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Chapter 2619 Heavenly Dynasty Group

In the end, Suning still had Jack Ma's China Yellow Pages create websites for several of its companies.

This decision caused a lot of doubt within the company. Assistant Xiao Zhao was the first to ask the question, "President Su, there aren't many users of China Yellow Pages in the whole country. Who are we making this website for?"

Moreover, spending several thousand dollars a year just to create a few websites and put them online, which even foreigners might not be able to find, is it worth the money?

Suning simply said without looking up, "With the internet, if you wait until everyone understands it before you get involved, it'll be too late. Spending a little money now to secure a position is more cost-effective than spending a fortune later. Think about it, a few years from now, with more people online, who will be the first Chinese car brand they find when they search for it?"

"..." Xiao Zhao thought for a moment, then left without saying anything more, taking the contract with him.

After China Yellow Pages received the order, Jack Ma personally led his technical team to visit them several times to discuss the matter.

The company website from 1997 looks incredibly rudimentary by today's standards...

A few static pages, a few product photos, a short company profile, and contact information—not even an online message function.

The webpage has a gray background, images take several seconds to load, and the text layout relies entirely on tables; it might look messed up in a different browser.

But these few simple web pages made Tianchao Auto one of the earliest car companies in China to have an official homepage on the Internet.

On the day the website launched, Jack Ma made a special call to Suning, saying, "Mr. Suning, the website is now online! From today onwards, anyone in any corner of the world who has internet access can find Tianchao Auto! This is a landmark event for Chinese manufacturing companies going online!"

"Then I hope our first collaboration will be successful."

"Pleasant to work with."

After hanging up the phone, he leaned back in his chair and smiled.

When Jack Ma makes a real splash in a few years, and we look back at these static pages today, that will be truly interesting.

Perhaps this simple webpage screenshot will eventually make it into the company's history museum, displayed alongside those old signs and contracts.

……

With the website issue settled, Suning turned its attention to an even bigger move.

Suning has instructed its legal department to initiate the entire process of group-wide restructuring.

The four companies, Mingju Real Estate, Tianchao Automobile, Siyi Foreign Trade, and Huayu Film & Television, have already formed a de facto synergy in their business operations.

For example, owners of Tianchao Auto receive discounts when buying houses from Mingju Real Estate; Siyi Foreign Trade helps Tianchao Auto with the procedures for importing equipment; and Huayu Film and Television uses Mingju Real Estate properties as outdoor sets for its production crews.

However, they are still independent legal entities in terms of legal structure, with dispersed equity structures and inconsistent management systems.

Suning aims to integrate them into a unified group framework.

After receiving the task, the legal department, along with its team, prepared the materials item by item in accordance with the various requirements of the industrial and commercial departments regarding the registration of enterprise groups.

The registered capital of the parent company, Tianchao Shangguo Industrial Co., Ltd., has long met the legal requirements, and all four of its subsidiaries have independent legal person status. In terms of organizational structure, the board of directors, board of supervisors, and articles of association were already established when the first batch of companies were established. The legal department only needs to systematically review and supplement the existing framework.

After the legal department finished compiling the materials, they were sent to Suning's office for review.

Suning flipped through the document and asked, "How long does the approval process typically take?"

Manager Cheng said, "After receiving the materials, the industry and commerce department shall make a decision on whether to approve or disapprove within 30 days from the date of acceptance, in accordance with regulations. Our materials are very complete, so there should be no problem."

Su Ning nodded. "Then report it as soon as possible."

"clear."

……

The approval process went more smoothly than expected.

After reviewing the materials, the people from the industry and commerce department made a special phone call to confirm a few details...

The equity relationship diagram between the group's parent company and subsidiaries needs to be more clearly marked, and one clause in the group's articles of association needs to be adjusted.

The Ministry of Justice revised it and resubmitted it that same day.

The industry and commerce department issued the "Enterprise Group Registration Certificate" within the prescribed working days.

On the day he received the registration certificate, Xiao Zhao picked it up from the Administration for Industry and Commerce.

The certificate cover was dark red, with the words "Enterprise Group Registration Certificate" printed in gold lettering.

Suning opened the certificate and saw the words "Tianchao Shangguo Industrial Co., Ltd." printed neatly on it. "Archive it. Notify the heads of the four subsidiaries that the first plenary meeting after the establishment of the group will be held in three days."

"Yes, Mr. Su."

……

The meeting was held three days later in the conference room of the headquarters building.

The long conference table was filled with people on both sides: Mr. Zhang from Mingju Real Estate, Mr. Fei from Tianchao Automobile and Chief Engineer Liu from the Engineering Department, Mr. Fan from Siyi Foreign Trade, Mr. Zhou from Huayu Film and Television, plus the directors from the legal, finance, and marketing departments. Everyone who was supposed to be there was present.

