Revealing the company behind Remdesivir, a "new life-saving drug for pneumonia": in less than 30 years, it ranks among the TOP10 global pharmaceutical companies.

Image source @ Panorama Vision


Titanium media note:
Since the outbreak of new coronavirus pneumonia, pharmaceutical research has been the focus of public attention.

On January 31st, the authoritative medical journal NEJM published a paper, which introduced the diagnosis and treatment process of the first confirmed case in the United States, and mentioned that the patient’s condition was rapidly relieved after receiving experimental treatment with Remdesivir, a drug developed by Gilead Scientific Company.

Since then, Gilead has issued a statement on the drug research and development action taken against the new coronavirus in 2019, and said that it is working closely with the health authorities in China. On February 4th, Remdesivir arrived in China, and will start a clinical trial to treat Covid-19 pneumonia in China.

This series of measures made the pharmaceutical company behind Remdesivir, Gilead, attract widespread attention.

Today, after Wuhan Virus Institute publicly declared the patent of antiviral drug Remdesivir, the global CEO of Gilead Science responded to this "patent dispute" at a company meeting.

Patents are not our primary concern at present. I asked my colleagues in charge of patents. Just like other drugs of Gilead, we have applied for compounds and patents including coronavirus for Remdesivir in various regions of the world. We will not get involved in this patent issue, we will find ways to help patients, and of course we will protect our intellectual property rights in other ways, but patients come first.

Gilead’s patient-oriented pharmaceutical spirit has once again focused on the public’s vision. So, what kind of enterprise is Remdesivir’s Gilead Science Company?

Founded in 1987, Gilead Science Company is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in drug development and sales based on research. Headquartered in California, Gilead is known as the "Apple Company in Pharmaceutical Industry" for its innovative ability.

Twenty-eight products were listed in 31 years, and single-chip compound agent for AIDS treatment was listed in 2006. In 2013, Sovaldi, the first "medicine for hepatitis C", entered the first echelon of global CAR-T therapy in 2017. It took Gilead less than 30 years to become one of the TOP10 global pharmaceutical companies.

Gilead’s success comes from high R&D investment, which is based on the first bucket of gold brought by the founder.

Michael Aodan is the founder of Gilead. When the company was founded in 1987, Aodan, who was only 29 years old, was already good at capital operation. In the second year after its establishment, Aodan raised $2 million in venture capital. In 1989, Aodan received another $10 million in venture capital, from which many projects were studied.

Although Aodan received many venture investments in the early days of his business, Gilead was a drop in the bucket in the first few years. It was not until March 1991 that Gilead won the first cooperation fund of 1.3 million US dollars, and in the same year signed an agreement with a European university laboratory to obtain the right to develop a group of nucleotide compounds, so Gilead was able to start the research in the field of antiviral drugs that he had been focusing on since then.

Since then, while Gilead’s R&D investment has achieved fruitful results, funds have also been rolling in. In January 1992, Gilead went public, which provided financial support for its huge R&D investment.

After eight years of "pioneering", Gilead accumulated $167 million in assets, and the enterprise was at the dawn. Gilead continues to focus on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/ AIDS, liver diseases, blood/tumors, cardiovascular diseases and inflammatory/respiratory diseases.

In later years, Gilead developed a series of products to fight virus and inflammation, including AmBisome, Atripla, Cayston, Complera/Eviplera, Descovy, Emtriva and so on.

In order to devote himself to the research and development of antiviral drugs, Gilead also sold the antisense therapy studied for many years to Ionis pharma and the tumor business to OSI pharma.

Gilead has rewritten the course of treatment of major human diseases many times, including oseltamivir (Tamiflu), a well-known anti-influenza drug. It took only seven years for oseltamivir to go on the market successfully, which is rare and efficient in the history of modern new drug research and development, and has also become a classic case of structure-based drug design.

In 2016 -2018 and the first three quarters of 2019, the net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company after deduction by Gilead Science was 93.656 billion yuan, 30.240 billion yuan, 37.439 billion yuan and 19.026 billion yuan respectively, and the R&D expenses in the same period were 35.365 billion yuan, 24.399 billion yuan, 34.440 billion yuan and 50.974 billion yuan respectively.

Up to now, Gilead’s total R&D investment is $25.02 billion, but the return is as high as $175 billion, and this is not the value of the products under research.

The solid capital base is endorsed by the high R&D expenses, and a large amount of investment in R&D has promoted the continuous growth of the company’s income, forming a virtuous circle for the long-term development of Gilead.

If Gilead’s success stems from its strategy of attaching importance to research and development, then its growth can not be separated from the merger and acquisition in the past two years.

In June 2010, Gilead acquired CGI Pharmaceuticals, a private company, with a purchase price of $120 million. This biotechnology company has a batch of very potential patented small molecule kinase inhibitors, including preclinical candidate compounds targeting spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk).

In February 2011, Gilead announced the acquisition of Calistoga Pharmaceuticals for $375 million. This is a biotechnology company in the clinical development stage. The main candidate drug is CAL-101, a highly selective inhibitor of PI3K, which is the first in the world. Later, Gilead changed its code name to GS-1101, that is, Zydelig, a listed product. In 2014, Zydelig was approved for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and lymphoma.

