The Xiaomi Way to Optimize Costs

小米公司在嚴抓產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量上面，有兩個有趣故事。

曾經(jīng)一個階段，我們對整個手機的元器件進行質(zhì)量梳理，其中當然也包括成本梳理，結果發(fā)現(xiàn)一個問題——手機取卡用的那根頂針出了問題。

眾所周知,那根頂針主要是為了方便用戶裝卸SIM 卡。平常，在捅這個卡槽時，用戶用得最多的是別針，當然有些男士還用牙簽。不管怎樣，這種東西應該很便宜。曲別針都是按盒賣，一盒幾百個，也就幾元錢，一個算下來也就幾分錢。

看到我們那根頂針的成本時，所有人都嚇一跳：一元多人民幣一根。怎么會這么貴呢？一定是哪里出了問題。

問題可能出在兩個方面：一個是有人吃回扣，另一個是供應商太黑。

我們一直相信隊友，有人吃回扣的可能性不大，那就問問供應商吧。

供應商其實也很緊張，尤其是知道這件事情是雷軍親自在抓。他們來到公司，當面解釋道：他們其實基本不賺錢，因為這根針沒什么利潤。

一元多的頂針沒有利潤？這不是供應商慣用的伎倆嗎？我們讓他們解釋一下，為什么一個曲別針幾分錢，這根頂針卻要一元多呢？供應商回答道：你們這根頂針厲害啊，里面含有幾種稀有金屬呢。

我們就更納悶了，一根頂針含稀有金屬干嗎？供應商說：你們的產(chǎn)品有一個檢驗標準——插10 萬次不能彎。

聽到這個理由，我們所有人都驚訝了。這是什么標準？一根頂針，用戶一般只用一兩次，測試標準要10 萬次，用戶沒事干去拿這根頂針捅10 萬次手機？這不是瞎胡鬧嗎？

這還真不是供應商的問題。

我們請負責研發(fā)的同事一起研究這件事情，研發(fā)的同事也很委屈，當初我們開始做手機的時候，很多地方在學習蘋果手機，很多地方采用的是蘋果手機的標準，這根頂針就是按這樣的標準生產(chǎn)出來的。

這個時候，我們的供應商補了一刀：蘋果手機一開始確實是這個標準，后來因為太貴，就降低了標準；不過小米還是很厲害，你們幾百元的紅米手機用的也是這種頂針。

這一下，我們真的哭笑不得。

我們當然要追求極致，不過這種極致對用戶沒有任何意義，它是一種成本浪費。

和這根頂針的故事類似的是螺釘?shù)墓适隆Ｗ鍪謾C的時候，手機主板與手機外殼需要12 顆小螺釘進行固定。由于手機很薄，那種螺釘很小。正常來說，這樣的一顆螺釘也就幾厘錢，但事實也接近1 元。這顆螺釘是工廠生產(chǎn)的時候擰上去的，不需要像頂針一樣反復使用。這顆螺釘肯定有問題。

我們還是把供應商請到公司，大家一起研究哪兒出了問題。

由于小米摳細節(jié)出了名，供應商非常重視，這次過來帶了很多工具，其中有一個放大鏡。當我們詢問為什么這顆螺釘那么貴的時候，供應商朋友拿著放大鏡對著螺釘說：你們這顆螺釘真的很厲害，通過放大鏡就能看到了。我們一起把頭湊過去，供應商說：你們看到了嗎？每顆螺絲釘表面都有一個小米的標識。我們所有人都驚呆了。這是什么天才的設計啊？這有什么用?。课覀兊墓こ處煱褬O致和智慧用在這個上面，顯然是用錯了地方。

Two interesting stories about the strict management of Xiaomi on the quality of the products are well known.

There was a time when we conducted a quality inspection of all the components of MIphones,which of course included cost controls,and we found something wrong with the SIM ejector pins.

These pins are used for the easy removal of SIM cards.But seeing as most people either lose the pin or don’t have it on them when they want to get the SIM card out,they often use paperclips as an alternative,and a few of them even prefer using toothpicks.Anyhow,the ejector pins shouldn’t be a costly thing,as a box of paperclips is sold at RMB merely a few yuans,which contains hundreds of paperclips in each box,so the cost of every single paperclip is only a few cents.

However,when we checked the cost of the ejector pins,everyone was floored by the fact that they cost over one yuan per pin.What was up with the extreme price difference? There must have been something wrong.

There might be two reasons behind it:one,someone in the company had taken kickbacks,and the other,we were being taken advantage of by our suppliers.

