Millet supply Chain hidden danger: Don't expect to win

Editor's words: Millet in how to sell the mobile phone has been invincible, but its shortcomings in the supply chain is also emerging: with the millet cooperation do not expect "a total win"-This is not the problem of millet, but compared with the traditional industry, the Internet model itself is predatory.

Millet newest Red meter note again became the hot goods, this price 799 yuan big size handset, is equipped with the MTK6592 eight core processor chip. This MTK's true eight core chips are hot goods, hope to enter the high-end market of domestic manufacturers are favored to add, has come up with products Tcl, ZTE have used, but the initial price of products are approaching 2000 yuan. But the Red meter note is configured with the 1.4GHz mtk6592m, not in front of these manufacturers in the products used in the MTK6592. This configuration and price of products, in today's market has been many, red meter note is only passable. And the hottest 4G wave, millet did not take out in time Millet 3 upgrade version, this and the past millet fever, cost-effective consumer expectations formed a small gap.

Millet was founded 4 years ago, has since only sold a smartphone's new sharp mobile phone manufacturers, today across the hardware, software, services and even the platform of the integrated players. They are not incapable of doing what these consumers expect, but because they are developing too quickly, the development of the supply chain has not been able to keep pace with their progress. This is not only the problem of growing pains, but also millet to the higher steps forward to become the mobile phone industry real King, must get through the final pass.

Futures: from deliberate to helpless

Millet is one of the marketing strategies that the centaurs Learn and praise: Futures. This hunger marketing model, has now been many with "internet thinking" of the manufacturers to learn, in this material product is extremely rich in the era, people began to taste the taste of commodity. It's hard to imagine, said Yang, chairman of Lenovo's board of directors, that futures are simply unthinkable in an environment where productivity is plentiful and manufacturing resources are plentiful.

Perhaps some people will say that Yang is too puzzled amorous feelings, futures not only hang up the user's appetite, reached a machine difficult to achieve the effect, but also to millet in the cost control of the ease-pre-sale is a production estimates, can be a good control of inventory; More importantly, from the announcement of the product to the actual product to hand, a few months elapsed, This means that the prices of those parts that are the latest in the release have fallen a lot.

Yang, who intends to make a big name in the PC market, is buying 300,000 Qualcomm's high-end chip 骁丽 800 in November 2013, almost all of it's off-the-shelf.

Waiting to use 骁丽 Dragon 800 manufacturers far more than Lenovo, the upcoming Millet 3 Unicom version and the telecommunications version of the use is Qualcomm's 骁丽 800 products. Christensen said that in the open system, the core components manufacturers are the king. Who to sell first? How much do you sell? Are Qualcomm, Millet has also been a high priority to care for the target, not only because Qualcomm is one of millet investors, but also because Qualcomm Heart believe that the new strength of their own participation in the cultivation will be a good, very obedient ally.

But, it turns out, millet than Qualcomm imagined also have ideals--in addition to selling the 骁丽 long chip products, but also sell low price also fever MTK chip products-red rice, occasionally can also please NVIDIA Guest series TD-Mode products. These series of moves have fully exposed the idea that millet does not want to be controlled by Qualcomm, and the relationship with Qualcomm becomes subtler.

At the beginning of this year, Millet's "Change Core Door" (Millet 3 in the real machine listing will originally announced 骁丽 long 8974AB chip, replaced by a 8274AB chip, and did not make a special note, soon after the burst, Qualcomm immediately stood up and said that he was lying on the gun, and the change of the core gate incident. What is the difference behind a number? 8974 products are Qualcomm support 4G full network of Chip products, is basically the current brand of high-end flagship products standard, and 8274 although the same 800 series but does not support 4G network. The reason for the core is only one: Millet did not get Qualcomm 8974 products, although the explanation of the later millet is not rigorous, but who knows how many of the millet team immersed in the mobile phone market for many years of the master, it is impossible to even chip models do not understand. More at a glance, the official configuration of Millet 3 is still marked with 8X74 series products.

Lack of calcium in the industrial chain

Millet encountered these problems, the most important reason is that the business model of millet to chip manufacturers of the interests of their own harm, chain caused its own supply problems.

The first high-pass selection of Millet is because the chip performance is not known to the public, they urgently need an experience of excellent terminal products as a benchmark, for the fever of the small Miwei dragon 1.5GHz chip do enough publicity. But then millet growth too fast, has to consider multiple product lines and balance chip manufacturers, so the red rice select MTK, Qualcomm will not be happy. Because in the high-end products in the field of Qualcomm, has been in the hope of the low-end market. But in the market for the 骁丽 Dragon 200, 400 violent propaganda when the mouth, the original important partner Millet but announced the choice of hand MTK, Direct is the rhythm of the fire.

Even more sad is that MTK is not happy-originally thought to get on the smart phone upstart is a good thing, the opportunity to escape from the "cottage" hat may have come, but the plot has been reversed: the red meter adopted by the MT6589T turbo chip is MediaTek's four nuclear-headed products, But the price of red rice 799 yuan to make MediaTek into the high-end dream into a bubble, which is not counted-then the price of millet will be transferred to 699 yuan. Other manufacturers see the red meter with t6589t Turbo only sold to 799 yuan, then resolutely abandoned this product, so far the market t6589t Turbo mobile phone is also a handful, MTK for this product line of the posterior can only continue to cooperate with the red rice, But in all public places, refused to comment on this event.