In 2012, Gilead also acquired Pharmasset for $11 billion. At that time, Pharmasset Pharmaceutical Company only had 82 employees, but its greatest value was its possession of PSI-7977, a hepatitis C treatment drug, which was named Sovaldi after it went on the market. After Sovaldi was approved for marketing, HCV therapeutic drugs Harvoni and Epclusa were listed in succession. By the first quarter of 2017, the sales of these three drugs had reached 49.2 billion US dollars.

The popularity of Sovaldi, the "magic medicine for hepatitis C", has caused the market value of Gilead to skyrocket five times. Harvoni, the second-generation hepatitis C drug, ranked second in the global drug sales list in 2015 and 2016.

This also enabled Gilead to become the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in the world in July 2015, with a market value as high as 160 billion US dollars.

Since then, Gilead has successively acquired pharmaceutical companies with R&D potential such as Epitherapeutics, Kite Pharma and Cell Design Labs, further expanding its pharmaceutical field and territory.

The continuous growth of Gilead’s science is inseparable from its continuous global expansion. This pharmaceutical company entered China in 2007 and established its Shanghai headquarters in 2016.

In 2017, since the first chronic hepatitis C treatment drug Sovadi of Gillette Science was approved in China, eight drugs have been listed in China, covering hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV/ AIDS. The approval of hepatitis B drug Vemlidy in China achieved a 52% increase. Gilead predicted that with the penetration of the US market and the pull of the China market, Vemlidy could achieve a revenue of $1 billion in 2022.

On May 30, 2018, a new drug for the treatment of hepatitis C by Gilead’s pan-genotype was approved in China; In November 2019, four drugs from Gillette Company were included in the 2019 edition of the National Medical Insurance Catalogue.

A few days ago, the news of the recovery of the first confirmed case of Covid-19 came from the United States, and the Remdesivir developed by Gilead Science Company made it the focus of media attention. After the news that taking Remdesivir improved his condition, Gilead rose by 3% immediately after the close. Thus, for Gilead, its global layout has become an indispensable driving force for the continuous growth of the enterprise.

Although the investment in pharmaceutical research and development is high and the cycle is long, gambling can bring high returns. For Gilead, it is because of his long-term concentration and daring to take risks that he can stay ahead in this fierce and high-risk field.

(Titanium media editor Tao Tao integrated from Snowball, sohu finance)

Promote the integration and development of intangible cultural heritage and tourism

"Learn to think and practice"

China is rich in intangible cultural heritage resources. By the end of 2023, more than 100,000 national, provincial, municipal and county-level intangible cultural heritage projects have been identified, and 43 projects have been included in UNESCO’s representative list and roster of intangible cultural heritage of mankind, ranking first in the world. In recent years, the upsurge of traditional culture in various places has surged, and the demand for cultural tourism consumption has been continuously released. Finding the "greatest common denominator" between the systematic protection of intangible cultural heritage and the high-quality development of tourism and promoting the deep integration and development of intangible cultural heritage and tourism are of great practical significance for solidly protecting intangible cultural heritage, promoting the high-quality development of tourism and better meeting people’s growing spiritual and cultural needs.

Shaping tourism with culture and activating the new format of in-depth tourism

Intangible heritage injects cultural connotation into tourism industry. Intangible cultural heritage projects have profound cultural connotations, unique forms of expression, distinctive regional and national characteristics, and have a good foundation for integrated development with tourism. With the development and maturity of China’s tourism industry, the mode of large-scale landscape construction and resource development has become outdated, and deep tourism, which is closely linked with local society and pays attention to the excavation of historical and cultural heritage, has become a new format of tourism in the new era. In 2023, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued the "Notice on Promoting the Deep Integration of Intangible Cultural Heritage and Tourism", proposing that "the organic integration of intangible cultural heritage can further enrich the cultural connotation of tourist spaces such as tourist attractions, resorts, leisure blocks, key villages and towns in rural tourism, and red tourist classic scenic spots, and enhance the cultural heritage", which is a further step for intangible research tours, cultural and sports tours, recreational tours, intangible shopping festivals and intangible food festivals.

Non-legacy energy is transformed into tourism income-generating productivity. In recent years, the "non-legacy+"model has become a new fashion in tourism. For example, the ice and snow carving skills of the provincial intangible project in Heilongjiang Province have attracted visitors from all directions and become a highlight of Harbin’s ice and snow tourism. Shandong Province has released 17 non-legacy tourist routes such as "Spring Folk Art", which has become a new signboard of friendly shandong. Yunnan Dali relies on the March Street National Festival and the promotion activities of "Windy Courtyard" to open cultural and creative markets, pastoral markets and music markets, so that the trend of "following Dali" can revitalize the countryside. Yulin, Shaanxi Province has carefully created the theme tour of "Meeting Yulin, Dialogue with the Ancient City–Sharing the Intangible Heritage Time", and the intangible heritage projects such as Yulin Xiaoqu, storytelling in northern Shaanxi and folk songs in northern Shaanxi are very popular among tourists. Many local experiences in the integration of cultural tourism have verified the strong help of the "non-legacy+"model in realizing the "double harvest" of social and economic benefits in tourism.

