Li Mu's 2.1 billion yuan stockpiling plan stunned Liu Shixiong.
Not only was he surprised that Li Mu wanted to transfer 2.1 billion yuan from the reserve fund pool, but he was also worried.
The first worry was that he was afraid that the current storage capacity was not enough.
If he were to buy electronic products or valuables with 2.1 billion yuan, he might not need too much storage space. However, the epidemic materials that Li Mu wanted to make were disinfectants, masks, alcohol, gloves, and even some medicine.
If there was really an epidemic, disinfectants would definitely be the most in demand in the market. Ordinary 84 disinfectants were currently selling for two to three yuan per bottle on the market, and each bottle was about 450 to 500 milliliters.
If he were to purchase it in bulk, it was estimated that the price per liter would be about three yuan. 3,000 yuan could buy one cubic meter, and this did not include the effect of packaging on the actual volume. One cubic meter of disinfectant, if packaged, would take up at least 1.3 or 1.5 cubic meters of space.
3,000 yuan and 1.5 cubic meters. 30 million yuan would be 15,000 cubic meters. If the height of each item was 20 centimeters, stacking ten layers would be the limit of the goods at the bottom. In this case, to stack 30 million yuan worth of goods, the storage area would need about 7,500 square meters.
If it was 300 million yuan, it would be 75000 square meters.
If it was 600 million yuan, it would be 150,000 square meters.
Moreover, the storage was not automated yet, and there were no stacking tools. The labor cost of stacking ten layers was very high, and it was very difficult to operate.
Such a large purchase volume was already scary to think about. Moreover, the self-operated business of Taobao itself took up most of the storage space. Therefore, the storage space under Taobao Logistics was not large. When the time came, it was estimated that before half of the 2 billion yuan was spent, Taobao's storage space would be full.
The second worry was that he was afraid that Li Mu would sprain his back. If Li Mu's judgment of the epidemic was too pessimistic and he hoarded more than 2 billion yuan worth of goods with a pessimistic attitude, what if the situation was not as serious as he expected? How would he deal with the 2 billion yuan worth of goods?
Although these goods were consumable products, they were not fast consumer goods, so the market had long been weak. Under normal circumstances, the market's production and sales were saturated or even oversupplied. It would be extremely difficult to sell these 2 billion yuan worth of goods. By that time, it was likely that they would completely rot in Taobao's own warehouse, and the cost would be borne by Taobao itself.
Liu Shixiong expressed his two worries. Li Mu said to him, "The 2.1 billion yuan is only the initial plan, and it is likely to be increased in the future. However, the storage problem is easy. We will immediately set up a team to look for storage resources in our seven major logistics bases. As long as there is, we will buy them at all costs."
Originally, Taobao Logistics had set up six logistics distribution and storage bases, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Yangcheng, Sichuan, Hanjiang, and Liaoshen. Later, due to the booming electronic trade in Shenzhen, they built another one in Shenzhen. These seven cities were all important logistics hubs. Although Taobao Logistics did not have enough storage, there were a lot of storage resources in society, and they could completely solve the urgent problem by renting them.
Then, Li Mu said, "As for the capital risk, Liu Shixiong, don't put it in the first place for the time being. This time, we have to put social responsibility in the first place. There are risks, but it is not a big risk for Taobao. The worst result is that more than 2 billion yuan of goods will be wasted in our hands, but these goods will have a long shelf life. We have time to slowly digest them, and we can more or less make up for some of the losses. We don't have to worry too much about the remaining part. Even if we really suffer a loss, it will not affect our foundation."
Liu Shixiong nodded gently and said, "I have no opinion on what you said at all. I just want to ask if we can find a way to avoid as much risk as possible. If we can't find a way, then we will completely bear the risk and do this thing. I agree with you on this point!"
Li Mu smiled with satisfaction and said, "That's great! Then I will start to talk about some of my specific ideas now. You listen and Ziwei write it down. If there is any problem, you can interrupt me at any time. "
Both of them nodded at the same time and agreed.
Li Mu immediately said, "First of all, we need to send a business team to communicate with all the regular disinfectant manufacturers in the country and ask them to increase their production capacity for a period of time in the future. We will use all their production capacity to produce enough disinfectant for us. However, we must be careful in the operation. Back then, in order to set up an offshore company, we bought a lot of shell companies in the country. When the time comes, we will complete the purchase through these shell companies at the bottom level, so that we will not attract too much attention."
Liu Shixiong immediately said, "Okay, I will arrange this."
Li Mu said again, "The size of the disinfectant needs to be considered. In principle, most of the disinfectant will be of small size, which is about 200 milliliters. One reason is that this can be separated into more products. Another reason is that most families do not need such a high-intensity disinfectant. In theory, 200 milliliters is enough for a long time, and the smaller the disinfectant, the more people will know how to use it."
