"Strict Election" Two Times Was "Scolded" On Micro-Blog Hot Search Boss Ding Lei How To Say.

In the 8 days, the NetEase strictly selected (hereinafter referred to as "strict election") two times was "scolded" on micro-blog hot search.

In January 23rd, in the early stage of the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia outbreak, strict selection and timely response and announcement were made, which promised that the health protection articles would not rise in price, and the top priority would be to supply 30 thousand masks in Hubei. However, at the end of this announcement, it left a striking two-dimensional code, which revealed that the rule of strict selection was to rush to buy masks to download strictly selected APP.

However, when many users rush to rush to buy masks, the servers are heavily downloaded. Some customers complained that they had not been able to grab a mask 6 times before and after loading and unloading. In addition, users complain that even if they are lucky enough to grab a mask, they will have to wait for half a month or even longer to receive it.

Strict selection of an internal staff Xiao Zhenghao still do not identification with company this practice.

"There is one saying. The response of the company is timely, but the starting point of the strict selection is problematic, entirely for the purpose of pulling new. " Xiao Zhenghao said. Strict selection of this new initiative has made it more vulnerable for users in micro-blog and other social media to "blame the country for financial difficulties" and "wicked".

In response to the incident, in February 22nd, Yan Xuan issued a notice of partial shipment delay in micro-blog, offered compensation, and expected to complete all backlog orders in a week or so. The responsible person in charge of the strict election also did not agree with the query during the epidemic. The response said that in fact, it is very good for our whole industry, whether from the industry or the users. Because Yan Xuan responds at the first time of the outbreak, does not rise in price, does not close, and has no shortage of warehouses and logistics. However, affected by the epidemic, many electric providers encountered the problem of having to stop shipment or delay shipment. NetEase's strict election was affected to a certain extent.

While the outside world is being questioned, it seems that the days of strict selection within the NetEase are not too good.

In February 28th, NetEase released its fourth quarter 2019 earnings report. According to the financial report, the net income of NetEase in the fourth quarter of 2019 was 15 billion 740 million yuan, and game business revenue accounted for 80%. However, after selling the koala for $2 billion to Ali in September last year, since the third quarter of 2019, NetEase has included strict selection, NetEase cloud music and other projects in the "innovation and other" projects, so in NetEase's earnings report, it has not involved in the electricity business alone.

A strict interior employee who did not want to be named admitted to the Chinese Entrepreneur: "the plates that are strictly selected are too small and the numbers are not good, so we can't put them out alone."

During the double eleven period, on the occasion of the release of the sharp news by the various electricity supplier enterprises, Yan Xuan only officially disclosed the growth data and sold over 2 million 600 thousand pieces of goods: during the period from 22 o'clock in November 10th to 24 in November 11th, the total quantity of strictly selected orders increased by 53% compared with the same period last year, and the official APP's first hour orders increased 215% over the same period last year.

Last year, NetEase's electricity supplier business changed greatly. Besides koala, the change began to appear in the strict selection.

In October 2019, Ding Lei, who was accompanied by thirteen years of Mr Ding Lei, resigned from the former general manager Liu Xiaogang for personal reasons. Liang Jun, one of the important members of the start-up team, took over her post.

Xiao Zhenghao recalled: "it can be said that strict election is Liu Xiaogang's big hand." Liu Xiaogang once served as the general manager of the mail Department of NetEase. After the mailbox Department hatched its internal products, he became the general manager of the strict selection department.

Not only did Xiao Zhenghao feel the change of personnel, but some people remember that the leader who interviewed his leader 10 days ago and who was in the post 10 days later was not the same person.

All this is very different from the four years ago when the newly elected Minister was founded.

Yan Xuan was formally launched in April 2016. Because of the small and refreshing style design, strict selection of a line has stirred up the long silence of the electricity supplier industry. In 2015, NetEase reported that advertising, games, mailboxes, and electric business grew by 76.4%, 15.3% and 232% respectively over the same period of three years. In 2016, plus NetEase's strict selection, NetEase's mailbox and e-commerce revenue reached about 8000000000 yuan, an increase of 117.52% over the same period last year. In the fourth quarter of 2017, NetEase's electricity business revenue amounted to 11 billion 670 million yuan, which was the second largest source of revenue of NetEase, accounting for 21.57% of the total revenue of NetEase in that year.

At that time, the electricity supplier is the NetEase's real business growth point. Ding Lei also made bold remarks at that time: "reinventing a NetEase in the field of electricity supplier".

But at the height of the summit, the turning point will follow.

In 2018, the combined income of NetEase koala and NetEase was 19 billion 200 million yuan, which did not meet the goals set by Ding Lei. In the second quarter of 2019, NetEase's e-commerce business income increased by 20.20% over the same period last year, which is the growth rate of NetEase's e-commerce business in the past few years.

From Ali, Jingdong, millet have followed the "strict election" mode, to the edge of the merger of data, four years, strict election exactly what?

