30-Hour Emergency Supply to 'Tiantie'

At 11 a.m. on July 1, Xu Yunlong, an industrial oil sales representative in North China, received a call from the equipment and materials office of Tianjin Iron Works (hereafter Tiantie): 'Do you have 250 drums of KG320 in stock now, and if so can you deliver by July 2? It is very urgent, please reply as soon as possible so that we can decide whether to use Kunlun or continue using Mobil...'
Tianjin Iron Works is a direct-supply user developed by the North China Branch in 2010. Over the years both sides have consistently promoted the localization and optimization of lubricant products, successively carrying out such work as replacing BP's ashless Hyspin HLP46 with Kunlun HMN46 ashless hydraulic fluid and replacing Quaker 888-68 fire-resistant hydraulic oil with Kunlun HFDU68 synthetic ester fire-resistant hydraulic oil, with success. While expanding Kunlun's share, this has saved Tiantie more than 800,000 yuan a year in lubricant costs, achieving win-win cooperation, and the two sides have established a good communication and cooperation mechanism.
This year the Hebei industrial oil area made replacing Mobil 600XP320 with Kunlun KG320 at this plant one of its key tasks, and the sales representative exchanged views with Tiantie many times on the replacement. In June samples of new and in-use Mobil 600XP320 were collected and blending tests carried out with Kunlun KG320; the blending results showed that the two oils could be blended and used together, gaining the recognition of Tiantie's equipment and materials office. Previously the centralized gear oil lubrication station of the finishing workshop of Tiantie's hot rolling plant had always used Mobil 600XP320 gear oil. In the early hours of July 1 an oil pipeline leaked and water entered, causing an on-site shutdown and requiring an emergency oil change. And the hot rolling plant's most recent order would incur a penalty for late delivery if production stopped, risking an operating loss. In view of this, Tiantie's leaders worked on site and required that the fault be eliminated immediately and new oil added to guarantee production. This urgent need of Tiantie provided a good opportunity for Kunlun to replace imported oil, and at the same time posed a severe test for Kunlun's supply guarantee system. The sales representative learned that replacing all the oil this time would require 250 drums, and Mobil replied that all 250 drums could be in place by the afternoon of July 3.
From the moment he received the information the sales representative was determined to win, using this opportunity to replace Mobil. As long as Kunlun's oil arrived at the site earlier than Mobil's, there was a chance and time could be won for Tiantie to restart production. So the sales representative communicated with Tiantie: 'If Kunlun's oil can arrive half a day earlier than Mobil's, can the whole line at this hydraulic station use Kunlun?' Considering that time is efficiency and profit, and given their earlier trust in Kunlun's products and service, Tiantie's equipment and materials office promised: 'If Kunlun can arrive half a day earlier, this workshop will use Kunlun KG products across the board!' And that was exactly the result the company wanted!
The user's need is an order, and guaranteeing the lubrication of the user's equipment is everyone's mission. The sales representative immediately reported the situation to the industrial oil department of the North China Branch and contacted the branch's business support centre. After confirming with the plants, the business centre replied: the Beijing plant, Lanzhou plant and East China plant had altogether 107 drums of this variety in stock, which could not meet Tiantie's requirement of 250 drums; if production were organized immediately, delivery would take four to five days at the fastest.
Faced with the shortage of supply, the sales representative did not give up and communicated with Tiantie about whether 107 drums could arrive first with the rest to follow as soon as possible. Tiantie said: on-site demand is urgent and delayed arrival is unacceptable; if Kunlun cannot guarantee it, Mobil oil will continue to be used. The sales representative analysed the situation together with colleagues in the management department: after all the oil in this tank is changed this time it will not be changed on a large scale within two years, so if this opportunity is missed there will be no chance to replace Mobil in the near future, which would be a great pity. Everyone felt they must not give up easily and put their heads together to find a way.
At 2:30 p.m. Tiantie's equipment and materials office called: 'If it really cannot be done in time, let us leave it for later. We have fully felt the sincerity of the Kunlun company, but time is indeed tight this time and the temporary quantity required is so large; we understand if it cannot be met in the short term. There will be other opportunities.' This was because our side had still not confirmed whether delivery was possible, and Tiantie was worried about affecting production. By then the sales staff had been in continuous communication with all parties for more than three hours for this opportunity and absolutely could not give up lightly: 'Please give me one more hour. If it still cannot be confirmed, then we will not hold up your production!' Under enormous pressure, the sales representative won another hour for Kunlun.
