Chapter 435: Purchase Order (Part 2)

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, it was November 11th.

This year’s Double Eleven sales event was much bigger, but with fewer gimmicks. All the major e-commerce platforms had made significant changes.

They abandoned their previous complexity and convoluted schemes, returning to something closer to the original sales strategy.

The reason for this shift was that they had become aware of a threat.

Starting in mid-October, user registrations for the Hailufeng Specialty Store app experienced another explosive surge, with the total number of registered users reaching 77.95 million.

For a specialized agricultural product sales platform, the number of registered users for the Hailufeng Specialty Store app was already approaching its limit.

Although the Hailufeng Specialty Store app seemed like a niche e-commerce platform—somewhat similar to Vipshop, Suning.com, or Dangdang—the three e-commerce giants felt an ever-increasing threat after Hailufeng Company began to expand its roster of exclusive, contracted farmers and breeders in October.

Unlike traditional e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores, the Hailufeng Specialty Store’s model was a bit like Suning.com’s, but it was far more deeply integrated into the industry chain.

After all, Suning.com didn’t manufacture its own electronics.

Hailufeng Company, however, didn’t just sign contracts with farmers and breeders. It also operated its own farms, breeding facilities, and processing plants. It even had its own logistics and warehousing system, not to mention its formidable R&D capabilities.

Under this model, as long as Hailufeng Company avoided any major disasters, it was certain to expand into all sorts of agricultural products, by-products, and processed goods.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that the three major e-commerce platforms all follow a comprehensive, all-encompassing model; agricultural products still accounted for a significant portion of their sales.

For Pinduoduo, which had the highest proportion, agricultural sales made up about 40% of its business—practically half its empire.

The agricultural sales on Tao Net and Tmall combined were also substantial.

Conversely, Gou Dong had the lowest percentage of agricultural sales, falling even below the Yinfu Platform.

Therefore, the threat the Hailufeng Specialty Store app posed to the three e-commerce giants was much greater than they had imagined.

But there was nothing they could do about Hailufeng Company. While these platforms could make or break ordinary agricultural producers and online stores, they were truly powerless against a company like Hailufeng.

As for reconciliation or truces, they were essentially useless.

Even if they came to an agreement, Hailufeng Company would continue to expand. It wasn’t going to shut down its app or rejoin the three major e-commerce platforms because of some truce.

After all, the previous traffic restrictions and bans had destroyed any foundation of trust for peaceful coexistence. Jiang Miao was already wary of these internet companies and would certainly not entrust his company’s lifeline to these e-commerce platforms or other internet corporations.

No matter how massive the traffic on these platforms was, it was meaningless to Hailufeng Company.

Jiang Miao had never held a very positive view of internet companies. ‘These tech giants are all bloodsuckers, experts at profiting from others’ misery. Not a single one is trustworthy. Even when cooperating, you have to be on guard against a sudden backstabbing.’

After all, a few foreign internet companies had become so powerful they could deplatform major public figures.

Although these tech giants would likely not dare to directly ban his social media accounts after he became an academician next year, he wasn’t letting his guard down.

He had left dedicated forum system interfaces in the Hailufeng Specialty Store app, the Hailufeng Procurement Network, and the official Hailufeng Company website. He could launch a professional social forum at any time with a new plugin.

In fact, the built-in social system on the Hailufeng Procurement Network was already in use.

The Hailufeng Procurement Network had been in public beta since October.

Currently, this procurement network was primarily professional software used by Hailufeng Company to post procurement projects. This included purchasing office supplies, furniture and appliances, daily necessities, packaging materials, disposable tableware, pesticides and fertilizers, agricultural machinery, engineering equipment, and various other industrial support equipment.

Companies that had previously worked with Hailufeng Company joined the procurement network almost immediately, and many new companies flocked to join as well.

As of Double Eleven, more than 3,000 companies had joined the procurement network, and the number was still growing rapidly.

Business in the country had been tough in recent years. Even with the successive stimuli from Egyptian Catfish Meal and Immortal Soybeans this year, the economy had only seen a slight revitalization. The root cause was still low public income leading to insufficient domestic demand.

What company wouldn’t want to build a relationship with a partner like Hailufeng Company, which was known for paying its bills so promptly?

Even for small items like delivery boxes, disposable tableware, or office supplies, once the procurement scale reached the hundreds of thousands or millions, it became a substantial amount of business.

Of course, Hailufeng Company’s management of its suppliers was also extremely strict. Besides sending personnel to inspect factories, they also conducted comprehensive testing on all supplied products.

They paid special attention to anything that came into contact with food, as well as materials that could affect product quality or production safety. These were monitored long-term to prevent suppliers from cutting corners or passing off substandard goods.

The procurement network had functional sections similar to WeChat groups and Tieba forums, which were currently quite active.

In fact, after seeing the Hailufeng Procurement Network, the three e-commerce giants grew even more concerned.

It was no wonder the three e-commerce giants were letting their imaginations run wild. The procurement network already covered a wide range of products. If Hailufeng Company wanted to, it could leverage the purchasing channels established through the network to quickly procure large quantities of furniture, electronics, office supplies, daily necessities, and various types of machinery, and then list them for sale on the Hailufeng Specialty Store app.