The digitalization of intangible cultural heritage helps the transformation from "seeing the scenery" to "entering the scenery". The latest technologies such as digital storage, situational experience, virtual reality and augmented reality in the protection of intangible cultural heritage provide opportunities for cultural relics to speak and intangible cultural heritage to speak, and also promote the upgrading of tourism industry in terms of technology and concept. After years of development, China’s intangible cultural heritage protection has explored a mature digital technology model, forming a multi-modal form such as intangible cultural heritage database and AI intangible cultural heritage experience museum. The integrated application of intangible digital resources is injecting more high-quality and attractive cultural content into tourism in a multi-dimensional and continuous way.

Empowering the people to leave live transmission with their travels.

Tourism provides application scenarios for non-legacy live transmission. Intangible heritage is an important part of China’s excellent traditional culture, and it is the wisdom of life deposited by people everywhere in the long history. Live transmission’s intangible cultural heritage is the connection between the tourism industry and the local historical, social and living aspects. The space reconstruction represented by intangible cultural heritage workshops, intangible cultural heritage experience halls and intangible cultural heritage houses has strengthened the sense of participation and experience of tourists. In this process, popular "punch-in" projects such as interactive demonstrations and experiential teaching have provided conditions for the lifestyle changes of non-genetic inheritors. The presentation of non-legacy projects with historical and life attributes is conducive to enhancing the visibility of local society. At the same time, the tourism industry can give full play to its advantages in revitalizing rural culture and creating jobs for cultural tourism.

Tourism introduces folk power for the systematic protection of intangible cultural heritage. Inheritors are the important subjects of intangible heritage, the masses are the supporters of intangible heritage, and tourists are the potential inheritors of intangible heritage. Promoting the integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism, and bringing inheritors and people into the tourism industry system can not only narrow the distance between tourists and local people’s daily lives, but also create a tourism ecology with tolerance, friendliness, difference and locality, and is conducive to horizontally promoting the connection between tourism and other formats such as transportation, homestay and cultural creation, and building a new global tourism model. Non-genetic inheritors, rural craftsmen, cultural talents, agricultural professional managers in the field of agriculture, culture and tourism, and other new subjects will join in the cooperation and participate in the planning, management and service of the local tourism industry, which will protect and reserve an orderly talent echelon for non-genetic inheritors and create a good social atmosphere.

Tourism provides an important carrier for intangible cultural heritage to play its value in the times. Tourism, as a contemporary mass lifestyle, can really promote the connection between intangible cultural heritage and modern life, and is especially conducive to improving the intimacy, love and understanding of young people on intangible cultural heritage. When the inheritance of historical context becomes a social consensus, when more and more people, especially teenagers, recognize the charm and value of historical and cultural heritage, our treasures can be entrusted to others and passed down from generation to generation. A healthy tourism market helps to improve the cultural ecology and inherit the historical context. By cooperating with traditional festivals and folk activities, it can convey the intangible ideas, traditional virtues and humanistic spirit, enhance tourists’ sense of identity with Chinese culture and build a strong sense of community of the Chinese nation. The concentrated display of intangible cultural heritage in tourist destinations is an important platform for telling the stories of Chinese excellent traditional culture and promoting Chinese culture to the world.

The integration of literature and tourism has contributed a lot to Chinese modernization.

The integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism is a vivid practice to promote the creative transformation and innovative development of Chinese excellent traditional culture, and is an active exploration of cultural heritage in the new era "developing in protection and protecting in development". While vigorously promoting the integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism, we need to pay attention to the following aspects. First, adhere to the priority of protection, develop in protection and protect in development. Based on the cultural core of intangible cultural heritage, adhere to the cultural background of intangible cultural heritage, avoid the damage of excessive commercialization to intangible cultural heritage, and let intangible cultural heritage be better protected and passed down in the integration with tourism. Second, always adhere to the people-oriented principle, stimulate the public’s enthusiasm for non-legacy tourism, connect the protection, inheritance and promotion of non-legacy tourism with the development of global tourism, and make inheritors, villagers and residents become the main participants and beneficiaries of tourism. Thirdly, according to local conditions, we should combine intangible tourism with rural revitalization, urban spatial transformation, cultural and ecological protection areas and national park construction, promote intangible tourism to adapt to the national development strategy in a wider scope and at a deeper level, meet people’s yearning for a better life, and explore ways to promote the creative transformation and innovative development of intangible tourism with China characteristics.

General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "Chinese-style modernization gives Chinese civilization modern strength, and Chinese civilization gives Chinese-style modernization a profound foundation." In the new era, the mode of "non-legacy+tourism" is helping non-legacy "live", tourism "hot" and culture "fire". The diversified supply and high-quality development of cultural and tourism integration products will further play the role of non-legacy, serving the present and benefiting the people.

