Bi Changmin, Director of the Dalian Tobacco Monopoly Bureau: Without Informatization, There Is No Mo

Introduction: Without informatization, there will be no modern circulation. This is a saying often said by Bi Changmin, director of the Dalian City Tobacco Monopoly Bureau. Faced with today's tobacco business model, what do entrepreneurs say? Let's listen to what Director Bi has to say.   China E-Cigarette Information: Without informatization, there will be no modern circulation. This is a saying often said by Bi Changmin, director of the Dalian City Tobacco Monopoly Bureau. Faced with today's tobacco business model, what do entrepreneurs say? Let's listen to what Director Bi has to say.   Reporter: Hello, Director Bi, I am very happy to chat with you about Dalian's informatization construction.   Bi Changmin (hereinafter referred to as Bi): When it comes to informatization construction, we have been working since 1994 and have gone through a process of continuous improvement and transcendence. ldquo; Telephone ordering, electronic settlement, online loan allocation, and modern logistics have been initially realized in Dalian. So I said that our work in the past two years happened to match the sixteen characters of the National Bureau. At this year's Dalian Tobacco Work Conference, we clearly proposed that it will take three years to build Dalian Tobacco into a modern cigarette circulation enterprise. rdquo; This is also the next goal we strive for.   Reporter: Do you think building a modern cigarette circulation enterprise is closely related to informatization?   Bi: In a word, without informatization, there is no possibility of modern circulation. Informatization itself is a form of expression of modern circulation.   The connotation of modern circulation is very broad and is a comprehensive concept including infrastructure, technical equipment, marketing processes, management systems, organizational forms, personnel qualities, etc. Modern circulation of tobacco should also include these contents. If we overemphasize the particularity of the tobacco industry, ignore our position in society, or frame ourselves, companies will not be able to find an accurate positioning and will not know what to do and how to do it. We should first position ourselves as a modern circulation enterprise, and then a modern cigarette circulation enterprise, so that the thinking will be liberalized.   Reporter: Joining the WTO will bring huge challenges to the tobacco industry. Once the distribution system is liberalized, the situation faced by tobacco circulation companies will become more severe. What considerations does Dalian have in this regard?   Bi: According to McKinsey, a world-renowned consulting organization, in the next 10 years, foreign-funded enterprises will account for 60% of China's retail industry, and 30% will be divided by large domestic commercial groups. We cannot belong to the 60%. If we are not in the 30%, we will be squeezed into the gap of the 10%. If you don't seize the opportunity now, you will likely be eliminated.   Therefore, Dalian Tobacco will use the past few years to solve the modern business model and organizational form of circulation enterprises and build itself into a modern circulation enterprise, not just a cigarette circulation enterprise. In this process, informatization will play a great promoting role.   Reporter: In the process of promoting informatization, some enterprises 'advanced equipment and software do not seem to be fully utilized. What do you think is the crux?   Bi: I understand that informatization is a management revolution, and informatization and management are tied together. Without informatization, there is no word modern; at the same time, management methods must adapt to the needs of informatization, and advanced management software cannot be allowed to accommodate backward management methods. You must use informatization to transform traditional business models and organizational forms. If the management model maintains the same set of things in the past and IT intervention alone, informatization cannot be implemented.   It should be said that management is a solid foundation for informatization, and informatization promotes continuous innovation and upgrading of management work. For example, the reengineering of our business processes and the adjustment of organizational forms constantly put forward some new requirements for informatization work; in the process of informatization, it brings new thinking to our management work and encourages us to constantly change. This is a process of continuous running-in and continuous optimization.   Reporter: Dalian's e-government is doing well. Secretary Liu Jingru also called this a revolution in the traditional monopoly management model.   Bi: Informatization is to standardize people's behavior and fix people's behavior. I think this is the most fundamental significance of informatization. Our intelligent case adjudication system first solves the problem of standardizing case handling. I once sorted out cases before 2000 and found that there may be five methods to deal with the same case. This shows how flexible the Monopoly Law is. But the Monopoly Law cannot be revised, what should we do? We can only standardize through process and establish a scientific mechanism that does not change with time, goods, and people. Whoever does it will follow this model, realizing the transformation of the monopoly management model from the rule of man to the rule of law.   Reporter: Informatization may have a great impact on old ideas and management models. How does Dalian Tobacco handle this relationship?   Bi: In order to promote informatization work, Dalian Tobacco has been carrying out business process reengineering, marketing organization reorganization and personnel system reform since 2000. We require each position to describe the business process, find out the shortcomings of the original business process, and rewrite the new process according to the requirements of informatization construction. If the original process is broken, the corresponding organizational structure will change. At the same time. With the advancement of informatization, the requirements for personnel will also change. Without these preparations, informatization work cannot be implemented smoothly.   