Recently, the Quality and Technology Supervision Bureaus of Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Anhui Province, Jiangxi Province and Shanghai Municipality jointly released the list of “2017 Top 100 Brand Products in Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Anhui Province, Jiangxi Province and Shanghai Municipality”. The “SHIMGE”-branded products of Shimge Pump Industry Group Co., Ltd. was included in the list, becoming the only brand on the list among the pump industry in Zhejiang Province. Previously, Shimge Pump Industry Group Co., Ltd. has maintained the honor of “Zhejiang Famous-brand Product” for 15 years, and its Chinese trademark “Xinjie” and its English trademark “SHIMGE” have been both recognized as “well-known trademarks” by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The key for Shimge to have gained so many honors and made so brilliant achievements at home and abroad lies in its emphasis on and adherence to product quality construction. “We should give full play to our advantages, make our products better and be the NO. 1 in Taizhou, Zhejiang and even China.” XU Mintian is leading the team to move towards this goal. 

It is the existence value for an enterprise to solve the difficulties of the consumers.

Each industry is confronted with different consumer demands. For example, in the express industry, consumers prefer fast, safe and well-served express delivery services. S.F. Express has developed into an industry benchmark on basis of it. In the pump industry, “the mission of the pump is to let the water flow freely, namely, to flow wherever the user let it and provide the water needed, which is its mission. Our responsibility is how to make it complete this mission in a more energy-saving way, not only in an energy-saving and power-saving way, but also with good product quality. If the pumps of other brands have a service life of one or two years, then we would try to provide pumps with a service life of five or six years.” With this firm belief, XU Mintian and the management of Shimge put forward the value proposition of Shimge: energy saving and high reliability. This value proposition has become the driving force and foundation for the quality development of Shimge.

A enterprise with its own corporate sprit should have its own value proposition, which represents the consistent position of the brand and its commitment to the consumers, and demonstrates the spiritual connotation of the brand. In addition, the products should be able to solve the difficulties for users. Pumps are applied in all walks of life, and the need for pumps varies from industry to industry. In the interview with the magazine New Marketing, XU Mintian had just finished his research on a chicken farm in northeast China and was on his way to Beijing. He introduced that this chicken farm in northeast China has been equipped with spray systems in humid environment and at high indoor temperature. In this environment, the fog can easily get into the motor of the pump, the pump bearings will easily be rust and stuck, and the control system is prone to water damage, so the pump usually breaks down in less than half a year. “The general manager of the chicken farm told me that your value lies in solving these two problems of mine. If you can solve the problems of the users, you can prove your value”, said XU Mintian, “The pump that was used for less than half a year can now be used for two or three years after R&D and improvement of our technical personnel. I think it is creating value. And the user’s difficulty is the source of innovation, which the developers create value through and are proud of.”

Product quality is the lifeline of the enterprise.

The essence of manufacturing industry is the quality of its products. So, how to ensure product quality and make it become the brand-name product in the consumers’ hearts? XU Mintian believes that employees are the foundation of quality assurance; without the participation of employees, the good quality would not be achieved.

In order to make employees aware of the importance of quality, Shimge has set up a pre-service training system for new employees, which sets standards for new employees from all aspects such as corporate culture, values and skills. In addition, staff will take quality and workmanship exams quarterly to remind them of quality issues. In terms of quality control, Shimge also emphasizes that all staff members should participate in quality management. Initially, quality inspectors were responsible for quality control in Shimge. But now, it has developed a three-level quality supervision system from inspectors, assemblers to consumers.

XU recalled that over 20 years ago, an employee compensated more than RMB 500 due to the manufacture of substandard products. After the resignation, this employee who had been holding the grudge retaliated against the inspector in charge of quality control in a coincidence of opportunity. After knowing that the quality inspector was mauled, XU Mintian immediately reported the case to the police. The local security authorities attached great importance to the case but felt confused why the staff member was mauled and the CEO reported to the police in person. XU Miantian answered, “My quality inspector was mauled, if I was indifferent and the government could not support me, how can my company create a good brand and good quality? In which should the government support the enterprise? It is not bonuses, but the justice, which would be the greatest support.”

XU Mintian often tells this story to his employees, wishing to make them realize that the Company attaches great importance to product quality. With the support of the CEO, there has been no case of inspectors being mauled since then. XU emphasized, “I think quality is the lifeline of the enterprise and It is absolutely impossible for me to impose a lesser punishment on people who make a mistake in the aspect of quality.” One of Shimge’s quality director said, “As a quality director in Shimge, I am very proud and motivated because quality problems are usually dealt with according to the Company’s established regulations. There is never a single employee or supplier who deals with leniently. Everything should follow the established rules and regulations.”

The process of enterprise management is a process of managing humanity.

The incident of the quality inspector’s being mauled also made XU aware of major problems in the quality control system. In this case, the quality inspector is under great pressure. If there is a quality problem, there may be two risks, namely, the quality inspector will pardon the mistake maker for the problem due to bribery or the quality inspector will be revenged due to the strict execution of quality control rules. In order to avoid these situations, the Company has adjusted the quality inspection system to three links: the inspector, the assembler and the consumer. The inspector shall compensate 10% for the quality problems detected, and the assembler shall compensate 20% for the quality problems detected in the assembly process. If problems are found in the hands of consumers, the compensation will be more. This system makes the quality inspectors be able to better deal with the quality problems because to check out the problem is a way to avoid greater losses for the staff, which is a very humanistic system.

In Shimge, when the assembly workers find a quality problem in the previous process, they would be paid a salary or a bonus, which encourages the assembly workers to pick out the unqualified products; when quality problems arise on the consumer side, Shimge wouldn’t claim responsibility immediately, but encourages the staff to solve the consumer’s problem first; if the problem is handled well and the customer is satisfied, the employee concerned will not be punished. “We think over our system from the perspective of humanity. I think the process of enterprise management is a process of understanding and managing humanity”, said XU Mintian.

Through humanistic management, XU Mintian has won the trust and respect of the staff, and also integrated the corporate culture and values into the blood of every Shimge staff. Shimge’s pursuit of quality products has been rooted in the every step and detail of the Company’s development.

The former CEO of G.M. Jack Welch, the greatest CEO in the 20^th century, put forward in his book Winning that leaders should make sure that people not only just see those visions, but actually feel them. I think XU Miantian has really achieved it. Under the leadership of XU Miantian, Shimge is actively implementing the value proposition of “energy saving and high reliability”, striving to realize the great dream of “providing the world with the best pump and water treatment system solutions and enabling people to enjoy a high-quality life”.