(Author: Zhang Qingren and Shanshan Xu, professors of the School of Ethnology and Sociology of the Central University for Nationalities, deputy editors of the periodical press, both special researchers of the Beijing Supreme Leader New Era Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought Research Center)

one

  1-10In June, Shaanxi’s foreign trade import and export continued to grow steadily, and the decline in exports narrowed, and private enterprises still maintained a high import and export vitality; Countries along the "Belt and Road" for foreign investment have maintained growth; The actual use of foreign capital to achieve rapid growth; Inbound tourism in the tourism market has grown steadily.

 

  First, Shaanxi’s foreign trade import and export moved forward smoothly

 

  According to statistics of Xi ‘an Customs,1-10In June, the province’s total import and export volume was realized.2896.25100 million yuan, compared with the same period last year (the same below)0.9%. Among them, the realized export volume1571.46100 million yuan, down9.2%, the decline is relatively low.1-9Narrowing of month0.5Percentage points; Realized import amount1324.79Billion yuan, growth16.3%, more1-9Monthly growth rate drops0.6Percentage points; Achieve a trade surplus246.67100 million yuan.

 

 

  Main characteristics of foreign trade import and export:

 

  oneThe overall growth rate of general trade is faster than that of processing trade.

 

  1-10In October, the import and export volume of general trade was realized.718.93Billion yuan, growth12.5%, more1-9Monthly improvement0.1Percentage points, accounting for the total import and export volume.24.8%. Among them, the export volume410.51Billion yuan, growth11.7%; volume of import308.43Billion yuan, growth13.7%; General trade achieves a surplus.102.08100 million yuan, compared with1-9Expansion of monthly surplus8.27100 million yuan.

 

  Import and export volume of processing trade1740.20100 million yuan, down4.9%, the decline has expanded.2.1Percentage points, accounting for the total import and export volume60.1%. Among them, the growth rate of feed processing accelerated, and the decline rate of incoming processing expanded.1-10In September, the import and export of feed processing trade increased.10.0%, more1-9Monthly improvement2.3Percentage points; Import and export of processing and assembly trade decreased.8.8%The decline has further expanded.one point sixPercentage points. Processing trade achieves surplus.10.78100 million yuan, compared with1-9Expansion of monthly surplus5.19100 million yuan.

 

  The import and export speed, import speed and export speed of general trade are faster than processing trade, and the general trade surplus is greater than processing trade.

 

 

  2Private enterprises still maintain high foreign trade vitality.

 

  1-10In September, private enterprises in the province maintained rapid growth, achieving import and export volume.738.49Billion yuan, growth12.3%, accounting for the total import and export25.5%; State-owned enterprises realize import and export volume256.53100 million yuan, down0.4%, the decline is relatively low.1-9Narrowing of monthonePercentage points, accounting for the total import and export.8.9%; Foreign-funded enterprises realize import and export volume1899.96100 million yuan, down2.8%, the decline is relatively low.1-9Narrowing of month0.4Percentage points, accounting for the total import and export.65.6%.

 

  1-10In September, the growth rate of private enterprises was much higher than that of foreign-funded and state-owned enterprises, but the decline of state-owned enterprises has narrowed month by month this year. Foreign-funded enterprises, which account for a relatively large proportion, have accumulated negative growth for five consecutive months, and the cumulative decline this month has narrowed.

 

 

  Second, foreign investmentthe Belt and Road"Countries along the route are making good progress.

 

  oneForeign direct investment countries along the Belt and Road Initiative continued to grow.

 

  According to the statistics of the commerce department,1-10Month, the whole province39Domestic investors are right21Countries (regions)45Foreign enterprises have made non-financial direct investment, and the amount of investment3.72Billion dollars, down from the same period last year.41.2%, ranked first in the country23Number one, number one in the westfiveBit.

 

  Among them, along the Belt and RoadtwelveInvestment from countries (regions)1.58Billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase.49.1%, more1-9Month acceleration5.8Percentage points, accounting for the province’s non-financial foreign direct investment.42.5%. Mainly distributed in Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia. While the overseas investment in the province continues to decline, the investment in countries along the Belt and Road has maintained rapid growth. It can be seen that seizing the opportunity of the Belt and Road will bring more opportunities for the province’s foreign direct investment.

 

  2, the province’s contracted projects completed turnover decline narrowed.

 

  1-10In June, the turnover of foreign contracted projects in the province was completed.22.31Billion dollars, down from the same period last year.21.3%, more1-9Narrowing of monthninePercentage points; Newly signed contract amount13.60Billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase.7.7%, more1-9Monthly improvement2.3Percentage points.

 

  The province has completed its turnover in countries along the "Belt and Road"11.92Billion dollars, down40.1%, accounting for the province’s total53.4%, the decline is relatively low.1-9Narrowing of month7.7Percentage points; Newly signed contract amount9.06Billion dollars, accounting for the province’s total.66.7%, year-on-year growth2.2%, more-1-9Monthly improvement0.2Percentage points.

 

  threeForeign labor exchange is in good condition.

 

  1-10In September, the province sent all kinds of laborers for foreign labor cooperation.8599People, an increase over the same period last year.3006People, all kinds of laborers at the end of the period.15026People, an increase over the same period last year.3527People. Among them, it was dispatched under foreign contracted projects.7815People, at the end of the period.10809People; Dispatched under foreign labor service cooperation784People, at the end of the period.4217People.

