The Super Rich: Start from when the family business is about to go bankrupt!

Chapter 404 WPG0403: Unexpected situation? Super high corporate standards! Way out?

"Let me make a call first!" An Wuyang looked at Tang Wenshu's message and said to the young foreigner.

The little foreigner responded, "Okay, I'll make you some dipping sauce. Do you want coriander, chopped green onion, and watercress?"

An Wuyang responded affirmatively, "Yes!"

The young foreigner silently took note of An Wuyang's taste preferences. Although she and An Wuyang had the most intimate contact, they actually did not know each other very well.

But these are minor issues!
An Wuyang put on a Bluetooth headset and called Tang Wenshu.

After waiting for the call to be connected, An Wuyang asked first, "What happened?"

"We have encountered a big problem regarding the procurement of finished white peony root," Tang Wenshu explained.

"Jingxing and Gongdao Tianping both gave us feedback that the latest batch of white peony had quality control issues that did not meet standards," Tang Wenshu added.

"The test report provided by Jingxing shows that the pass rate of random inspections of white peony is only 45%, and this is the result of the initial inspection. Jingxing is currently conducting a more detailed re-inspection." Tang Wenshu explained in detail.

"The situation at Gongdao Tianping is even worse. The pass rate of the initial inspection is less than 30%. Gongdao Tianping has already started self-inspection." Tang Wenshu added.

An Wuyang raised his eyebrows, "What's going on?"

"Have we purchased inferior raw materials?" An Wuyang wondered.

In the field of herbal medicine, this happens all the time!

Some sophisticated cheating methods can even fool experienced craftsmen with 20 or 30 years of experience.

Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group had been fooled once before in the procurement of raw materials for bitter orange essential oil. Could it be that it is facing a similar problem again now?
Tang Wenshu responded negatively, "No, we purchased qualified medicinal materials through formal channels. The problem came from other reasons."

"The test reports from Jingxing and Gongdao Tianping both point to one problem, that is, the sulfur dioxide content exceeds the standard. This is most likely the case..." Tang Wenshu was interrupted by An Wuyang before he could finish his words.

"The middleman company used the sulfur fumigation process, right?" An Wuyang grew up in a medical family after all, so of course he knew about this basic issue.

"That's right!" Tang Wenshu was the first to confirm.

Then he added, "Some white peony was collected directly from farmers. We suspect they used coal as a fuel source for drying."

An Wuyang also knew this situation. Most coal has not been desulfurized. If coal is used as a fuel source for drying white peony, then after the coal is burned, sulfur dioxide will enter the white peony and remain.

"Are the first two batches of stuff okay?" An Wuyang asked.

"No problem." Tang Wenshu responded.

"We have clear regulations for Jingxing and Gongdao Tianping. Each batch of medicinal materials needs to be sampled and tested multiple times, and the finished product of Shuxin Pills also needs to be sampled and tested twice." Tang Wenshu added.

"After discovering the problem today, we reviewed the previous random inspection results, as well as the test results of the finished Shuxin Pills, and found no problems," Tang Wenshu explained.

"We have also investigated the sources of the problematic raw materials today and found that all of these problematic medicinal materials were provided by new suppliers, and the previous suppliers have run out of stock," Tang Wenshu added.

Peony has a four-year growth period!

Different suppliers have different delivery channels. Some suppliers directly purchase fresh peonies, process them themselves, and then sell the finished products.

However, some suppliers directly purchase finished white peony, whether it is processed by the growers themselves or handled by other small traders.

Such circumstances can easily lead to unstable quality of goods.

At present, Wugengtian seems to have encountered this problem?
After all, Wugengtian does not have the full-link supply capabilities of Sansang Group.

Although Wugengtian also has a medicinal herb planting base, and the base has been expanded very large, a single medicinal herb supply base cannot meet Wugengtian's needs at all.

The growth cycle of herbs is too long!
If we only rely on the Tianjingyan medicinal material planting base, taking Shuxin Pills as an example, is Wu Gengtian prepared to work for one year and rest for four years?

Or is it a cycle of planting every year, so that there are raw materials used every year, but the final product is very little?
"Ask Tianyin. Tianyin has exchanged a lot of peony gardens before. Take a look at the inventory on Tianyin's side." An Wuyang asked.

"Our first batch of raw materials was supplied by Tianyin. Currently, Tianyin's peony garden has run out of inventory, and the next batch of mature peonies will take two years to arrive." Tang Wenshu responded.

