The One Behind It All Chapter 39

However, it was not all smooth sailing when Huawei first came into contact with British Telecom. Instead, it received a cold reception. The British did not believe that the Chinese could produce high-quality switches, and Huawei did not even have the opportunity to participate in the tender. Later, Huawei people finally learned about British Telecom's rules: to participate in the bidding, they must first be certified by them, and their bidding targets are all members of the short list they control.

To become a first-class equipment manufacturer, it is necessary to win first-class operators. British Telecom, which ranks ninth among global telecom operators, is a veritable "Big T" (referring to the world's top operators). It has strict market entry thresholds that even many Western telecom equipment giants dare not take lightly. To become a British Telecom supplier, you must pass their supplier certification, which requires a strict program assessment. This certification is time-consuming and covers up to 12 aspects.

To this end, Huawei has established a British Telecom Certification Preparation Working Group with Chairman Sun Yafang as the commander-in-chief and Executive Vice President Fei Min as the general commander. It covers sales, marketing, supply chain, human resources, finance and many other departments, and has begun to enter "emergency preparation" "state.

In November 2003, the British Telecom procurement certification team came to Huawei and conducted a strict "physical examination" on Huawei for four days. In this assessment, technology is not the primary consideration. Management system, quality control system, environmental system, etc. are the most important. We must ensure the predictability and replicability of the products Huawei delivers to customers. BT's assessment also includes an assessment of the operations and credit of Huawei's partners, a credit review of Huawei's suppliers, and even an assessment of Huawei's human rights (such as the canteens, dormitories and other living conditions provided by Huawei to its employees). Assessment. In front of world-class experts, many of Huawei's vulnerabilities were exposed.

When the expert asked: "Can anyone here tell me, from the perspective of the end-to-end whole process, what are the top five problems that need to be solved that affect Huawei's high-quality delivery of products and services to customers?" ?" All Huawei experts present were speechless.