 

  Third, the actual use of foreign capital has achieved substantial growth

 

  1-10In September, foreign-invested enterprises were newly established in the province.211Home, down year-on-year5.8%; contractual foreign investment27.11Billion dollars, down from the same period last year.59.2%, more1-9Monthly fall10.3Percentage points; foreign investment in actual use70.73Billion dollars, growth80.0%, more1-9Although the month has slowed down.13.4Percentage points, but still maintain a high level of operation.

 

  Fourth, the growth rate of the inbound tourism market is stable.

 

  The tourism market performed steadily,1-10In June, the province’s reception of inbound tourists and international tourism revenue continued to grow. The province receives inbound tourists.395.48Ten thousand person-times, an increase6.9%, the realization of international tourism income28.17Billion dollars, growth7.9%, respectively.1-9Monthly improvement0.5and0.4Percentage points.

Notice of Hunan Provincial Department of Science and Technology and Hunan Provincial Department of Finance on Launching the Project Application of Central Leading Local Science and Technology Developm

Hunan Provincial Department of Science and Technology Hunan Provincial Department of Finance

Notice on the application of the central government to guide local science and technology development funds in 2024

Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, Finance Bureau, provincial science and technology administrative departments, Finance Bureau:

In accordance with the measures for the administration of funds for the central government to guide local scientific and technological development (No.276 [2023] of Cai Jiao), the overall plan for the implementation of the "Eight Major Actions" in Hunan Province (No.1 [2024] of Xiang Zhengban) and the measures for the administration of special funds for the construction of innovative provinces in Hunan Province (No.3 [2023] of Xiang Cai Jiao), in order to do a good job of central guidance in 2024, The relevant matters are hereby notified as follows:

I. Scope of application

1. Construction of regional scientific and technological innovation system

Support counties and urban areas to build R&D laboratories and technology centers around their leading industries, cultivate or expand technological R&D institutions of enterprises, enhance technological innovation capabilities of enterprises, and promote the construction of county-level innovation systems. The city and state should select the best projects and give priority to supporting projects in counties and cities.

2. Transfer and transformation of scientific and technological achievements

Support the provincial innovation consortium approved by the Provincial Science and Technology Department in 2023, and take the lead in joint research and development around its research and development tasks.

Second, the project organization

1. Construction of regional scientific and technological innovation system

By the county administrative department of science and technology, leading enterprises in leading industries are organized to take the lead in reporting. The main content of the project needs to be the construction of R&D institutions such as R&D laboratories or technology centers, including but not limited to the necessity of building R&D institutions, preliminary basic conditions, specific construction content design (objectives, tasks, measures and progress) and estimated benefits.

2. Transfer and transformation of scientific and technological achievements

The Municipal Science and Technology Bureau will organize the provincial innovation consortium, focus on 1-2 key core technical issues in the industrial chain or related supply chain around the R&D tasks determined by its implementation plan, and organize relevant universities, colleges and enterprises within the consortium members to carry out joint R&D transformation. By the consortium to build a pilot enterprise (that is, the lead enterprise) to take the lead in reporting, with no more than 4 participating units. The main content of the project needs to be the research and development and transformation of key core technologies, including but not limited to the necessity of research and development, early basic advantages, specific research and development content design (objectives, tasks, technical routes, measures and progress), output results, transformation and application prospects and benefits. It is necessary to upload the project implementation plan in the annex No.4 of the declaration, and upload the implementation plan of the innovation consortium in the annex No.7.

Third, the reporting requirements

1. Quota recommendation declaration

(1) Construction of regional scientific and technological innovation system. There are no more than 2 items in each county and city. The application funds for each project shall not exceed 800,000 yuan.

(2) Transfer and transformation of scientific and technological achievements. There are no more than 2 projects in each consortium, and the application funds for each project do not exceed 3 million yuan.

2. Project reporting unit

(1) The reporting unit of regional science and technology innovation system construction projects should be a high-tech enterprise with legal person qualification and strong R&D conditions and capabilities in Hunan within the validity period, a small and medium-sized science and technology enterprise or a new R&D institution evaluated in 2023.

(2) Units that have taken the lead in undertaking the project of guiding funds and have not yet completed the acceptance of the project shall not take the lead in declaring the project of regional scientific and technological innovation system construction.

3. Project leader

(1) The person in charge of the project shall be the scientific and technical personnel or the person in charge of the unit who actually presides over the R&D work. In principle, he is under 60 years old (inclusive) and has strong organization, coordination and management ability and a sense of responsibility. In the past three years, there is no bad record in applying for national and provincial science and technology projects.

(2) The person in charge of the project who has taken the lead in undertaking the funded projects, as well as the scientific and technological innovation leading plan, key R&D plan and top ten technical research projects of the provincial high-tech industry, and has not yet completed the acceptance, shall not take the lead in reporting the transfer and transformation projects of scientific and technological achievements.

4. Other requirements

(1) The project is funded by direct subsidy, and the implementation period is 2 years.

