Chapter 583: I Am Your Good Fortune

Shanghai served as the main hub for E-Le-Bu’s operations which sparked from here.

As the first round of investment was secured, their business began to spread, with the food ordering operations in Jinling and Hangcheng maturing gradually.

Kuai Dian Can established a business chain in Kyoto and then extended its reach to Shanghai, instantly clashing with the two burgeoning food ordering apps.

Wherever E-Le-Bu is, Kuai Dian Can is there, and vice versa.

The struggle between the two intensified, accelerating burn rates.

E-Le-Bu invested in backend optimization and tech development. Their growth wasn’t as rapid as Kuai Dian Can’s, and with less funding from the first investment round, Kuai Dian Can easily outpaced them.

Consumers were unaware, just noticing today’s delivery seemed much cheaper than yesterday.

At the branch office, Jiang Qin soon decided his first meal would be through delivery.

Then, he smoothly registered as a delivery rider for E-Le-Bu.

“This is freaking interesting.”

Tan Qing leaned in, “Boss, are you deep diving into enemy lines to scout their operations?”

Jiang Qin grimaced, “I just wanted to order some food.”

“Hey look, you’ve got an order!”

“Great, now alongside ordering food, I apparently also scored a job!”

Jiang Qin exited the delivery interface, randomly clicked around on the home page, then switched to Kuai Dian Can’s interface.

Well, Kuai Dian Can’s user interface is more intuitive, clearer, and offers more categories.

Their boss Xi Zhongwen, having two years of experience in telephone orders, understood customer pain points well, which reflected in their ordering page.

However, in terms of delivery speed, Kuai Dian Can couldn’t match E-Le-Bu.

Jiang Qin ordered food from E-Le-Bu and milk tea from Kuai Dian Can; E-Le-Bu delivered within 20 minutes, while Kuai Dian Can took about 45 minutes.

The key issue here was that both the restaurant and milk tea shop were nearly in the same district, close to Jiang Qin’s location.

Even if Kuai Dian Can had fewer riders and wasted ten minutes on order acceptance, it should have been within 30 minutes.

This implies that Kuai Dian Can’s dispatch and order acceptance speeds were inferior to E-Le-Bu’s.

Jiang Qin felt Kuai Dian Can was significantly at a disadvantage here.

“Kuai Dian Can is way too slow.”

“But it’s cheaper.”

Jiang Qin unwrapped chopsticks and handed them to Tan Qing then called over Ye Ziqing, Guan Shen, Ma Yubao, and Yang Shuai.

As Tan Qing removed the lid, he remarked, “If you can’t beat them in speed, you lure customers with lower prices.”

“Kuai Dian Can is too aggressive, just entered the Kyoto market and now they’re targeting E-Le-Bu’s turf, definitely misled by some.”

“Boss, aren’t you the one misleading them?”

Jiang Qin frowned, “Nonsense, I don’t even know Kuai Dian Can’s boss.”

Ma Yubao grabbed some peanuts, “But Feiyu said you’re always in the dorm writing mini articles, guiding the delivery market into competitive growth.”

“I write mine, they can choose not to believe it!”

“But every article you write tops the newsfeed, how can they not panic?”

“I read them and I’m not panicking…”

At this moment, Ye Ziqing and Guan Shen exchanged looks, recalling the early chaotic days of Sui Xin Tuan’s venture in Shanghai where they ended up in disarray.

Watching Kuai Dian Can’s hasty rise stirring up a skirmish felt ominously familiar.

“In business, isn’t seizing the initiative correct?”

“It is, but it has to be phased.”

Jiang Qin turned to Ye Ziqing and Guan Shen, “During the wild growth phase, most platforms nurture the market and users. But what you nurture may not remain yours. Once the market matures, what you’ve cultivated might just be integrated by others.”

Guan Shen leaned in, “Then what truly constitutes seizing the initiative?”

“Take Group-Buy for example—being the first to provide customers with map services, collaborating with third-party payments, refunding expired coupons. Perhaps, that’s what seizing the initiative looks like.”

After hearing this, Ye Ziqing’s thoughts inadvertently drifted to two years prior.

Initially, even though Group-Buy was not well-known, it was the most mature group-buying platform in the country.

If Sui Xin Tuan hadn’t copied Group-Buy’s model, it might not have lasted in Shanghai.

They always puzzled over Jiang Qin’s strategic patience; now witnessing the takeaway industry’s rise resembling the group-buying’s onset, they understood the importance of backend strategies.

It turns out, at Jiang Qin’s level of thinking, those who rush into the market eventually become the inadvertent pioneers for others.

