Small and medium-sized enterprises inventory management

Author: Jiang Ran
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Xiao Wang had just started working at his current company when his supervisor assigned him a task—to go to an old client, Manager Zhao, to collect an outstanding payment. Manager Zhao owed 420,000 yuan and showed no intention of paying. After some preparation, Xiao Wang went.
When Manager Zhao saw Xiao Wang, he said, “Our wine isn’t selling well. We’ve done promotions and set up displays, but there’s been no improvement. It’s all sitting in our hands.” Well-prepared, Xiao Wang presented a survey report: “I’ve investigated the distributors and hotels that supply your products. The sales situation for our products is clear, and I’m also aware of your payment status. I know you have the ability to pay this invoice. If you don’t, I’ll have to keep chasing you.”
Manager Zhao was surprised that Xiao Wang knew so much about his situation and smiled, “I didn’t expect a young woman like you to be so capable. A gentle approach brings wealth. Well, it’s not even 400,000 yuan. You can come in a couple of days, and I’ll ask the finance department to settle the accounts.” He easily dropped the extra 20,000 yuan, but Xiao Wang immediately corrected him: “It’s 420,000 yuan.” He smiled, “It’s almost the same. Fine, you can come in a couple of days.”
Two days later, Xiao Wang went again. This time, Manager Zhao presented another invoice: “Look, your goods sold for 300,000 yuan, but my expenses amounted to 280,000 yuan. In a bit, I’ll take you to the warehouse to pick up the old goods. Here’s a check for 20,000 yuan—take it.”
Holding the 20,000 yuan check and those vague expense lists, Xiao Wang knew it would be too difficult to collect the remaining amount directly. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He realized that Manager Zhao now had reservations about him, so trying to negotiate further would be pointless. Instead, he decided to focus on the market and promote the new product. As long as the new product sold well, Manager Zhao would naturally come knocking.
Sure enough, thanks to Xiao Wang’s efforts, the new product gradually gained market traction. A few months later, its sales reached 5 million yuan per month. The strong performance of the new product made Manager Zhao envious, so he approached Xiao Wang again to ask for agency rights. Xiao Wang, putting aside past grievances, was willing to cooperate but insisted on payment before shipment and demanded that the first batch of payments must be at least 300,000 yuan. Seeing the hot sales of the new product, Manager Zhao agreed.