Zhuangzhuang sat next to Suning taking meeting notes, while Xiao Zhao was responsible for distributing meeting materials.

Suning did not hold any grand ceremony or deliver any lengthy speeches.

He simply had someone project a copy of the group's registration certificate onto the wall, then drew a circle around it with a laser pointer. "From today onwards, Mingju, Tianchao, Siyi, and Huayu will all use the Tianchao Group's brand logo externally. Internally, decision-making processes, budget approvals, and resource allocation will all follow the group's unified management process. Today's meeting will only decide on a few specific matters."

"First, unify the brand image. Starting today, all external promotional materials of Tianchao Group's subsidiaries will use the unified corporate logo, namely the seal face of the Imperial Seal of the State, which reads 'By the mandate of Heaven, may it live long and prosper.' Tianchao Auto's advertisements will end with the Tianchao Group's logo and name, Mingju Real Estate's construction site hoardings will be painted with the group's unified brand visuals, and Siyi Foreign Trade's business letters and business cards will all be redesigned. The Marketing Department will take the lead in this matter, and all materials will be updated by the end of the month."

Mr. Fei quickly jotted down notes in his notebook, then looked up and asked, "Mr. Su, what should we do with the existing advertising inventory of Tianchao Auto? There are still quite a few brochures from the previous printing that haven't been distributed yet."

Suning said, "Send off the existing inventory first, so as not to waste it. But all new printed materials will use the new format. There can be a transition period, but it cannot be too long."

"clear."

"Secondly, a collaborative mechanism." Su Ning turned to Zhou Xingping. "Mr. Zhou, for any future films and TV series produced by Huayu Film & Television, the cars driven by the male and female leads should prioritize Tianchao Auto products. No need for those stiff, advertising-style close-ups; just normal car use for the characters, with the car logo occasionally flashing in the frame. Go back and let the director and producer know about this. From now on, Tianchao Auto's marketing department will have a dedicated person responsible for coordinating the production team's vehicle needs—what model, what color, how many—it'll be a matter of one phone call."

Mr. Zhou nodded and said, "That's easy. It's our own car, so why not use it? The crew spent a lot of money renting cars when we were filming that urban drama last time. From now on, we can just get cars directly from China Automotive."

Su Ning continued, "The reverse is also true. When Huayu Film and Television's production crews need outdoor shooting locations, Mingju Real Estate's properties will give priority to cooperation. For properties like Jingcheng No. 1, Jingcheng No. 2, and those Pujiang-series properties in Shanghai, the property management will prepare the coordination process in advance. Water, electricity, parking, and security during the filming period will be coordinated by the property management without any extra charges. But there is one condition—it cannot affect the normal lives of the residents. The filming time and area must be reported in advance."

Mr. Zhang from Mingju Real Estate asked from the side, "Mr. Su, won't the homeowners have any objections? After all, the film crew is shooting here, with lots of lighting equipment, and some homeowners might find it noisy." Su Ning replied, "So we need to notify them in advance and choose a weekday during the day to avoid weekends and rush hours. Also, the property management will issue a notice informing the homeowners that this is Tianchao Group's own film crew, and homeowners who cooperate during filming will have priority to participate in Huayu Film & Television's audience interaction activities. At the same time, Huayu Film & Television will also receive substantial advertising revenue. It's our own resources, and the homeowners are our own people, so we just need to make things clear. Our goal is to advertise for Mingju Real Estate, to subtly get the audience to accept driving Tianchao cars and living in a Mingju Real Estate community."

Mr. Zhou laughed from the side: "Mr. Su, that's a great idea. The actors interact with the homeowners, the production crew saves on venue fees, the property gains popularity, and the homeowners are happy. It's killing three birds with one stone."

“Thirdly,” Su Ning placed the laser pointer on the table, looking at the department heads present, “In terms of finance, the group will establish an internal settlement center. The idle funds of the four subsidiaries will be uniformly collected into the group's capital pool and allocated by the group's finance department. In the future, if any subsidiary needs short-term working capital, it will no longer need to seek bank loans; funds will be directly transferred from the capital pool. However, every transfer must have complete approval procedures, and the borrowing subsidiary must repay on schedule and pay internal interest. The finance department should produce a draft of the internal capital transfer management method within one week of returning.”

The CFO nodded and made a note of it.

After the meeting adjourned, people gradually left the meeting room.

