position is just a superficial appearance. The real confidence lies in who has the best projects.

Even if you are an investment manager, as long as you have a hundred-fold project, you can slam the table and shout at the directors or even partners.

Zhang He was already considered a "veteran" of R&F. If there is a good project, it is not impossible to be promoted to partner.

As a result, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

Fortunately, the CEOs of the SAAS projects he invested in were all carefully selected by him at the beginning, and their character and ability are beyond reproach.

Not only did he not give up his company now, but he also cheered Zhang He from time to time, making him the most comforted one.

Originally, Zhang He had already made up his mind. He didn't make money and couldn't get promoted, but it was also a good thing to invest in a few close friends.

If the SAAS thing really doesn't work, if these CEOs figure it out and transform to do something else in the future, they will also be good hands, and maybe they can cooperate again.

Unexpectedly, just when he was about to fall into the water, he was pulled up by Mr. Cao himself.

So, Zhang He was the most excited today!

Not only did he see his idol, but Mr. Cao also helped him take over!

This is not only about recovering his investment losses, but more importantly, it is the affirmation from his idol!

He did not make the wrong choice in his direction, and he did not make the wrong choice in his CEO.

Although Mr. Cao said that he would have to meet in person, Zhang He was very confident that the people he chose were all excellent and would definitely succeed!

Although he thought so, he worked harder in private.

He pulled the CEOs together, and reviewed and deduced like chicken blood, and he must win Mr. Cao!

When the CEOs heard that they were going to meet the "ancestor" of SAAS, they were also very excited.

To be honest, they also doubted themselves when they took this path, after all, reality was really too depressing.

So, they also wanted to know what Mr. Cao would think from his height and how to solve these problems!

They really need someone to give them guidance from a high-level perspective, so they have been working particularly hard recently.

It can be called a last-minute effort or a last-ditch effort, but in short, I will never give up a glimmer of hope.

Cao Shen came out of Qian Ming's office and let out a long breath.

I was disappointed that I didn't get a random task today.

But it was also a gain, as several SAAS companies looked pretty good.

It took a lot of time to come out, so I'll just take a vacation for myself.

Money makes the world go round. Jinhao Cao Shen's villa has been renovated in advance. It's better to do it on the right day than to wait for a day. I'll move my home when I go back later!

In addition, Cao Shen looked around the "CBD Plaza". People are "in the city", so why not go shopping?

I've never been shopping since I came to this world!