When a technician becomes a CEO, what "bugs" should be modified?

【CSDN Editor's note 】 Cong Wencong is a continuous entrepreneur in the field of intelligent transportation and logistics , 20 years of industrial technology and entrepreneurial management experience , Let him become a senior expert in the industry . This article starts from the real value of the smart logistics platform 、 How to solve industrial problems through algorithms 、 How technical people shape industrial thinking , And how to grow into an entrepreneur , It deeply interprets his thinking on Algorithm and logistics industry .

author | Yang Yang       

Produce |《 New programmers 》 Editorial Office

Cong Wencong was born into a teacher's family in Weihai, Shandong Province . Having been exposed to programming since childhood, he is determined to engage in the computer technology industry . Three years after graduation , He has been working in the space system . from 2007 Year begins , He started two businesses , Focus on intelligent transportation and logistics .2016 year 4 month , Cong Wencong started his third venture , Founded Le truck Union .

Cong Wenqi Founder of Le truck Union &CEO

From intelligent software and hardware , To open up algorithm scheduling platform , As a former Technician , Today's Entrepreneurs , His understanding of the logistics industry has a more in-depth perspective .

This article is excerpted from 《 New programmers 》004,『 Paper book + Electronic journal 』 It's officially on sale

In addition to addressing information asymmetry ,“ guarantee ” It's the value

2017 Year is a crucial year for Le truck Union . This year , The company not only got Pre-A Round of funding , By the end of the year , Cong Wencong and his founding team shifted the company's business from intelligent logistics to algorithmic scheduling . in fact , In its early days , Both he and the team believe that the primary problem to be solved by technology is “ Information Asymmetry ”, They envision intelligent transformation , Will be soft 、 Hardware enabling , So that the information can reach the driver . After a period of business exploration , He found that the real dilemma was not information , It's human psychology .“ At the beginning, we also studied the intelligent transformation of many businesses , Including electronic payment 、 Smart mirrors , Some entertainment functions, etc , It also made the first in the industry 8.8 Inch cutting screen . Although the technology is well done , But it ignores the nature of the industry . For the logistics industry , The essential requirement is not settlement , Not positioning and navigation , It's not entertainment . The most concerned issue in the industry is how to maximize vehicle utilization .”

From Cong Wencong's point of view , Whether it's a company boss or a truck driver , Intelligent functions are only icing on the cake for them , The fundamental problem that really needs to be solved is survival . For the boss , Only by optimizing the operation can we get more profits . And for drivers , What I care more about is getting more pay for a trip . But most of the time , After the driver delivers the goods , The return trip may be empty . therefore , solve “ Where are the goods ” This question becomes more and more important .

here , Some technical people will think of ：“ If the cargo information is displayed on the platform , The driver saw it and found the goods , This problem is completely solved ？” It's not , Because few people are willing to hand over goods worth millions to strangers without any credit endorsement .

therefore , There are two core problems to be solved in logistics ： One is “ Where are the goods ”, Two is “ The trust of strangers ”. The problem of goods belongs to information disclosure , The problem of trust goes deep into people's psychological needs . For the solution of psychological needs , If you don't get to the bottom , It's hard to touch people's heart , It can't really solve .

That's the question , Cong Wencong thinks that we should take turns to set questions and answer .

ask ： Why can't the driver get the return goods ？

answer ： Because no one gives .

ask ： Then why didn't anyone give ？

answer ： Because I can't find the person who has the goods .

ask ： After finding the goods , Will it be able to check in smoothly ？

answer ： Probably not , Because the client doesn't trust .

ask ： How can a client trust ？

answer ： A third party guarantee is required .

“ therefore , Ask here and you will find , The real value of the third-party platform is reflected in the provision of transaction guarantee , Instead of going ‘ Intermediate ’. The essence of commerce is the intermediation of circulation , How is it possible to remove ？ The key is that we give this “ The mediation ” What added value , So that we can achieve mutual benefit and win-win with our customers . Never trust certain platforms ‘ No middleman makes the difference ’ That's what I'm saying , That's for you C For publicity . As long as the platform is endowed with the value of cost reduction and efficiency increase , What the intermediary earns is the reasonable income endowed by value .”