As Xiao Zhao was tidying up the materials on the table, he suddenly remarked, "President Su, before, the four companies each did their own thing. Although we made money, it always felt like four chopsticks being used separately. But after this meeting today, it feels like we've tied the four chopsticks together."

Su Ning stood up, picked up the group registration certificate on the table, glanced at it, and said, "Using them separately has its advantages, such as flexibility. But now that the business is bigger, we need to tie it all together to make a difference. From now on, the name 'Tianchao Group' should be instantly recognizable to everyone."

……

The synergistic effects of group-based operations were quickly reflected in specific projects.

During the filming of a new drama invested in by Huayu Film & Television, the male and female leads' cars were all replaced with products from China Automotive.

The female lead drives a silver-gray Suzaku city SUV. In the drama, she is portrayed as an independent young entrepreneur who drives a stylish SUV through the city.

The male lead drives a black Qinglong sedan, and in the film he plays a calm and low-key entrepreneur.

One car chase scene used a White Tiger SUV, which kicked up a screen full of dust as it drove on an unpaved road in the suburbs.

Even the taxis on the street are all from the Qinglong Automobile Taxi version of China, completely forming the cultural world of the China Group.

The camera work is natural, not the kind of stiff, advertising-style close-ups. It's just the characters getting in and out of the car, driving, and parking normally. The dragon logo on the front of the car occasionally lights up in the frame, and the lucky charm hanging on the rearview mirror sways.

This kind of unintentional revelation is what makes the audience remember it.

"The landscaping in this neighborhood is quite nice!"

"Look how nice this taxi is! Why don't we have one in our city?"

What kind of car does the male lead drive? Is it an imported car?

After the drama aired, Tianchao Auto's marketing department conducted a small survey and found that during the broadcast period, the number of inquiries about the Zhuque City SUV at dealerships in major cities increased by 30% compared to usual.

Many customers who came to look at the cars asked directly, "I saw that silver-gray SUV on TV, it looked really nice, which model was it?"

"That's the Zhuque City SUV from our Tianchao Auto brand."

Can I take a test drive?

"can!"

When the distributor submitted the feedback, Manager Sun took the report to the department's routine meeting. "In the past, we spent hundreds of thousands on advertising and didn't achieve this effect. Now, we can save on advertising costs by filming a movie with our own crew."

"That's right! The annual advertising revenue of Tianchao Auto and Mingju Real Estate will strengthen Huayu Film and Television, which in turn will support Tianchao Auto and Mingju Real Estate."

……

Soon, Mingju Real Estate also tasted the sweetness of success.

Huayu Film & Television recently produced another urban romance drama, and the exterior of the residential area where the main characters live was directly taken from a high-end residential complex newly developed by Mingju Real Estate in Beijing.

The landscaping of that development was exquisite, with artificial hills, flowing water, and pavilions.

When the production art director came to scout the location, he said as soon as he entered, "This place doesn't need any set construction, it's perfect, let's shoot right away."

After the show aired, the number of inquiries received by the sales office of that real estate project nearly doubled.

Several customers came directly to the sales office with the property advertisement and pointed at it, saying, "Isn't this the community from the TV show?"

Some customers even asked directly over the phone, "Are you the property development featured in a TV drama? If so, I'd like to come and see the apartments."

The sales office later arranged a special promotional event and even invited the male and female leads to endorse the property. The results were far better than any previous advertising campaign.

This synergistic effect was difficult to achieve before the group structure was established, because cross-company resource coordination involved their respective independent financial budgets and approval processes...

When Tianchao Auto lends its vehicles to film crews, it must go through the fixed asset lending process.

For a film crew to film in a Mingju Real Estate property, they need to go through the venue rental procedures.

Each time a project is transferred to another company, it requires multiple layers of approval. By the time the process is completed, the film crew may have already finished shooting.

After becoming a group, these internal barriers were broken down.

Suning no longer needs to consult with anyone about which car to use in a movie or which real estate project to film. All the heads of the subsidiaries are at the same conference table, the collaborative plan is decided on the spot, and each person takes on a task to carry out.

……

Zhuangzhuang noticed these changes and was secretly surprised.

The longer she stayed with Suning, the more she felt that Suning did things differently from others.

Others might do things with just one dollar, but Suning uses one dollar to leverage a ten-dollar opportunity.

Moreover, the transitions between each game are planned in advance...

Real estate provides financial support to the automotive industry; the automotive industry endorses foreign trade; foreign exchange earned from foreign trade replenishes the group's cash flow; film and television provide content marketing for real estate and automobiles...

The four companies mesh together like a set of gears, forming a complex chessboard with numerous stars scattered throughout.

Moreover, the number of pieces on the board will increase.

...(End of this chapter)