Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Yang Yijun, the head of Zhejiang Ruian Jiangnan Packaging Machinery Co., Ltd. By now, his breakthrough invention—the “Jianghua” brand DGB-250 Multi-Functional Roller-Plate Automatic Blister Packing Machine—is well-known to the public.
At the “Spring National Pharmaceutical Machinery Meeting of 1993,” the company secured orders for 50 sets, with transaction volumes exceeding 3 million RMB. This marks the fourth time the machine has topped sales among all comparable products nationwide. In recent years, user acclaim has only continued to grow. Deeply impressed by the machine’s exceptional performance and the company’s prompt, considerate after-sales service, Teng Qichu, Manager of the Shanghai Drug Designing Institute Technical Development Company, declared in a letter: “Our company will exclusively sell the blister packing machines produced by Jiangnan.”
With thank-you letters and orders pouring in, a rapidly expanding market, and a flourishing business, Jiangnan continues to thrive without a single dedicated salesperson. Unsurprisingly, numerous media outlets have rushed to report on their formula for success. However, during our conversation, Yang revealed feelings of anxiety and worry rather than complacency.
The Burden of Unpaid Debts
“I am worried about money,” Yang admitted straightforwardly. “Our current accounts receivable has accumulated to several million yuan. The new factory was scheduled for completion in June, but due to a severe shortage of funds, construction has been delayed. I had already invited friends to attend a celebration event in August, and it seems I will have to break my promise.”
Speaking of this, Yang couldn’t hide a sense of embarrassment. Yet, he quickly added, “Our users’ financial difficulties are understandable. No matter the situation, we will continue to deliver spare parts on time and provide door-to-door service, regardless of the costs, to ensure our users remain fully satisfied.”
Breaking the “Triangular Debt” Chain
I picked up one of Jiangnan’s follow-up letters to their customers and found it remarkably unique. Rather than demanding payment, the letter prioritized inquiring about the users’ operational needs and actively soliciting their feedback. Every word conveyed absolute sincerity!
While I hope the “Jiangnan spirit” will soon move their “Gods” [customers] to settle their accounts, I share a lingering concern about the “triangular debt” that is currently strangling enterprises like a viper. It is a vicious cycle: hospitals are in debt to commercial distributors, distributors owe the pharmaceutical factories, and the pharmaceutical factories, in turn, owe the pharmaceutical machinery industry. The continuous spread of this debt chain will inevitably impede the healthy development of the entire pharmaceutical sector.
In my humble opinion, if every enterprise arranged its production strictly based on genuine market demand and planned its technological upgrade projects according to its actual financial resources, this frustrating chain of debt could finally be broken.
Source: Excerpted from China Pharmaceutical News, August 15, 1993
Author: Zhao Ying, Head of the Liaoning Reporter Station, China Pharmaceutical News