An Wuyang suddenly felt like scolding Qin Sheng!
Although this problem was not caused by Qin Sheng, Tang Wenshu is his man. He can't just scold Tang Wenshu, right?
Fortunately, Qin Sheng has not returned to the Magic City yet, otherwise he would definitely be scolded by An Wuyang!
As for the reason?

That’s too much!
Why doesn’t Qin Sheng acquire more peony gardens?

Why doesn’t Qin Sheng acquire the peony processing company?

Why doesn't Qin Sheng control the processing quality of peony?
As the absolutely powerful Party A, what's wrong with An Wuyang scolding Qin Sheng?
"How is the Shuxin Pills processed from these sulfur dioxide residue raw materials?" An Wuyang asked.

Tang Wenshu responded, "Jingxing and Gongdao Tianping sent the corresponding Shuxin Pills to Professor Tian. After analysis, Professor Tian came to the preliminary conclusion that sulfur dioxide residues would have a significant impact on the effect of Shuxin Pills."

"Professor Tian has recruited volunteers to conduct tests to determine the extent of the impact of sulfur dioxide residues on Shuxin Pills," Tang Wenshu added.

"Tell me the result as soon as you get it." An Wuyang responded.

"We will immediately re-screen our suppliers and conduct strict inspections on the problem of sulfur dioxide residues," An Wuyang added.

Tang Wenshu responded quickly, "Mr. An, I have another question now."

Tang Wenshu did not wait for An Wuyang to ask, and continued, "The white peony we purchased this time, if it is in accordance with the national standard, there will be no problem."

An Wuyang frowned.
He understood what Tang Wenshu meant!
Maybe many people don’t understand white peony, but when it comes to the dairy industry, many people will understand it, right?
After all, the Nongken Dairy Alliance, which was formed by more than a dozen companies, directly targets the European Union in terms of product standards, and instantly surpasses many national standards.

This is not to say that the national standard is bad, but that the national standard only guarantees the moral bottom line of the enterprise!

For more details
An Wuyang can only recommend dairy products from the Nongken Dairy Alliance first.

Referring to the situation in the dairy industry, the pharmacopoeia standard of white peony is also very low.

"What is the sulfur residue value stipulated by the national standard?" An Wuyang asked.

"Well." Tang Wenshu hesitated slightly, "Mr. An, the national standard is a bit high."

"How high?" An Wuyang asked.

He didn't remember the details because someone else would remember them. He just needed to ask for the answers directly. Tang Wenshu said cautiously, "According to the standards of the Xia Dynasty Pharmacopoeia, the sulfur dioxide residue in herbal medicines and their decoction pieces must not exceed 150 mg per kilogram."

"But for a total of 11 specific herbal materials and their medicinal pieces, such as white peony, yam, codonopsis, gastrodia, etc., the standards will be relaxed to no more than 400 mg of sulfur dioxide residue per kilogram," Tang Wenshu added.

An Wuyang frowned when he heard this. Isn't this standard too loose?

It’s really just the lower limit!

When the little foreigner saw An Wuyang frowning, she poured some tea for him and handed it to him.

An Wuyang took a sip and put it down.

Tang Wenshu continued to add, "According to Professor Tian's request, we have limited the sulfur dioxide residue in white peony to no more than 5 mg per kilogram."

"According to Professor Tian's research, once the sulfur dioxide residue exceeds this value, it will affect the effectiveness of Shuxin Pills." Tang Wenshu explained.

"All the white peony provided by Tianyin previously met this standard because they used microwave drying technology, thus avoiding the problem of sulfur dioxide residue," Tang Wenshu added.

"The current sulfur residue value of white peony root detected by Jingxing and Gongdao balances is actually only between 10 mg and 20 mg per kilogram, which far exceeds the pharmacopoeia standard but does not meet our standard," Tang Wenshu summarized.

An Wuyang finally understood what Tang Wenshu meant!
In short, Wu Geng Tian's requirements for finished white peony medicine far exceeded the pharmacopoeia standards, which led to the mistakes in the procurement of finished white peony medicine, rather than a major mistake in Tang Wenshu's work.

'This Old Tang,' An Wuyang secretly laughed and cursed.

Tang Wenshu went through so much trouble just to prove that he was not responsible. Was he worried that An Wuyang would blame him?

"Old Tang, just say what you want to say next time!" An Wuyang first reminded Tang Wenshu to speak more simply.