Well,we trusted our colleagues implicitly,so we ruled out the first contingency immediately.It was then that we contacted our suppliers.

Upon hearing the news,our suppliers were uneasy,especially when they learned that our CEO,Lei Jun was handling this matter personally.After arriving at our company,they said that they didn’t overcharge us at all,and there weren’t any profits to be made from the pins.

No profits from these bucka-piece pins? It seemed that the suppliers were just making excuses? Then I asked them why the cost of an ejector pin was over one yuan while that of a paperclip was only a few cents,and they told us,“Your pins are special because they contain several kinds of rare metals.”This answer puzzled us.Why should an ejector pin contain rare metals? And they responded,“Your test standard for the pin requires it to remain unbent after being inserted into the SIM tray 100,000 times.”

Upon hearing it,all of us were shocked.What an absurd standard! An ordinary user would barely use the pin a couple of times,yet the standard was set at 100,000 times.Who would insert the pin into their phone 100,000 times? It didn’t make a lick of sense.

And just like that,the mystery was unlocked.It wasn’t the suppliers’ fault.

We discussed the matter with colleagues from the R&D Center who felt a bit wronged.It turned out that when we first began making smart phones,we borrowed heavily from the iPhone in many ways,including Apple’s standard for mobile components,and the ejector pins were made accordingly.

Then our suppliers added tartly,“It’s true that Apple adopted this standard for the pins at the beginning.But later they lowered it due to cost controls.Xiaomi is such a topnotch company that you even use the high-quality pins on your Redmi Phones that are worth only several hundred yuan apiece.”

What funny logic!

Of course,we have to pursue perfection.But the blind pursuit of perfection like this simply leads to a waste of money,and is practically meaningless to the customers.

A similar story happened before about screws.When making mobile phones,the main board has to be firmly secured to the body by 12 micro screws.Because of the thinness of the phone,the screws have to be super small.Generally speaking,the cost for such a small screw should be no more than a few thousandths of a yuan,but the actual cost was close to one yuan.The screws are fixed into the phone during manufacturing,so they don’t need to be used repeatedly like the ejector pins.So something was definitely not kosher.

As usual,we invited the suppliers to the company to discuss the problem.

As Xiaomi has been well reputed for being its meticulous attention to detail,the suppliers took the matter very seriously,and brought lots of tools with them,one of which was a magnifying glass.When we asked about the high cost of the screws,they put the magnifying glass above one of the screws,and said,“These are incredible screws.You can see the trick through the magnifying glass.”

We bent forward immediately towards it,and the suppliers continued,“Did you see it? There is a Xiaomi logo on the head of every single screw.”

We were absolutely stunned.What a BRILLIANT design! But what was the point? It’s obvious that our engineers have wasted their talent,and this was simply another case of blind pursuit of perfection.

Upon reading the two stories,you’d likely think that we have an engineering crew of absolute airheads.In fact,it’s not their fault,as this is the common R&D problem for many companies.The relentless pursuit of perfection on the part of the engineers who only want to make great achievements at work,or create something that they’re proud of is beyond question.But if they forgot that their work is to serve the customers and create value for them,problems like these will just keep reoccurring.

Therefore,before making a product,it’s better to raise the cost-consciousness of everyone in the company,and conduct cost-conscious management throughout all the stages from planning,design to research and development.Once the design,product standard,or research and development of the product is finalized,the cost will be fixed.And then you need to analyze the cost at every stage and see if there is any waste in the cost that doesn’t serve the customers or bring them any extra value.And that’s how you get the optimal cost.

(FromI Am Making“Hot Cakes” at Xiaomi,CITIC Publishing House.Translation:Zhu Yaguang)

我相信，大家看到這兩個故事時，會覺得我們的工程師太愚昧。其實，真不是他們愚昧，這是很多公司研發(fā)的通病。很多工程師總希望自己的工作能做出成績，有值得炫耀的地方，可如果他們忘了所有的工作都是為用戶服務，是給用戶帶來價值，這樣的問題就總是出現(xiàn)。

所以打造一個產(chǎn)品，最好是從策劃、設計、研發(fā)環(huán)節(jié)就注重成本，讓公司每個人都有成本意識。一旦設計定下來、產(chǎn)品規(guī)格定下來、研發(fā)定下來，成本就基本固定了。我們需要梳理每一個環(huán)節(jié)的成本，看看是否存在大多對用戶沒用的成本，這樣，產(chǎn)品成本就是相對最優(yōu)成本了。

（摘自《我在小米做爆品》中信出版社）