In stark contrast to this, soon after MTK launched the real eight-core products, the first listed mobile phone is Tcl's idol X, gave a price of 1999 yuan. This time MTK changed its attitude, long not in the mainland appearance of Tsai are personally for TCL platform.

Compared to smartphones, the industrial chain and products of mobile power supply are much simpler, but they are also problematic in the supply chain.

Millet had previously launched 69 Yuan 10400mAh Mobile power supply, but then long out of stock, the problem is out of the industrial chain. Lei will give an eye-popping price, which applies to all millet products. The price of 69 yuan is enough to make the cottage manufacturers are staggering, especially Lei also emphasized the use of LG and Samsung's imported batteries. However, as in the case of core-change doors, mobile power of the first products did not appear in Samsung batteries figure. According to Samsung SDI agent: Feather bo, product wins, Scud and other important customer complaints, so that Samsung shelved the low-cost supply of millet plan. Mobile power industry, the core accounted for the cost of 60% (the rest of the cost is the shell, assembly, PCBA costs), millet with a one-time full cash, from the LG store into 3 million batteries, obtained below the price of other mobile power manufacturers. A power plant from the mainland is a major customer of Korea Electric Core company, Samsung will because of their protest to give up the cooperation with millet, LG will weigh the pros and cons: This offense to big customers, reduce their own Maori things, long is not wise. Therefore, can boldly judge 69 yuan of Millet mobile power supply I am afraid will not be as shown as "temporary out of stock", and will be long-term into the waiting period.

This matter makes millet model of the drawbacks of the obvious: and millet cooperation do not expect to "win", this is not the problem of millet, but compared with traditional industries, the Internet model itself is predatory.

And watch the millet TV, the key is still the industry chain, Millet TV can be said from the pricing to the user experience is not lost to the music video TV, but because the content of resources and the industry chain on the other manufacturers to achieve cooperation, the content of the short plate soon exposed, the final thunder is not music view, Neither the box nor the television has been the trigger point for the phone.

Whether it's a box, a TV or a mobile power supply, millet is not able to reproduce the madness of the mobile phone, is because Millet does have the spirit of the Internet, but after all, is still a link in the industry chain, in their own low-cost access to customers, how to appease the industrial chain, or simply completely overturned the old order, should be lei the next problem.

The Battle of the Gods

Qualcomm and the story of Millet is not finished, millet not only hand the MTK, but also in the flagship product of the mobile version of Millet 3 used Nvdia products, to be honest, this chip almost did not appear in other brands of high-end flagship products. Is there no suitable product for Qualcomm? Of course not, high Kone push 5 mode 13 frequency and support 4G products is now the choice of high-end machines, is also the ability to win the current round of the flagship of the key--4g just launched, support 4G network products will soon become operators and a large number of users focus on attention, Millet 3 Choose such products not only the occasional and can make Qualcomm satisfied, but the price is likely to continue to remain at 1999 yuan.

And the result of a chicken born egg chicken problem is: This year 4G products will become a new market trend, known as performance and fever millet must keep up with this rhythm. But in a short period of time to come up with support for 4G products, it is necessary to bypass Qualcomm Support 5-mode 13-frequency chip-currently available only Qualcomm has 4G and the entire Netcom product capabilities. Once again dealing with Qualcomm, what is the chip in the hands of millet? In fact, not only millet, including all mobile phone manufacturers, the bargaining chips will be shipments. However, shipments and chip supply is a pair of complementary data, mobile phone manufacturers can sell the product is of course the key to shipments, and upstream manufacturers to give you supply is another key-not by their own control of the key.

2013 Millet mobile phone shipments reached 18.7 million units, the growth rate is quite fast, Lei target is 2014 shipments of 40 million units. And by the high-throughput response, 18.7 million Taiwan is not enough to be shocked by millet, recently Qualcomm found a new ally: the intention to enter high-end domestic handset manufacturers Oppo, step by step, Lenovo and other high-end machines have chosen Qualcomm chip, which any one of the shipments are not less than millet, In addition, some new Internet brands, such as ZTE's sub-brand Nubia, have also become a more willing target for Qualcomm.

With the development and growth of millet, must consider the balance of chip manufacturers, this is all mobile phone manufacturers will consider, almost no one manufacturer only use a company's chip products, but also the ruthless role of Huawei, from the beginning to make up their own chip power. In the open industrial chain, the whole machine manufacturer is not the core resource, but the key component manufacturer. Not only in the chip, but also in the mobile phone screen link between the chain of trade and balance and counter checks and balances, most people in this industry have eaten the supply chain: Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo have all been put together by Samsung on screen supplies, and have had the experience of delaying product listings and publicizing costs. Several vendors who have paid fees have also been able to rationalize and lay out their own industrial chains, such as Huawei and ZTE, which have the ability to design their own chips, helping to improve the power of discourse in the game.

Millet in how to sell the mobile phone has been invincible, but the squeeze toothpaste type of hunger marketing and 40 million of the goal is far from, how to produce so many products in fact depends on the chip, screen and other core parts manufacturers attitude. Whether in a short period of time to straighten out the industry chain, and Qualcomm, MTK, such as key components manufacturers to reach the key to a step. In other words, Millet's seal of God's War, is the final break supply chain of diversion, become a real master supply chain master. The next year will be millet twist industrial chain crisis important year, after all, every year to ensure the rhythm of a flagship new product, as well as the rapid increase in shipments to obtain a more solid industrial status, these two urgent matters are not allowed to delay millet.