I received a call one day when I was on lunch shift in 2006. It took me over 40 minutes. They asked about our software, and our solutions to some of their specific problems.

The phone conversation made me feel that he must know this industry very well. However, he didn’t tell me his name or company name. He just said he came from a remote place somewhere in western China.

 

Then he asked me to email him a summary about our conversation, and give him three related clients for his reference.

I emailed him and he replied very fast, confirming the time and place of our appointment in the following week.

 

 

Unfortunately I was really sick in the next five weeks because of the air-con, so I had to hand this project over to my colleague.

 

Just before the meeting my colleague rang me and said: "Miss Huang, it’s General Motors Asia. I’m too nervous. Can you come over?"

I said: "I can’t even get up from my bed, and I didn’t know its General Motors. So just be yourself and try your best, no matter who they are. That’s the best we can do. We should rely on our experiences and real strength. If there are any questions that you can’t answer, remember to take it down and bring back." It ended up that they talked pleasantly for two hours.

 

 

After I got better, this mysterious GM A-P SCM Project Manager visited our company. He said: "Your software is the only real ERP/SCM software in China. Others are far away from even talking about management. " I said: "Yes, I know! Thank you very much!"

He said: "We are satisfied about your system and the effects achieved by your users. We want to use it to a very large joint venture in the Southwest. Can you come to do a demonstration?"

 

I went there and did a demonstration to the supply managers of GM JV as well as some downstream network representatives of that joint venture. It should be a perfect communication with all attendees.

 

Everyone present watched my demonstration and felt happy about it, especially those representatives from downstream network companies who were the owner of the network. Our software could help them to lower the lose from many daily management mistakes and increase their profit. Furthermore, our software was easy to use and also affordable.

 

The example we gave was accepted completely, because our example company was bigger and faster than them, with more models and lower maintenance costs. In general, our example was actually a strong competitor of General Motors’ vehicle maintenance.

 

 

However, someone in GM JV wanted to take commission, and we rejected the request. GM A-P could do nothing about it either.

 

I visited one of the network companies which I met during the demonstration a year later.

They complained that they had been assigned by GM JV to use some barely usable software with very ugly interface and really simple functions. Every company has one license only and they were charged with a very high price. I knew that system and its market price. Ninety percent of the money they paid must have been taken as commissions. It’s a crime.

 

 

GM wanted to buy a small management software company with outstanding products and expertise to serve them exclusively.

 

I said: "It won’t be good for GM. Five years later this software company will lose its advantage because of lacking competition. Ten years later the company will just be ordinary. That’s why even IBM uses SAP products."

"We can be an integral part of your software and management to provide exclusive trainings and solutions for GM. You will be our key account and we will keep everything confidential for sure."

 

We have more clients to work on. We don’t want to lose them.