There is also a process for the transformation of employees 'ideological concepts. We train and guide all employees, invite experts to give lectures, and I personally tell them; research on informatization issues requires all employees to participate, and management ideas are also instilled in the discussion; of course, the most important thing is that everyone has tasted the benefits from informatization and understands that it is better to engage in informatization.   Reporter: At present, the informatization of some enterprises still stays at the technical level. How does Dalian realize the upgrading of informatization work from the technical level to the management level?   Bi: Informatization construction is not a purely technical issue. It is first of all an idea, a management, and then a technical issue. As the saying goes, ideas come first, methods come later. If we only understand informatization work as a technical issue, it will become a matter for technicians, and it will be difficult to mobilize all employees to participate. But thinking alone is not enough. Thinking must be transformed into technology. Therefore, informatization construction is a process of combining information technology and management ideas.   For example, software development, I don't think this can be done by computer companies alone. Computer companies understand technology, but most of the people in computer companies are recent graduates, and some of them have no concept of management. We had to bring them in and tell them management ideas. I myself taught the software developers the process for three months and provided training every day. Otherwise, the software we developed would not be suitable for the reality of the tobacco industry.   Reporter: The positioning of informatization also determines the positioning of information centers. What tasks do you think the information centers should mainly undertake?   Bi: Since informatization cannot be regarded simply as a technical issue, the information center cannot be just a technical department. I think it should be a coordination and organization department, a department responsible for integrating management and technology, and at the same time playing the role of a technical department.   However, the current lack of informatization talents is also a real problem. Dalian Information Center is also mainly responsible for the organization, coordination and communication with computer companies of system construction. Nowadays, the people in the information center are basically computer professionals. It is difficult for them to engage in management. The main reason is that there is a shortage of compound talents who understand both management and technology.   “We can apply this saying: The journey of a thousand miles in informatization construction begins with planning. rdquo;   “Without customers, informatization becomes a rootless tree.& rdquo;   Reporter: At present, there seems to be another problem that restricts the smooth advancement of industry informatization work. That is, data cannot be integrated. Do you think this is the case?   Bi: Nowadays, many companies are engaged in informatization, and what they do is done one by one. It cannot be integrated. For example, asking this computer company to do this and that computer company to do that. They don't know what goals to achieve in their minds and lack overall layout. It is easy to form an information island.   Dalian pays special attention in this regard. When talking about Dalian informatization, a professor from Renmin University of China said, I have rarely seen people like you do so well in the country because you have integrated the entire system and achieved real results. rdquo; All our software development is done by one software company. The entire e-commerce and e-government are built on one platform. The two systems can be interconnected and developed in a coordinated manner, which requires planning in advance.   Reporter: The lack of planning for informatization construction is indeed a common problem in the industry.   Bi: We can apply this saying: The journey of a thousand miles in informatization construction begins with planning. The system we use now has been planned since 2000. I feel that the key to why our informatization work can advance steadily is that every step forward our company requires experts to give lectures, conduct analysis, and plan. It is necessary to combine informatization with the actual needs of the company, otherwise there may be a swarm of people and you will follow what others do, and in the end, you will achieve nothing.   I pay special attention to input and output, and strive to achieve no waste during the entire informatization process. For example, Shanghai builds a large-scale logistics center, which depends on the strength of Shanghai Tobacco and Shanghai's strong radiation capabilities as an international metropolis. Other provinces and cities cannot blindly follow suit. Dalian also wants to build logistics warehouses, but it will not build overhead warehouses. We want to build chain supermarkets and logistics warehouses with Dalian characteristics, which is more in line with the reality of Dalian.   Reporter: I have long heard that supermarket chains in Dalian are well run. Can you talk about it in detail?   Bi: As for the chain of cigarette sales, it depends on how you understand it. Is it just a few stores that are a chain, or is a network that is a chain? I prefer that a large network is a form of chain. At present, the cigarette sales network has basically taken shape, but a real chain has not been formed, but it has created good conditions for the next step of building a real chain, which also requires informatization work to play a role.   As a circulation company, it would be unimaginable not to have its own counter. Our establishment of supermarket chains not only provides tobacco industry companies with a place to display and display cigarettes, but also expands marketing channels, enriches our marketing methods, and better serves customers and consumers.   “Leadership is service, and leadership is problem solving.& rdquo;   “Dalian Tobacco is wonderful because of everyone's efforts.& rdquo;   Reporter: We also learned that customer relationship management in Dalian is very good.   Bi: It should be said that our entire informatization is based on customer relationship management, because without customers, informatization becomes a rootless tree. How to firmly maintain customer relationships and improve customer loyalty depends on service. In this era, it is impossible to do without service. Moreover, we must find every means to provide better services and provide personalized services. Informatization has built such a platform for us.   Our call center is called the customer service center. It not only solves order problems, but also undertakes functions such as product consultation, customer complaints, and illegal information reporting. We have more than 200 pieces of customer profile information. In addition to marketing and household registration management informatization, we also include customers 'birthdays, personalities, family members, social relationships, hobbies, etc., covering almost all customer information. The reason why this is done is to better provide personalized services to customers.   Reporter: It seems that informatization is really a complex systematic project, so the National Bureau has positioned it as a top-notch project. Do you think the success or failure of informatization work has a lot to do with whether the top leaders attach importance to it or not?   Bi: I think this is not just a question of whether the leader attaches importance to it or is responsible. This is the job of your top leader. It is something you should do. Why don't you do it?   I am not unilaterally emphasizing the role of leadership, but it will be difficult to carry out informatization work without the leadership of top leaders.   Reporter: What role do you think the top leader should play in informatization construction?   Bi: Some people say that leadership is in charge of direction. I said that the development direction of the industry is set by the National Bureau, and I am implementing the decision of the National Bureau to do a good job in Dalian Tobacco. In informatization construction, I am an operator and participant, as well as a leader and a blockbuster. What is leadership? Leadership is service, and leadership is problem solving. Others say that leaders only take care of big things and ignore small things. I said that there are no small matters in informatization work, they are all closely related. If there is a problem in any link, it is a major event. If your leaders do not participate and you have no idea how far informatization work has been advanced and what goals will be achieved, it will be impossible to make scientific decisions.   Reporter: But we found that not many leaders are really familiar with informatization. How can we participate?   Bi: So there is a problem of continuous learning. Informatization is a new thing that we have never touched before, but as a leader, it is impossible for you not to understand. What should I do? Only by constantly learning and constantly studying problems. As a leader, you don't need to be an expert, but you can't be ignorant. For example, why a call center is built, what it is, what modules it consists of, what functions it has, how much investment it has, and what benefits it can bring must be studied. Another example is that there are many software related to ERP. Whether to choose which one is most suitable for the actual development of the enterprise depends on the leadership. It is difficult to make a decision without understanding it.   Of course, an expert consultation mechanism must also be introduced. We have held expert demonstration meetings at important stages such as system planning, equipment selection, and system testing. We have invited authoritative computer experts, logistics experts, and legal experts from Dalian City to study problems together and help us make decisions scientifically and avoid detours as much as possible.   Reporter: Does the acute shortage of talents in informatization construction also include the problem of lack of talents at the leadership level?   Bi: I believe that the key to the talent issue lies at the decision-making level, not at the operation level below. Informatization construction lacks compound talents who understand both technology and management (who can participate in decision-making management), which is the bottleneck restricting the development of informatization. Because the decision-making power lies with the leadership, no matter how well the information center understands, it is difficult to push it.   Reporter: Indeed, with the promotion of the leadership, it will not be difficult to realize informatization for all employees.   Bi: I often say that Dalian Tobacco is wonderful because of everyone's efforts, and I just play a promoting role. Informatization construction requires the participation of all employees. The first is the participation of the leadership team. Our leadership team of Dalian City Bureau is very united and works together. Our three deputy directors fully support and cooperate. Every employee actively participates. If you want to understand the informatization of Dalian, you should know more about our front-line employees. They sacrifice a lot of spare time because of their dedication. We can now be regarded as informatization for all employees. Any employee can talk to you about ERP and CRM. Without the cooperation of all employees, our informatization would not have achieved any results today.   Of course, informatization itself is a process of continuous updating, continuous improvement, and continuous transcendence. Our tasks are still very heavy and we still have a long way to go, but it should be said that everyone is all motivated and moving towards the next goal.   Reporter: We also believe that Dalian Tobacco will become more and more exciting. Thank you for accepting our interview despite your busy schedule.   Bi: Thank you also for your concern about Dalian Tobacco.& nbsp;#p#Pagination Title #e#