America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 553: Cyberbullying

Familiar scene, familiar taste.

When the first generation of IP was released, Ernst felt that he could accept the criticism, after all, the time was short, the inventory was tight, and it was indeed related to his own insistence on releasing it at Christmas.

But why is the second-generation IP being criticized even more harshly?

Inside the conference room of AiTech, Ernst stood with his back to the long table in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, staring intently at the giant poster on the wall of the opposite office building, as if he wanted to burn through the glaring image.

Behind him, the executives of iTech all had their heads down, but their shoulders were twitching slightly.

If he weren't there, the whole room would probably be filled with laughter.

His face was as dark as ink, comparable to Bao Gong, and the veins on his forehead bulged under his fair skin.

He was cyberbullied, and it was through crowdfunding.

He became the target of online criticism, and "fxxk Ernst" became a frequently used term, as if cursing him had become a form of political correctness in the United States.

If there were trending topics, the phrase "fxxk Ernst" would probably stay at the top for days. And now it's not just online anymore; this online harassment has become a reality.

I don't know which brilliant person came up with this idea, but they launched a crowdfunding project online.

What's the purpose?

Look at the old office buildings around AiTech. They are filled with huge posters hanging on the walls. The designs of those posters that take up an entire wall are simple: a huge middle finger pointing to the sky on a black background, with the words "fxxk, Ernst" printed in rough font below.

The entire area around AiTech was completely surrounded by these posters.

On the streets and alleys, pedestrians frequently take photos of the posters, and some even deliberately stand in front of them, making the same gesture and loudly repeating the curse. It's practically become a popular spot for taking photos.

And now it's not just netizens anymore; the media is making fun of him about this every day.

The most disgusting one was Larry Ellison. This scoundrel actually came to Cupertino in person, took photos with those posters, and even bought a whole page in the local tabloid to display his photo for three days.

Thinking about all this, he felt a pang of regret, regretting that Larry Ellison didn't have enough dogs.

"Hoo—" Ernst took a deep breath, suppressing the discomfort in his heart, and slowly turned around.

His gaze swept over every executive at the conference table. Those who had been secretly chuckling just moments before instantly froze, lowering their heads and avoiding his eyes.

"Why?" Ernst's voice was deep and hoarse, yet carried an undeniable air of authority. "The production capacity problem has been going on for a week now, and it still hasn't been resolved?" He sat down in his seat and slammed his hand heavily on the solid conference table.

Why should I?

Production capacity can't keep up with sales, isn't that your problem? But in the end, I have to take the blame.

At this point, Cook's face, which had been trying to suppress a laugh, instantly turned serious.

Like Ernst now, he didn't know whether to be happy or depressed.

The product's great sales are a good thing, but the chaos caused by insufficient production capacity has left him overwhelmed.

His feelings at this moment were more complicated than anyone else's.

"I remember you told me on the second day after the IP was released, when there was an inventory problem, that you would definitely be able to solve the production capacity problem within a week."

When Ernst asked him, Cook had a wry smile on his face. "I didn't expect the actual sales of the second-generation IP to be so much higher than we estimated."

Cook's words carried a hint of helplessness. He gestured to his assistant, who handed Ernst a printed sales data report.

In just one week, the second generation of the IP sold 667 million copies worldwide. Not only were the media shocked, but even Cook himself thought there was a mistake when he first received the data.

The first-generation IP sold 210 million units in its first week, which was already considered a miracle by the industry and caused a stir in the entire electronics market. But who could have imagined that the second-generation IP would sell more than three times as many units in its first week, reaching a staggering 667 million units?

The key issue is that this is despite insufficient production capacity and the fact that many manufacturers worldwide have already launched competing low-priced MP3 players.

"The assembly plants we're cooperating with in China are already operating at full capacity. They're currently running a three-shift system, with machines running 24/7. Even so, the total monthly capacity of these factories can only reach 6 million units."

"Moreover, because production capacity has been pushed to its limit and the production line is overloaded, the product yield has been severely affected." Cook's tone became serious. "The yield of the second-generation IP has now dropped to 92%, while our normal yield standard is 95%, a drop of three percentage points."

These three percentage points may not seem like much, but when converted into actual output, it amounts to nearly 20 defective products per month, which increases production costs.

"It's not just a problem for the assembly plants; our upstream suppliers are also facing tremendous pressure. They all seem somewhat caught off guard by our urgent and large-scale additional order requests."

"Although I intend to expand AiTech's supply chain, the evaluation process takes time. I cannot sacrifice our product quality and reputation for the sake of sales volume."

Cook really didn't know whether to be happy or worried. A week ago, he personally assigned tasks, with each senior executive in charge of a section of the supply chain. Whoever couldn't solve the problem, he would make trouble for them.

A week has passed, and apart from the warehousing and transportation department resolving the transportation issues, no one, including him, has completed the task.

According to iTech's previous internal predictions, the second-generation IP would sell more than three million units in its first week, and sales in one month could exceed eight million units.

Even if the data is higher, they are not afraid because they have enough inventory.

But who would have thought that they'd be shipping nearly seven million units in a single week? The crucial issue is that half of those seven million units are top-of-the-line models, which are the ones they have the least stock of.

All the contract manufacturers are now operating at full capacity, producing top-of-the-line IPs, but their weekly production capacity is only around 150 million units, which is far from meeting market demand.

"So this is your answer to me?" Ernst looked at him coldly.

Being willing to offer high benefits and power is one thing, but bringing in professional managers like you is for solving problems.

Looking for excuses?

I can find an elementary school student to do it.

Cook's expression changed slightly. He took a deep breath, straightened his chest, and said firmly, "Give me a month. Within a month, I guarantee I will solve the production capacity problem."

"A month?" Ernst smirked and shook his head. "Too long."

He looked around and said, "I'm only giving you two weeks."

Seeing that Cook was about to speak, Ernst raised his hand to interrupt him, "If it can't be resolved within half a month, then I'll ask someone who can to resolve it to come."

As soon as he said that, the smirking expressions in the conference room vanished, and everyone's faces turned serious.

That's pretty blunt: if you can't solve it, get out. But the production capacity bottleneck is there; can it really be done in half a month?

Cook frowned deeply, his face showing an unprecedented seriousness.

According to the latest forecasts from Wall Street, the second-generation IP may sell over 1500 million units in its first month, and the total global sales for the year may even exceed 6000 million units, which is basically consistent with the latest internal estimates from iTech.

667 million units were sold in the first week, which means that in order to meet the sales of 1500 million units in the first month, they need to produce about 833 million IPs in the remaining three weeks.

With the current monthly production capacity of 600 million units, even at full capacity, only about 450 million units can be produced in three weeks, leaving a shortfall of 383 million units.

Of course, not all of these can be the top-of-the-line models; there is ample stock of the 10b version, which can help alleviate some of the demand.

However, there is also the issue of yield rate, and no one can guarantee that the actual sales will not exceed the expected sales.

Needless to say, Ernst demanded that the problem be resolved within two weeks.

Cook estimated that production capacity would need to be increased by at least 30% from current levels.

This is an almost impossible challenge for a supply chain that is already operating at full capacity.

Cook felt a headache coming on, but he had no choice but to slowly nod and agree, "Okay, I will definitely solve the production capacity problem in half a month."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a resolute determination, a sense of having burned his bridges. Ernst looked at him, the coldness on his face softening slightly.

He wasn't angry because of those fxxk Ernsts, but sometimes, as a leader, you have to put some of your subordinates in a good position.