Algorithm “ Conquered ” The concentration of less than carload freight

In addition to providing third party guarantees , Cong Wencong also focuses on “ LTL Freight ”.“ Zero load ” It is a strange concept to the layman , But it's not hard to understand . And carpooling can reduce the cost per passenger through peer sharing ,“ Zero load ” When a cargo owner's cargo can't fill a truck , A carpool logistics mode that can be assembled into a complete vehicle with other batches of goods in the same direction , It not only reduces individual transportation costs , It also improves the efficiency of logistics transportation .

in fact , Except for bulk goods such as raw materials , Most of the freight items are pieced together by less than carload . Access to information , China's less than carload transport industry is currently in a period of integration and acceleration , Based on the majority of small and medium-sized e-commerce 、 Large e-commerce grew strongly , And the manufacturing industry tends to be flexible , The LTL market can be expected in the future .

But at present , The market entry threshold is low 、 The problem that low-end dedicated lines occupy a large share is still prominent . There are many companies 、 Small scale 、 Customer dispersion 、 Low industry concentration —— From the perspective of economics , These characteristics make the less than truckload transportation industry closer to “ Completely competitive market ”, The lack of scale effect makes the industry very inefficient .

For Cong Wenjiao , The technical experience accumulated by him and his team is just right for solving the problems faced by less than carload freight transportation .“ People used to ask me , Why do you guys who engage in technology start logistics . I will answer them , China's logistics industry chain needs to be optimized , And our technical means can help enterprises improve productivity . Technology is not floating in the air , But to really promote industry change . The reformer of the catering industry is meituan 、 Are you hungry , The innovators in the financial industry are mobile payment and Internet finance . Less than carload freight also needs to be transformed through algorithms .”

Ten years ago , Capital began to help the less than carload market . In recent years , The growing demand forces the industry to become more intensive . Le truck union looks like “ outsiders ” The existence of , Through its technology, genes are being pried more forcefully 1.72 Trillion LTL market .

From Cong Wencong's point of view , The core competitiveness of the company in the logistics field is mainly reflected in the scheduling algorithm . Because each logistics order involves picking up goods 、 packing 、 transport 、 Store 、 Loading and unloading 、 Delivery and other links . besides , There are also many categories . therefore , We feel very simple “ Take something 、 To the place ” Logistics of , In fact, it is difficult to find the optimal solution on the whole . But this problem can be partly solved by algorithm . Combined modeling of traffic flow and coverage for trunk transportation model , Through the heuristic algorithm that can save mileage , Finally, we can arrange the route reasonably , The purpose of optimizing mileage . According to the company's statistics , By algorithm , At least one transfer of one trunk line can be reduced , Increase the effectiveness of one day , At the same time reduce 20% The cost of transportation .

at present , Le truck Union and head logistics company , Including Debang 、 Shun Feng 、 Jingdong Logistics 、 An Neng and others have established cooperative relations .2018 year , The company's revenue in the previous year 600 Million to 2 One hundred million yuan , To 2020 The year of 13 Billion .

Le truck Union from a technology company , To the logistics technology company , Although it seems to have chosen the right track so far , However, there have been many disputes and decision-making moments along the way .

Industrialized technologists should hold the user's mind

“ If you think of yourself as a technical person , Everyone wants to do the best technology , But technical thinking can easily fall into details or Bug in , Can't from pull out , Spend most of your time solving the most difficult problems . But for the CEO Come on , The real concern is not whether the difficult technology is solved , But when to deliver . If 70% Our technology is ready , The rest 30% Even if you can't do it in a short time , Whether it can be delivered online first , The rest is optimized iteratively ？”

in fact , The company chose to do AI Intelligent software and hardware , Later, it transformed to logistics algorithm , Not Cong Wenhe's personal wish . But shopping malls are like battlefields , Now that we have chosen a more competitive field , Mentality must also change with it .

In the strong business field of Logistics , He believes that the last thing he needs is technical thinking to solve objective problems . And above the technical thinking , Product thinking .“ How to understand product thinking ？ For example, product managers and developers have jointly designed and developed several products , The functionality of the product was really taken into account throughout the process 、 practical , And aesthetics . But their way of thinking did not break out of the shackles of internal discussion , Let's look at the best cases in the industry , Finally, after comprehensive discussion, the product plan was determined . Such thinking does take the user into account , But we can imagine , If these products are put into the store , Users can choose which one to buy from a limited number of products , But it's likely that I just chose the one that is relatively good among my dissatisfaction .”

From Cong Wencong's point of view , The most powerful thinking is user thinking , This is closely related to the characteristics of the logistics industry . Because of the multi-dimensional and uncertainty of customer demand , There is no fixed product form in the logistics industry , Various individual businesses cover the whole process of each business .“ There are all kinds of businesses , It is also possible to arrange and combine with each other .”

such as , A piece of goods arrived in Shanghai from Beijing , Alternative modes of transport include sea transportation 、 Air and land transportation . Land transportation can also choose road transportation 、 Railway transportation , It's still through rail transit . If the customer cares about the cost , You can suggest that he go by sea . If the customer's demand lies in timeliness , You can take air or land transportation ; If customers demand high cost performance , It is suggested to choose the road rail combined transportation .