(2) The budget of project funds shall be prepared in accordance with the Implementation Opinions of the General Office of Hunan Provincial People’s Government on Further Improving the Management of Provincial Financial Research Funds (No.42 [2022] of Hunan Provincial Government Office); Self-raised funds are not less than 2 times of the application for guiding funds. After the project is established, if the actual amount of guiding funds does not reach the application amount, the difference will be solved by the project undertaker.

Iv. declaration and recommendation

1. declaration method. The project declaration adopts the online declaration method. Log in to Hunan Science and Technology Cloud Platform through official website (https://kjt.hunan.gov.cn) of Hunan Science and Technology Department (using the account and password of the public service platform of Hunan Science and Technology Management Information System), and enter the column of "Science and Technology Project Management System"-"Project Application"-"Central Leading Local Science and Technology Development Funds" to fill in online. No paper application materials need to be submitted.

2. Recommended methods and requirements. In accordance with the principle of territorial management and the requirements of this notice, each recommending unit shall strengthen the examination and control of the application materials of the recommended projects and be responsible for their authenticity, integrity, legality and compliance. Complete the project declaration and recommendation online through the "scientific management system" within the function and business scope of the unit, and issue the recommendation documents (see the annex for the sample list of recommended projects).

City and state projects (excluding pilot counties and cities directly under the provincial government) shall be reviewed by the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, summarized by the Municipal Finance Bureau, and jointly recommended to the Provincial Science and Technology Department and the Provincial Department of Finance;

Projects in pilot counties and cities directly under the provincial government shall be examined by the administrative departments of science and technology in counties and cities, and summarized with the financial departments at the same level, and jointly recommended to the provincial science and technology department and the provincial finance department for declaration;

V. Time for acceptance of declaration

The online application time of the project is from April 30, 2024 to May 17, 2024, and the deadline for the recommendation of the recommended company system is 17:00 on May 19, 2024, and it will not be accepted after the deadline. After the recommendation document is stamped with the official seal, it will be sent to the consultation and evaluation department of the provincial science and technology affairs center before May 20, 2024 (subject to the sending time).

VI. Application consultation and contact information

Regional Innovation Department of Provincial Science and Technology Department: 0731-88988610

Provincial Science and Technology Department Achievement Transformation Office: 0731-88988515

Consultation and Evaluation Department of Provincial Science and Technology Affairs Center: 0731-88988730, 88988732

Information system technical support: 0731-84586799, 84586921, 84586761.

Mailing address: Room 1414, Science and Technology Building, No.233 Yuelu Avenue, Yuelu District, Changsha

Zip code: 410013

Attachment:Guide fund project recommendation summary table

Hunan Provincial Department of Science and Technology         Hunan Provincial Department of Finance

April 30, 2024  

Netizens pointed out that the photos of Shaanxi South China Tiger were fake and admitted by local leaders (Photos)






    Yang Gao, deputy magistrate of Zhenping County, Shaanxi Province, is in charge of agriculture and forestry. He said that the photos have indeed been processed, but there is no doubt that there are South China tigers in the area.


    





The netizen concluded: "The wild South China tiger may really exist, but the photo is absolutely fake."







    Zhou Zhenglong shows his photos of the South China Tiger.


    Is there a South China Tiger in Shaanxi?


    Netizens pointed out that the news photos were fake, and the reporter verified that "the photos were processed, and the tiger tracks were true."


    ■ New Express reporter Deng Yifu


    According to the survey, there are only more than 20 wild South China tigers in the world, and more than 50 of them are kept in zoos in Suzhou and Shanghai. A South China tiger has not been seen in Shaanxi Province for more than 40 years since the villagers in Foping, Shaanxi Province killed a South China tiger in 1964. A young tiger found in a forest farm in Hubei Province in 1983 was the last time that a wild South China tiger was found in China, and it has been 24 years since now.


    This is a photo of the South China Tiger taken by Zhou Zhenglong, a resident of Zhenping County, Shaanxi Province. Appraised by experts, the photos are true. This proves that the South China Tiger is not extinct in China, and there is probably a small breeding population of wild South China Tiger. The wild South China tiger was once thought to be basically extinct and has not appeared again for 24 years. In 1996, the South China Tiger was listed as the most endangered species and the first tiger species in need of protection by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.


    But it is also this photo that was questioned by netizens for fraud, which triggered the suspicion of wild South China tigers.


    News photos through PS?


    On October 15th, a post appeared in Tianya Community’s posted area, "Shaanxi South China Tiger is fake news again? ",the post owner" Party Command Gun "mentioned in the article that the news of" South China Tiger in Shaanxi "was reprinted by many media, which also attracted many voices of doubt. In the questioning voice, it is mainly aimed at six doubts about the tiger picture, and points out that the tiger picture with this news is suspected of PS, and asks netizens to help identify it.


    The post was immediately welcomed by netizens, and many netizens came up with "housekeeping skills" to help identify it, which was very lively for a time.


    As far as photos are concerned, netizens seem to have golden eyes. The netizen "the gun that went off accidentally" said: "I think the light is very unreasonable. The place where the tiger stays should be lush (as can be seen from the picture). Where is it possible that the sun shines down and the light on the tiger is poor?" The netizen "dressed as a tiger" said more directly: "The color of the tiger looks a little fake, and many PS pictures are like this."