Dislocation rhythm

During the outbreak of the epidemic, a strict selection of the front page of APP was strictly opened, and the protective products provided by the strict selection to the users free of charge were attached to a line of characters. In February 14th, a user who bought a strict year card for this reason could not bear to ask Ding Lei whether micro-blog would feel heartache. "The delivery date was extended to 12 days".

Behind the user's Tucao is to strictly select the rhythm of dislocation.

"Strict logistics is to use Shun Feng and Jingdong, that is, outsourcing, not their own logistics. During the outbreak of the outbreak, it was said that no closure was made every day, but there was virtually no logistics to support it. Xiao Zhenghao explained the reason, and she thought it conveyed a deeper problem of strict selection.

"(Yan Xuan) the train of thought is problematic. If Taobao and Jingdong are 9 of the electricity supplier, the 2 way is to choose strictly. But the electricity supplier is inseparable from user experience and services. If you have poor quality and service, what is your core competitiveness? "Xiao Zhenghao said.

In the story that has spread abroad, the idea of Yan Xuan's establishment is derived from Ding Lei's desire to buy a good bath towel in China. "Buying a good bath towel is my personal basic demand. I always wonder why no one in China is going to look into this matter. Since others are not doing it, we will do it ourselves and make it the best.

Since its establishment, the positioning of "selection" has been very clear. Through the business mode of ODM (original design manufacturer), it has made high-quality e-commerce, and the main business is self run, from the factory to the brand side and then to the consumers. Liang Jun, the current CEO, still says that one of the characteristics of strict selection is quality control.

At the same time, strict selection has begun to be challenged. A senior user sighed, now that the quality of strictly selected products is not as good as before. At the very beginning, it can spend 800 yuan to buy a set of silk quilts. But now, the luggage can not be opened under the correct password, quality control is really not good. Similar queries also flow on various social platforms such as knowing, micro-blog and so on.

"In 2017 and 2018, it felt as if they (Yan Xuan) had no rhythm and no way to play." Li Chengdong, an industry analyst, was aware of the problem earlier. "Quality control is not in place. Category is expanding. SKU is doing more." So from the user side to feel directly, that is, strict selection of products is not so good. He explained that there was a conflict between SKU and quality control.

As early as 2018, Zheng Rujing, the vice general manager of Yan Xuan, mentioned in his sharing that there were more than 14000 pieces of SKU strictly selected, and that figure once surged to 20000.

But in Li Chengdong's view, this is just a matter of the operation of the business department. There is no problem in the strict selection of the general direction. "The core issue is that strict selection is not clear at the beginning, what is the goal of the business product, and how to do it at a certain stage." Whether it's quality control or logistics or inventory, strict selection on these operational details is like a chaotic rhythm.

Li Chengdong, for example, strictly selected logistics as early as it has its own warehouses and warehouses, and later changed to cooperate with EMS. The cost is down, but EMS is not doing well, the service system is too bad, and then cooperate with Jingdong.

Xiao Zhenghao believes that the problem of strict selection is not only simple operation: "I think whether in the Liu Xiaogang era or in the current Liang Jun era, from top to bottom did not send clear messages to the staff, who are the strict candidates? What kind of person do they want to be?"

Xiao Zhenghao remembers that in the early June 2019, strict selection was always adjusting. After Liu Xiaogang proposed to make the platform, he strictly selected 12 two level departments, such as marketing center and supply chain center, and began to transform in this direction and attach importance to consignment business. After that, we should adjust to strict selection, make the brand and start the recycling business. In November 2019, the new CEO Liang Jun reiterated his position in an interview with the media. In 2020, NetEase chose the brand name as an upgrade year. Strict selection is not a platform, but a brand.

In response to strict selection, the position of NetEase's strict selection has been very clear all along. As early as 2017, Ding Lei put forward the concept of "new consumption". He believed that the evolution of all forms of retailing came from the deep insight and understanding of consumer demand.

Lack of key figures

Yan Xuan has not been able to lead the key figures in the competition of similar businesses such as millet products, Jingdong, Taobao and Taobao, which is an important issue facing the strict election.

From the relevant media coverage, Liang Jun has no electricity supplier related experience. Before 2003, Liang Jun was the head of NetEase wireless division and served as vice president of NetEase. After 2003, Liang Jun left NetEase to start a business. Last year, Ding Lei invited him to take over the Yan election. In the strict selection of more than 1100 people's team, commodity center and marketing center are very important two departments. Xiao Zhenghao said that the two centers were all managed by Yan Xuan, vice president, but Shi Wen didn't have much experience in electricity supplier.

Statistics show that Shi Wen graduated from Fudan University with a major in business administration, and then went to MBA for further education at University of Chicago, where he worked for Roland Begg and Goldman Sachs. In 2014, Shi began to start business. In October of that year, the high-end second-hand car trading platform was launched. In March 2017, Che Bao bought another car.