A place of smart logistics “ wisdom ”, It is to meet the customer's demand for cargo carrying capacity through technology 、 Prescription 、 Price and all other demands . Technologists make the most of this field , That is to achieve the best balance between all user needs under the deduction of the algorithm . meanwhile , Also through algorithm optimization , Make optimal cost performance planning for hundreds of lines running every day .

“ Change the original relationship and chain by optimizing the industrial chain , This is a IT Core value of . A lot of people will IT As a tool , Mainly for the purpose of reducing labor , Although it also increases productivity , But it has not changed the relations of production .IT In essence, it can change the relations of production , Let's say HR Systems and ERP The system produces a chemical reaction , To improve internal integration efficiency . Accordingly , When we provide technical services to the industry , We should also adhere to the thinking of shaping the value chain .”

Cong Wencong thinks , quite a lot CTO Our thinking has not really penetrated into the essence of business , Still hovering around its periphery , This is the reason why it is difficult for technical people to succeed in entrepreneurship . He himself started his own business twice , To reach the current level of awareness of commercialization .

How to grow into an entrepreneur

On the choice of tools by technicians , Some people like new tools , Others like old tools . Cong Wencong thinks , Neither logic is correct .“ The use of new tools is to solve core technical problems , The use of old tools is to promote the coding progress as soon as possible .”

In his opinion , Judge whether technologists should choose to use new tools or old tools , The first is whether the project needs to be delivered quickly .“ We should judge and solve problems from multiple perspectives , Not only from whether they are good at , Or is there any risk consideration , Everything should revolve around the nature of business . such as , When programmers need to deliver products quickly , Yes, it is C#、VB, Or use it C++ To write , There is no difference in essence . If you have been doing it for more than ten years .NET, Possible .NET You can finish a project in two days , use C++ It may take half a month , Then use .NET To do it . But if you use C++ To do better , The time limit is not urgent , Just use C++ To do it .”

This is the problem that technical people should pay attention to when using tools . On the other hand , It involves management or entrepreneurship , Cong Wencong also gave relevant suggestions from his own past experience .

Based on years of entrepreneurial and management experience , Cong found that there are two kinds of contradictions between technicians and business people that are difficult to reconcile . In his opinion , Technical people have technical ideals , Always look to long-term goals . Business people are just the opposite , Because the income is almost real-time feedback of performance appraisal , For them , Always follow the performance indicators to determine the direction of efforts .

“ such as , Our initial assessment index is how many lines are developed , During that time, the salesmen were working on short-term projects . Later, the long-term weight was added to the performance , Everyone turned to the long line again .” As CEO, One of Cong's important tasks is to balance the long-term and short-term interests of the company .

Besides , As a founder , He thinks the following three things need to be done well “ look for ”：

• Find a way . The founders had better set their own strategic direction , Meet and discuss with people who are symmetrical with their information , There is no need to involve every professional manager . Everyone thinks from his own point of view , Too many people and too many words will affect judgment .

• Find someone . The second thing founders should do is to find the right people , Arrange to the right position . Technical people should never be influenced by their own preferences , So I choose to enjoy myself , But people who are not needed for the job .

• Find the money . The question of money certainly need not be emphasized , What needs to be emphasized is what to do after finding the money . about ToB For the market , In the early stage of financing, the market is not so important , But here we are C After the round , The importance of the market began to rise .

“ At different stages of development , The focus of the company is also different . for example , In the business development stage , Our personnel 、 Both finance and R & D serve the business . And in the first fiscal year before listing , It's a time when finance needs compliance , R & D and personnel should also take finance as the core to carry out business .”

— Recommended reading  —

《 New programmers 001-004》 Fully listed

Welcome to scan the QR code below or click to subscribe now

You can enjoy e-books and exquisite paper books .

* Copy a word  10  piece ！ South Korea's top conference papers were exposed to be plagiarized , The first author is “ The original sin ”？
* Count the sails , Wisdom gathers talents |  Tencent cloud database  & CSDN  The engineer's ability light weight certification press conference is coming ！
* Learn to deny  QQ  The theft of the No ： The case has been reported ;iPhone 14  Ready for mass production ： Four styles of hair at the same time ; Simple and elegant software has long been a thing of the past | Geek headlines 

One key, three links 「 Share 」「 give the thumbs-up 」「 Looking at 」

100 million technical people