Tang Wenshu does lack a little in terms of work ability, but he is loyal, so unless he is hopeless, Tang Wenshu's position is very stable.

"Regarding the problem of sulfur dioxide residue, if I ask you to find a solution, how would you plan to deal with it?" An Wuyang asked.

Tang Wenshu hesitated for a moment, then responded, "We will select suppliers more strictly and inform more suppliers of our corporate procurement standards so that we can purchase qualified white peony."

An Wuyang sighed inwardly, Tang Wenshu’s solution was indeed good, but it was not enough!
Because the corporate standards of Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group are too high, according to Wugengtian's requirements, the sulfur residue content of white peony should be less than 5 mg per kilogram, but the pharmacopoeia standard has been relaxed to 400 mg per kilogram.

In comparison, Wugengtian’s corporate standards are indeed very strict!
Under such strict standards, although the goal can be achieved simply by screening suppliers, doesn’t it seem too inhumane?

Some people may think that business is business, but Wugengtian’s corporate image has never been like this!
An Wuyang is thinking about a better solution.

"Old Tang, you should first announce a reduction in the production of Shuxin Pills, stating that due to quality issues with the raw materials, the production of our next batch of Shuxin Pills at five o'clock in the morning will be reduced." An Wuyang ordered.

This is not malicious hunger marketing!

Because the problem does exist, the finished white peony root does contain sulfur dioxide residue that exceeds the limit value required by the Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group, and the quality of the corresponding Shuxin Pills finished product has indeed been affected.

So how could it be hunger marketing?

This is called being responsible to consumers!
Although the prices of Wugengtian’s products are relatively high in some areas, Wugengtian will not deceive consumers.

Wugengtian’s products win with quality!

Wugengtian hopes that consumers will pay for quality, so Wugengtian will definitely not damage its reputation.

"Also, let's refer to your solution first and purchase a batch of white peony that meets the requirements as soon as possible so as to resume the production of Shuxin Pills." An Wuyang ordered.

Although he did not agree with Tang Wenshu's solution, in the current emergency situation, Tang Wenshu's suggestion could be used temporarily, at least to resume production urgently.

"Got it." Tang Wenshu responded.

"This time when we purchase the finished white peony, we will increase the purchase price by another 10%." An Wuyang ordered.

"Mr. An, the price we paid for the white peony was already 20% higher than the market price," Tang Wenshu reminded.

Wugengtian has very high requirements on the quality of white peony and has selected high-end products on the market.

The current market price of high-end goods is about 100 yuan per kilogram, and the purchase price at Wugengtian has increased to 120 yuan per kilogram.

This is equivalent to a 20 percent premium.

If the premium continues
Tang Wenshu feels a little sad about the purchasing cost!
An Wuyang reminded, "Keep paying a premium! And buy more first. I'm worried that someone is going to give us a hard time at this critical moment."

In the bitter orange essential oil industry before, someone had put a blind eye on it at five o'clock in the morning!

Because the output of bitter orange essential oil is too low and the number of bitter orange plantations is too small, the upstream supply chain of the bitter orange essential oil industry is too easy to be monopolized or to reach a price alliance.

To this day, the price of bitter orange essential oil has not dropped!

An Wuyang was wondering if there would be anyone in the finished white peony market who would take advantage of the situation and target Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group?
Maybe someone should?

But the situation is different with white peony and bitter orange essential oils!
There are too few upstream suppliers of bitter orange essential oil, and there are only a few bitter orange plantations in the entire Xia Country, so it is easy to reach a monopoly and price alliance.

However, it is very difficult to reach a price alliance for finished white peony!

Because the market for white peony is so huge, with so many growers and plantations, it is extremely difficult to monopolize the supply of white peony.

However, in order to avoid accidents, An Wuyang of course chose to increase the purchase price.

As for some people wanting to engage in price wars
An Wuyang is willing to join in the price war and increase the purchase price to purchase white peony root from outside.

After all, it was a forced choice.

So even if someone really wants to start a price war, An Wuyang will join in for a few rounds.

Because the current situation is so special, An Wuyang needs to find a batch of white peony that meets the standards of Wugengtian Pharmaceutical Group as soon as possible to carry out remedial production tasks.

Even if the price of white peony increases a little, it will not have a particularly big impact on the profit margin of Shuxin Pills.

Of course, if someone treats him as a fool and tries to sell white peony at a high price, An Wuyang will never tolerate it. He has a way to break the deadlock!

(End of this chapter)