A strict selection employee, who does not want to be named, says that the link between Liang Jun and his internal staff is not very close. Many decisions are made by him. It seems that Yan Xuan did not find the key people needed for the crisis.

In September 2019, the NetEase sold the koala, a cross-border electric business platform for $2 billion, to Ali. Soon after, in the gray building of Hangzhou, Ding Lei convened a meeting of the middle and upper levels of various departments. At the meeting, he said, NetEase rarely made mistakes when choosing the track, but almost all of them were one hundred percent correct. For example, the birth of Koala was good with the help of the state's policy on cross-border electricity providers. Koala was also developing very fast, but why sell the koala? "Because I know well that people can't do that."

"I know they've also dug up Alibaba and Jingdong." Compared with whether there are more professional electrical talents in the interior, Li Chengdong believes that the importance of the boss is even more important. "A lot of times, the boss of a project leader attaches great importance to it. In contrast, the loss of the electricity supplier is not profitable, or it is better to play games. The natural voice will be smaller. "

In April 2016, the strict selection at the early stage of the NetEase could almost be called the "star of the moon" and was quickly pushed to the stage. Not only has the NetEase system's mailbox, media and other product lines to enhance and promote, Ding Lei also often personally for his "advertising", strict selection of kitchen utensils, luggage repeatedly appeared at the Wuzhen Internet Conference.

In recent times, strict election seems to be Ding Lei's "abandoned son".

Li Chengdong said frankly: "from the perspective of internal resource allocation, NetEase has its own media, but its media resources and PR resources are not inclined to strict selection."

Xiao Zhenghao also had the same feeling: "obviously, games, cloud music, online education, these three businesses are the core business of NetEase at present." NetEase's 2019 annual financial report shows that in 2019, NetEase's annual net income was RMB 59 billion 240 million yuan, of which gaming revenue still accounted for the largest. Yan Xuan, as the sole provider of electricity business, has not released any data.

"At present, NetEase's core strategic business includes online games, e-commerce, online music, online education and information media. NetEase's strict selection is one of the core strategic businesses of NetEase. " Strict selection still believes this.

Continue to "break off"?

At the end of 2019, Yan Xuan put forward the goal of the next 3 years: let 200 million people know about strict election, 40 million people choose strictly, and 10 million people can not do without strict election. The end is a "how much money can a company make" compared with its promise.

"There may not be any improvement in a short time. Although this word is not pleasant to hear, it is not discrimination. Every company has its own business boundaries. " Li Chengdong believes that the market structure that will not be changed in a short time will not change. According to the sales volume, he will rank the similar products, but in the few players, he will be ranked third.

Ding Lei has founded NetEase for 23 years, and has produced many successful products. But there are also many products that are lost in the history of the sea, such as the easy faith that he once had to compare with WeChat. And for products that can't be found for the time being, Ding Lei has said that he can't lose much money, and I earn a lot of money today. Learn to take responsibility for some products.

"Now strict election is constantly testing the bottom line of Ding boss." A strict selection of internal staff said. Strict election seems to have fallen into such a dilemma: lack of sufficient profitability leads to its lack of internal support, and without support, it is difficult to break the status quo.

However, unlike the awkward situation of strict selection, the capital market has shown the "Yes" card to Ding Lei's act of divestiing the electricity supplier business. NetEase shares rose more than 31% in 2019, higher than 29% in the same period in the S & P 500 index, and many institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Nomura Securities have upgraded NetEase's rating to "buy".

Will Yan Xuan become the next koala and be "broken off" by Ding Lei?

In response to the personnel change that included the alternation of the general manager, the NetEase said: "strict selection is one of the core businesses that NetEase has been investing for a long time. It has been optimistic about the long term development and has not sold a strict plan."

In this regard, some people jokingly said that it was not that NetEase did not want to sell strict elections, but that they could not sell them, and that strict election was in Ding Lei's own hands.

"Ali should not accept (Yan Xuan), NetEase should continue to do it themselves." Li Chengdong jokes, "Ding boss has money, NetEase has tens of billions of revenue every year, hundreds of millions of dollars do not care."

Xiao Zhenghao said: "if we want to change the difficulties faced by Yan Xuan, we can not change from top to bottom reform. Liang Jun may not be able to save Yan Xuan, maybe only Ding Lei himself can. In the NetEase, there is only one person who can be called the boss, that is Ding Lei. In strict selection, we only call Liang Jun "boss". Ding Lei's strong will is not only reflected in this area. NetEase has a way CEO Zhou Feng has also said that in the NetEase, Ding Lei is right, unless the user is wrong.

Whether Xiao Zhenghao or Li Chengdong, still remember the impact of the 2016 selection of the company to the electricity supplier industry. They also expect that strict elections can bring "miracles" once again.

(interviewee's request, Xiao Zhenghao is a pseudonym)