Carrying the belief of never giving up, the sales representative checked inventories plant by plant through the ERP system and found that the East China plant had more than 280 drums of KG320. He immediately asked through the business centre, and the East China plant replied 'no stock'. He then contacted the East China operations department directly, which also replied that there was none. The sales representative pointed out that the ERP system showed 283 drums in stock, and only then did the East China operations staff realize, replying that this oil was produced exclusively for Baosteel and bore the words 'for Baosteel only' on the drums, so under normal circumstances it was not allowed to be sold externally and probably could not be allocated. On hearing this news, the sales staff were greatly encouraged.
The sales representative immediately reported the information that East China had 283 drums of Baosteel-exclusive oil to the business centre of the North China Branch and to the branch leadership, and the branch attached great importance to it and at the first opportunity reported the information to the company's production and operations department. The production and operations department coordinated with the East China plant to urgently allocate 250 drums of Baosteel-exclusive KG320 for dispatch to Tiantie, requiring loading and dispatch on July 1 and arrival before 8:00 a.m. on July 3 without fail. While the company coordinated dispatch, the sales representative explained to Tiantie that the oil supplied this time was a 'Baosteel-exclusive' product, and Tiantie said it could accept this and issued a letter of acceptance.
At the same time the sales representative formally replied to Tiantie: 'The Kunlun company can guarantee that 250 drums of Kunlun KG320 will arrive before 8 a.m. on July 3!' Tiantie replied: 'Really impressive. Make sure it arrives on time; whatever time the goods arrive, we will unload them as soon as they arrive.'
The Hebei area held an emergency consultation on the quotation for this variety, proposed a quotation for Tiantie and, after approval by the branch, quoted to Tiantie. Because the two sides had previously communicated about price and the competitor's price was known, the quotation was well targeted, Tiantie accepted it and submitted a sales plan and entered it into the sales system the same day.
Because the need was urgent and the matter important, the sales representative went to Tiantie the same day to guard against other problems. At the same time the East China plant's operations department gave full cooperation and urgently arranged vehicles; in the afternoon the vehicles entered the plant for loading, and the goods were split between two vehicles, one with 80 drums and one with 170 drums, which left the East China plant on the evening of July 1. The sales representative kept in constant contact with East China's operations staff, exchanging information on the vehicles' running status to ensure timely arrival.
Early on July 2 the sales representative went to the finishing workshop of Tiantie's hot rolling plant to learn about the situation. Although it was Saturday, Tiantie's leaders were all on site directing the work of resuming production, and paid particular attention to the arrival of the oil. This put the sales representative under great pressure, and he contacted East China operations and the drivers many times to confirm the arrival time. After a day's driving, the first vehicle with 80 drums drove into the Tiantie plant area at 23:00 on July 2, and filling began immediately after urgent unloading. When about 20 drums had been filled, the on-site workers suddenly remembered that there were more than 30 drums of new Mobil oil in the oil tank and were not sure whether it could be blended; the sales staff produced the results of the blending tests they had carried out and said it could be blended. The director of the hot rolling workshop said: 'Your work is really thorough and complete; keep filling!' The second vehicle with 170 drums arrived at the plant at 3 a.m. on July 3, and filling began after unloading; at 6 a.m. that day the equipment was successfully started. Both vehicles of oil arrived smoothly and a full five hours earlier than promised.
For this emergency supply to Tiantie, all departments of the Lubricant Company cooperated closely and worked together, successfully honouring Kunlun's service commitment and providing strong support for replacing imported oil across the line. Tiantie spoke highly of this supply guarantee: 'You have done what we thought impossible, and Kunlun's service is absolutely first class. Supplying in time saved us time in restarting production and protected Tiantie's benefits; Kunlun is trustworthy, and we are proud of this national enterprise.' It was learned afterwards that, worried that Kunlun's products might not arrive on time, Tiantie had also asked Mobil to stock up, but in the end Kunlun, with its strong service capability and technical strength, won the user's choice and trust.