We Do Business In Full Auto [EN]: Chapter 88

088

Inauguration Ceremony (2)

-He’s a famous scientist, but I wonder if he’ll be any good at management?

-Are science and management even related? We’re going to be unemployed. We’re doomed!

-You never know. H Group wouldn’t have pushed him for no reason, right?

-I’d rather have been acquired by H Group directly. What is this after just one day?

Various opinions were being exchanged.

They seemed to think I couldn’t hear those whispers buried in the applause, but that wasn’t the case.

Their voices were perfectly clear.

I slowly walked onto the stage.

A banner that read, “Congratulations! CEO Lee Yoosung’s Inauguration!” hung at the front.

They put it up to congratulate me, but their expressions didn’t quite match the sentiment.

There were plenty of people who already saw themselves as unemployed, so I was facing an uphill battle before I’d even started managing.

Well, it wasn’t a big company, and it had been suddenly acquired by an individual, so it was understandable that they would have such apprehensive expressions.

I grabbed the microphone and looked out at the people.

“You all have rather worried expressions.”

“…….”

“That’s understandable. Many of you probably think that I, who seems to know nothing about management, will become CEO, and the company will go bankrupt within a year.”

No one spoke.

They weren’t saying it aloud, but most of them clearly agreed with me.

“Currently, we are experiencing difficulties due to misguided policies. I’m sorry to say this to the store owners, but we have no choice but to adjust the monthly membership fees and margin rates. In addition, we need to launch competitive products to normalize management first. I won’t say much more. I will normalize management within one year. And if I fail to normalize management within that time, I will bring in a professional manager and step down from this position.”

“……!”

Muttering rippled through the crowd.

The venue buzzed with hushed conversation.

No one seemed to have imagined that I would make such a bold statement.

“We plan to expand direct management by taking over convenience stores from departing store owners. We have prepared countermeasures for that, so please don’t worry too much.”

The employees looked quite confused.

Convenience store takeovers, huh?

That would be an unprecedented policy. But it was essential for me.

We needed to increase the number of directly managed convenience stores more and more in the future.

A groundbreaking change was needed to usher in the era of full automation.

“I am a scientist. What can I really do?”

“A scientist…….”

“Why did convenience store automation fail in the past? It’s because customers still had to do the calculations themselves and put things in bags themselves. Besides, the systems couldn’t answer various questions, and some services were lacking, so companies had no choice but to hire employees. If I build a fully automated system, a new wave will sweep through the industry.”

“Wow!”

Applause erupted.

The era of full automation.

People knew I was an excellent scientist. When such a scientist presented a vision, they started to believe it might actually be possible.

Solve the labor cost problem, which accounts for a large portion of convenience store expenses.

If I could do that, it wouldn’t be difficult to make the convenience store business a resounding success.

Muttering continued.

Company lobby.

The employees had expectant expressions.

A scientist with tremendous technological prowess had appeared, so they were wondering if there would be any changes to the system.

With the 5th Circle [referring to a level of magical ability], it became possible to produce magical tools.

As someone who used black magic, I knew that there were quite a few innovative and novel applications for magical tools.

One of them was the production of robots controlled by evil spirits.

The problem with robots was that the development of artificial intelligence was lagging, but if you combined magical tools and machines, you could produce excellent employees.

Of course, the employees to manage *them* could be replaced with the undead.

Before employees combining machines and magical tools were ready, directly managed convenience stores could be expanded to generate profits.

A whopping 50 billion won [approximately $40 million USD] a year.

My family went back home, and I headed to the executive conference room.

I took the executive elevator.

People were taking their seats one by one in the conference room, which could accommodate dozens of people.

I saw several people, but I focused on the person named Lee Tae-gon, the head of headquarters that Lee Seul-gi had mentioned.

He was trying to hide his expression, but his face was full of undisguised greed.

There is a saying that a man should take responsibility for his face when he is 40 years old. A greedy person’s greed is bound to show on their face.

Greed and vanity were written all over him, and I added Lee Tae-gon to the list of people to be purged in the future.

“We will start the meeting,” Chief Lee Seul-gi announced.

The most important agenda item at the first meeting was the business improvement plan.

We were suffering from deficits, and debts were increasing, so solving that was the top priority.

“Currently, our company is giving store owners a margin of 1-20%. Is that correct?”

“That’s right. That was the will of the previous president. In a way, it was also the intention of the group [referring to the parent company].”

When Lee Tae-gon, the head of headquarters, said that, people nodded.

“This was a bad policy.”

“I can’t deny that, but… CL Group was behind us, so we were able to endure it.”

“But that’s not the case anymore.”

“Hmm. Do you have any plans?”

“As I said before, the margin rate will be lowered to 1-18%.”

“There will be a backlash.”

“Still, it’s 2% more profit than other companies. I think everyone knows how big even 1% is.”

People nodded.

The store owners’ profits were significantly impacted by this 1% difference.