    The netizen "drifting north" teased: "What kind of camera is this? The definition of the tiger is inconsistent with that of the leaves with the same focal length next to it. It is estimated that when taking pictures of the tiger, there is a photography assistant in front of the tiger side holding a reflector to fill the light. "


    The netizen "about the bricklayer" observed: "This tiger has no evil eyes and is not wild. It is estimated that it was taken in the circus." Netizen "Underwater Star" also feels the same way: "This tiger is really hygienic. It must take a bath every day, and its hair under its belly is as white as a Persian cat. When I was a child, I saw the South China Tiger in the circus. To be honest, my belly is really not so white. "


    As a result, netizens came to the conclusion: "Wild South China tigers may really exist, but the photos are absolutely fake."


    In an interview with reporters, the author of the original post "Party Command Gun" said: "The reason why I question it is because I really can’t convince people according to the information published in the news."


    Netizens find "motivation" for "counterfeiting"


    If it is really a fraud, what is the motive?


    Netizen "hblmj501" said: "I want to be crazy about tigers. Is this also a fake?" Finding the South China Tiger is no small matter. According to reports, the local authorities have been organizing tiger-hunting operations, and they have also found relevant signs, except for the "hard evidence" of photos, so the netizen "loves the mountains and loves beautiful people" speculated: "This scientific research activity lasted for a long time, although a lot of indirect evidence of the existence of South China tigers was found, but there is no direct image evidence, so I am unwilling. Fake these photos, you will definitely get a lot of money and invest more manpower to continue looking for wild South China tigers, and you will definitely find a real South China tiger and turn the fake into reality. " He called it "the most white lie".


    "Please ask Brother Wu to go to the appraisal." Netizen "Whisperwhisperer" joked to invite Wu Song to the mountain, but I’m afraid Wu Song may not have this luck. "If Wu Song stays there for a few days and can come back, it will prove to be fake news." The netizen "Little Dragon Girl" strongly appealed: "Give full play to the spirit of pursuing, and suggest that the landlord personally go to southern Shaanxi to investigate the local villagers, government officials and parties. It is best to’ catch the tiger and bring it to justice’, and then make a detailed report to netizens, which will surely uncover the truth."


    The netizen "the old horse knows the way" is more realistic: "Don’t just look at the pictures, didn’t you say that you also collected hair and feces? Moreover, there are photo films. Just looking at a reprinted photo says that people are fake news. Isn’t this nonsense? "


    Party language


    Shooting horror


    Zhou Zhenglong, 52, was a good hunter, and later cut paint as his main business. In 2006, Zhou Zhenglong, a villager from Wencai Village, Chengguan Town, Zhenping County, became the guide of the South China Tiger Investigation Team, which was jointly composed of Shaanxi Provincial Forestry Department and Zhenping County Government.


    During his long life in the mountainous area, Zhou Zhenglong met the tiger by chance many times. In two surveys last summer and winter, he repeatedly stressed that there were definitely tigers here, but the team members told him that unless you photographed tigers in the wild, and what was photographed by a digital camera was not counted.


    In the early morning of October 3, Zhou Zhenglong went up the mountain again. This time, he hung two cameras around his neck, one is the old Great Wall film camera, and the other is a brand-new digital SLR camera (Canon EOS400D digital camera and 18-55mm lens). The machine was borrowed from his relative Xie Kunyuan, who works in the county.


    About three o’clock in the afternoon, he suddenly found a cave on the hillside in the distance, and a yellow mass lying nearby looked like a tiger. He looked intently, yes, it must be a tiger!


    Zhou Zhenglong, lying in the bushes, raised his camera and kept alternately pressing the shutters of the two cameras, while slowly approaching.


    Clap clap, 1 of "pa", eyes suddenly lit up, it turned out that the dark light in the forest triggered the electronic flash. When he saw the tiger move, he immediately dodged and rolled behind the rock, conveniently throwing the camera in a conspicuous position on the ground.


    He thought that even if he was eaten by a tiger, these pictures could be preserved and easily found.


    At the moment, there was a loud whistling in my ear. When he came to his senses, he found that there was already no movement around him. He ran down the mountain quickly and went to the county seat to find his relative Xie Kunyuan.


    Reporter connection


    Yang Gao, deputy county magistrate: The photos have indeed been processed.


    Yesterday, the reporter contacted Yang Gao, the deputy magistrate in charge of agriculture and forestry in Zhenping County, Shaanxi Province. Yang Gao said that the photos were indeed processed, but the fact that there were South China tigers in the local area was beyond doubt.


    Reporter (hereinafter referred to as "Ji"): What do you think of netizens questioning the discovery of South China Tiger in Zhenping County?