“How’s senior Ziqing doing at work?”

“Senior’s execution ability is strong. In the subsided market, she’s managing some of the most efficient cities.”

“Senior might not suit a leading role, but she definitely fits the executor’s part.”

After an unconventional meal time, Jiang Qin and Tan Qing chatted and then visited Burger King.

They saw many riders queueing up for meals and called Wei Lanlan.

Linchuan Commercial Gang’s eighth batch of strategic partners was being screened. Jiang Qin suggested focusing on fast-food brands like Burger King and Yangji.

Riding this wave might just foster some well-known brands.

Perhaps what kind of rice, what kind of chicken cutlets, what kind of breakfast, what kind of buns. Although the future of the delivery industry would extend to countless varieties, a few brands might lack offline business yet dominate online.

Over the following days, Jiang Qin stayed at the construction site of Group-Buy’s headquarters.

He Yijun personally accompanied him, discussing modifications based on existing blueprints while keeping a close eye on the construction steel.

“Old He, you’re really unambitious, am I lacking those two steel rods?”

“Aren’t you also not a smoker?”

Jiang Qin was taken aback, “So?”

He Yijun looked at him expressionlessly, “But you just swiped my lighter when drinking tea in my office.”

“…”

Inspecting project sites and discussing blueprints took almost two days.

During these days, Jiang Qin almost exclusively relied on takeaway, reminiscent of his early days.

Back then, as a migrant, his deep affection for delivery food was similar…

Of course, Jiang Qin also noticed the current inadequacies of the delivery industry. For instance, the estimated delivery times rarely matched actual times, customer service responses were outrageously slow, and the complaint portals often showed network errors.

For a nascent delivery industry, these might seem minor issues but they significantly impacted user experience.

Jiang Qin compiled his experiences into a text message for Su Nai, advising her team at Group-Buy’s delivery app to focus on refining their services.

“Jiang Qin, your phone is constantly buzzing, what’s up?”

“Nothing serious, just E-Le-Bu asking me to deliver again. They’ll fine me if I don’t.”

Jiang Qin checked his phone and saw a notification from E-Le-Bu’s rider backend: repeated failure to accept orders would incur a 200 yuan fine.

Doing nothing and yet fined 200 yuan. Interesting.

This seemed another chaotic aspect of the burgeoning delivery industry. Although E-Le-Bu’s delivery fees were indeed high, this so-called penalty was audacious.

Jiang Qin turned off the backend notifications, about to put down his phone when it vibrated again.

“Boss, Sticky Rice Delivery has started their delivery business.”

“When did they start?”

“Just these past few days. Manager Yao of the Kyoto branch saw their advertisement on the street on her way to work and called me.”

Jiang Qin hummed and put down his phone.

Kuai Dian Can’s misfortune in Shanghai, eager to beat E-Le-Bu only to have their ground snatched in Kyoto, was tragic.

However, this was a good thing as the battle was fueling the industry’s growth.

Soon, delivery personnel might become legitimate profession, and their numbers might spike rapidly.

If contracts are not signed and no insurance is provided, then aren’t they essentially mine?

Yet, what thrilled Jiang Qin the most was that one of the BAT giants finally mustered the courage to enter the field—a positive omen for rapid development.

Since the great Group-Buy battle, the fate of various platforms had varied.

Group-Buy crowned as king, Lashou shattered, Public Review clung to their remaining market, and Sticky Rice Delivery emerged as the luckiest loser, being wholly acquired by Baidu.

Frankly, the vigor of AT in the past two years was mainly due to establishing a comprehensive industrial chain.

E-commerce, payment, finance.

Social networking, gaming, entertainment.

Tencent and Alibaba continuously invested and acquired to expand their ecosystems and pinpoint growth opportunities with decent results.

However, Baidu struggled, as products like Qianqian Music, PPS, 91 Assistant and Vertical Literature, although leaders in their fields, were waning, inevitably declining.

Ultimately, Baidu’s weak monetization and limited channels for revenue generation were to blame.

Acquiring the critically wounded Sticky Rice Delivery was a low-cost effort not to give up on the lucrative local services market.

And now, as the delivery industry was heating up, it seemed Baidu could no longer remain idle.

With a rich pool of merchants through Sticky Rice Delivery, they planned to try their luck in the delivery sector, starting with Kyoto.

Money wasn’t an issue for Baidu. Experimenting in a new industry was a drop in the bucket, but if successful, the returns would be immense.

Honestly, all three BAT giants now eyed Group-Buy enviously, and with the delivery industry as a prime O2O sector, the timing couldn’t be better.