Even *I* thought it was a problem to give a 5% higher margin rate.

“Since the contract is already in place, it will be applied upon renewal.”

“……I understand.”

“The monthly membership fee was around 2 million won [approximately $1,600 USD]. We lowered it by 30% from there. Is that correct?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“The monthly membership fee will be increased by 20% from now on. Still, it will be 10% more profitable than other companies.”

“Hmm.”

I was reversing the policies I had used in the past, one by one.

“The store owners will also know that the company is in crisis. It’s not the same level as other companies, so they’ll understand.”

“What the president says is reasonable,” Lee Tae-gon said, defending me.

I didn’t know what his intentions were, but he didn’t seem to want to make an enemy of me for now.

If that was the case, the situation might be easier to resolve.

“Also, we will purchase the stores of defecting owners directly.”

“There’s no money for that.”

“It’s okay. I’ll buy them with my personal funds, and they will be operated with my stake.”

“Personally?”

“In other words, I become the store owner.”

“If that’s the case, there’s no problem. It’s better than the convenience store disappearing altogether.”

“We will be inspecting fresh foods and items, including lunch boxes, soon. Please prepare for it.”

“Yes.”

“In addition, we will begin preparations to build an automatic system. Please advertise that a fully automated Android can come out on a large scale.”

“Automatic system… Convenience stores have gone bankrupt because of that in the past.”

“So, we need to introduce AI technology.”

“The movement of machines is truly unnatural.”

“We plan to create AI technology and Android robots that are no different from humans.”

“Heo!”

“If that’s possible, you should rather do a robot business…….”

“I’m also keeping that in mind.”

“…….”

People couldn’t hide their surprise.

This was because I had laid out the vision for the next business at the same time as starting the convenience store business.

Muttering filled the room.

In the conference room where CEO Lee Yoosung had left, opinions were exchanged noisily.

“If you have such technology, you’ll be able to grow into a large company in no time, right?”

“I know. You’re going to make an Android? That’s a step beyond.”

“Actually, I heard that Android technology exists already. It’s just expensive.”

“What will happen if it is developed and commercialized?”

“From a profit perspective, there will be a huge response. Of course, it’s unfortunate that so many people will lose their jobs.”

“Well, the robot factory will hire them, so there will be a job retention effect.”

The executives were keenly interested in CEO Lee Yoosung’s moves.

Make an Android?

Was such technology even possible now?

Headquarters Manager Lee Tae-gon returned to his office with his aides.

“Crazy. He’s full of hot air,” Lee Tae-gon said, shaking his head and thinking of Lee Yoosung.

“Do you think it’s impossible, headquarters manager?”

“You’re going to make an Android that speaks and moves like a human? That’s a step beyond. Is that even possible?”

“Customers don’t expect much from part-time workers. They’re friendly, good at calculating, and good at finding things. If Androids come in, more services will be provided.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Could it be that the new president lied?”

“It may be a trick to gather trust.”

Lee Tae-gon thought that the vision that CEO Lee Yoosung had mentioned this time was absolutely impossible.

Android?

The reality is not a cartoon.

“Besides, you’re going to buy the stores directly. With your own money? Did CEO Lee Yoosung have that much money?”

“That’s questionable. Our company’s debt is high, so it was sold at a bargain price, but still, a considerable amount of money would have been invested. You’re going to increase the number of directly managed convenience stores here… It’s not even directly managed. It’s because the president becomes the store owner himself.”

“Tsk. Anyway, let’s take a look for a while. And we have to induce failure. It’s better for a professional manager to manage than for someone with so much hot air to manage.”

“That’s right.”

They decided to induce CEO Lee Yoosung’s failure.

I started my first job as president.

In fact, I couldn’t stay here for long. I also had to be involved in the uninhabited island business. Also, the US military base expansion project was something I was in charge of anyway, so I needed to supervise it. H Group would take care of it without me having to get involved, but I still had to show my face.

Would I have time around 4 o’clock?

I needed to realize what I said earlier.

From the renewal of each store’s contract, I was thinking of lowering the margin rate and raising the monthly membership fee. There were some concerns about backlash, but the store owners would know that the company was not in good shape, so it seemed that it could be resolved at an appropriate level.

On the desk, instead of working on official documents, I was sketching out ideas for the full auto system on A4 paper [standard paper size in many countries].

Before combining magical tools and machines, I needed to put the undead in directly managed convenience stores.

This was a plan for that.

“All part-time workers hired at directly managed convenience stores must be hired directly by me. I have to use company funds to pay in cash and receive the remaining money in bonds. And the cash has to go into a Swiss account and come back to me…….”

Tok. Tok.

A problem arose here.

The flow of funds was blocked from the Swiss account. I hadn’t thought about how the funds should be transferred to me from there yet.

In the end, it meant I had to launder money.

To be able to launder money?

It had to go through NK Group.

NK Group was a specialist in that kind of thing. I heard there was a way to launder money in the UK. Cleanly.