"Other than most of the small size packaging, we also need a small number of large size packaging, such as two liters or five liters. Such large packaging can be used to solve the disinfectant needs of schools, kindergartens, and enterprises."
Liu Shixiong said with a look of approval, "This is a very detailed consideration. I think that for most people, if 200 milliliters of disinfectant can be used for 20 days, then 500 milliliters will probably only be used for 20 days. The more disinfectant there is, the less they will be careful in controlling the dosage!"
Li Mu continued, "Secondly, we will purchase N95 grade masks with breathing valves globally, preferably from 3M. First, we need to understand the cost of purchasing such masks in large quantities. If it is less than five yuan, then we need to prepare at least 200 million of them."
Liu Shixiong was almost scared out of his wits. "What does' N95 'mean? Also, 200 million masks? Bro, the population of the entire country's cities is about this number! "
Li Mu said seriously, "Masks have a lifespan. After a certain point, their protective ability will decrease. A mask will probably last eight to ten days at most. If it is used frequently, its lifespan will be even shorter. Therefore, we must prepare a good stock. Our citizens do not pay much attention to masks. We can take this opportunity to promote it to everyone through YY."
Even Liu Shixiong did not know what the hell was an N95 mask. However, if it was in 2016, perhaps even junior high school students would know what an N95 mask meant. That was because at that time, smog and PM2.5 would have become keywords that people could not live without. At that time, everyone would know the difference between professional protective masks and ordinary disposable masks. Almost everyone would specifically choose N95 masks to fight against smog.
Right now, most people were probably still stuck on the idea that any disposable medical mask could protect them from dust, bacteria, and viruses. Even some medical staff did not realize that they needed to use N95 grade or even higher protective masks. They were still using the solution of double-layered disposable masks, or even thicker cotton masks that basically did not have any protective ability.
In addition, there were so many migrant workers who contracted pneumoconiosis every year because they did not wear masks. There were people in the National People's Congress who lost their labor force in their thirties and died because of it in their forties. In fact, they only needed to wear an N95 grade protective mask at work to avoid the risk of pneumoconiosis. However, no one had popularized this knowledge to them. They could only earn a low salary every day while protecting themselves from the deadly threat of industrial dust.
What Li Mu was thinking now was that once SARS was made known to the world, he must do a web-wide popularization of the use and importance of protective masks. He could even invest a sum of money to do it offline. He must make people pay attention to their daily lives, as well as the respiratory protection during epidemics and special operations. Therefore, even if the 200 million masks could not be sold, Li Mu was willing to give all of them to the workers in the mining, stone, wood, and hazardous chemical processing industries. Taobao had such a large market now, and this little bit of social responsibility was more than enough.
Liu Shixiong knew Li Mu's way of doing things. Although he did not quite understand it, he did not object. Instead, he immediately said, "I'll handle this."
Li Mu hurriedly said, "Let me handle this matter. 3M, Honeywell, and other professional manufacturers of protective equipment are all from the United States. Currently, the sales volume in Hua Xia is not high. I won't fight for inventory in the Hua Xia market. That will instead squeeze the domestic supply. It's better to search overseas, and it's best to purchase directly from the United States."
As he said that, Li Mu said again, "We are familiar with the United States, and we have many acquaintances. The key is that I can be considered as someone with some property and influence in the United States. Oh right, do you remember Elon Musk who came to Hua Xia to blackmail me?"
Liu Shixiong nodded. "I remember. He was a rather wretched bro, and he looked especially sly."
Li Mu smiled and said, "On the surface, he looks like a person from the Internet. Underneath his skin, he's half a scientific visionary. But deep down, he's actually a broker who loves to brag. This person has a wide social network and dabbles in a wide range of things. I should be able to get in touch with him. Furthermore, not only do I need their masks, but I also need their top-notch protective equipment. If I can exchange them with YY resources, that would be great!"
In the future, 3M and Honeywell were basically the two most famous mask brands in the anti-haze period. In that era, the mask industry ushered in the wind. Everyone touted themselves as masks that could really prevent PM2.5. But after real monitoring, most of the products on the market were fake. Many of the products were not as reliable as a brand like 3M, so they turned to appearance and gimmicks. Each mask was prettier than the last, and the function was also fancier than the last. But at the end of the day, the mask with the best protection and the most reliable quality was still a world-class brand like 3M.
Finally, Li Mu made some arrangements. "There may be a temporary increase in the price of some drugs. Let's look for a pharmaceutical company directly and get them to add a batch of daily drugs such as indigowoad root and disinfectant alcohol in case of emergencies."
Liu Shixiong nodded and reminded him, "But we don't have the qualifications to sell drugs. I have to remind you about this."
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