    Yang Gao (hereinafter referred to as "Yang"): As early as July 6th, we held the Evaluation Meeting on the Investigation Report of Wild South China Tigers in Zhenping County, Shaanxi Province. Professor Wang Tingzheng from Shaanxi Normal University, Professor Liu Shifeng from Northwest University, and researcher Xu Qingtao from Shaanxi Institute of Zoology attended the meeting. Experts decided that the discovery of South China tigers in Zhenping County was informative and had sufficient evidence, including the discovery of hair and feces of South China tigers. At the beginning of October, Zhou Zhenglong, a local farmer, took photos of the South China Tiger, which only added another piece of evidence. Therefore, we can’t look at photos separately, but look at them together.


    Reporter: Do you think Zhenping County has the conditions for the survival of South China tigers?


    Yang: Tiger tracks have also been found in neighboring areas, such as Chongqing, while the forest coverage in Zhenping County is 86%, and the animal structure is also very rich, such as wild boar, goats and other common foods for tigers are everywhere. In the seventies and eighties of last century, we often heard the news of tigers coming and going here. In 1991, a farmer hit a tiger.


    Reporter: Now netizens think that photos are suspected of fraud. What is the actual situation?


    Yang: The photo you saw was indeed processed. It was taken with a digital camera and then processed. The actual situation is that Zhou Zhenglong was carrying two cameras, one is a digital camera and the other is a film camera, and they both took photos. Zhou Zhenglong also showed the film negatives to relevant experts, but he refused to provide photos negatives, because it is said that he heard that the discovery of the South China Tiger would reward 500,000 yuan, and he wanted to get more bonuses, so he only handed in digital photos. Later, Zhou Zhenglong also took us to the scene where the South China tiger was found. We did see the tiger’s footprints and the bones left by a wild boar.


    Reporter: What reward does Zhou Zhenglong receive now?


    Yang: The Provincial Forestry Department rewarded him with 20,000 yuan, and the county is also studying how to reward him.


    Reporter: What kind of person is Zhou Zhenglong?


    Yang: In popular terms, he is quite "cow", bold and smart. He has beaten hundreds of animals in the past two years, but he is also honest and believes that he will not make fakes. After I learned that someone doubted his photo, I also called him and said to him, "Tell the truth, is there anything wrong with this?" Zhou Zhenglong said, "I guarantee it with my head."


    Reporter: If you want to untie the bell, you have to tie the bell. Let Zhou Zhenglong take out the negative, so you can look at it squarely.


    Yang: We’re working on this. The negatives are with relatives in Zhou Zhenglong. He’s on a business trip. The two cameras used by Zhou Zhenglong to take pictures were also lent to him by this relative, who is regarded as Zhou Zhenglong’s staff officer.


    Reporter: Now Shaanxi stipulates that hunting activities should be stopped in the place where the South China tiger was found. Is it related to the publication of photos?


    Yang: This rule was decided before the photos were taken.


Editor: Wang Yuxi

Millions of fans of migrant workers’ couples are still working on the construction site: they have been working for more than 30 years and cannot leave the construction site.

Cctv news(Reporter Wang Jingyuan video Dou Ruihua): "Good afternoon, everyone. People who do dry rice are the soul of dry rice. People who do dry rice are all here. Today, they did dry rice on the construction site at noon. After half a day’s work in the morning, now they start eating. It’s so comfortable.". He Chuan, a 52-year-old migrant worker, and his wife, Tang Wenshu, became popular because they made videos to record life on the construction site. Netizens affectionately called them Mrs. Chuan Ge Chuan.

He Chuan and his wife are from Dazhou, Sichuan. In order to provide education for their two sons, they have been working in Fuzhou, Fujian since 2003, working on the construction site.

He Chuan’s eldest son, He Songlin, is a self-media creator. In 2018, he suggested that parents try to record their daily life on the construction site with their mobile phones, and he would edit them into small videos. He Songlin taught his father how to choose the plane, focus and light, and it didn’t take long for his father to send a video to pick up his youngest son and buy a rice cake after school.

"At that time, I didn’t really want it, because his shooting level was really poor." Although He Chuan is not skilled at shooting video with his mobile phone, he finds it interesting and shoots it repeatedly. At first, his wife thinks he is wasting time, and his workmates will laugh at him after watching it.

Over the past four years, He Chuan and his wife have filmed more than 1,000 videos, recording the real and simple life scenes of singing with their workmates, quarreling and eating and chatting. More and more netizens are moved by the fireworks in the videos, and now they have millions of fans on the whole network. Later, He Songlin specially bought a camera for his parents to shoot videos.

He Songlin said that his father especially likes to interact with young fans. After returning home from the construction site every night, he began to read and reply to comments immediately after eating. What makes him most happy is that his parents’ mental state is getting better and better. "I will also be infected by their optimistic and positive attitude."

Before, some netizens asked Chuan Ge Chuan Sao in the comments, "Why do you have to go to the construction site with millions of fans? Isn’t it good to shoot videos specially?" He Chuan replied that he had worked on the construction site for more than 30 years, and he could not get away from the construction site. He had already done his feelings. "What if the video can’t be filmed one day?" To be a man, you still have to work hard and earn money honestly. "

Li Lecheng made a special investigation on the construction of Datang International Fuxin coal-to-natural gas project and the progress of "integration of roads and mines"

  Reporter Shi Dongbai reported that on June 20th, Li Lecheng, deputy secretary of Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and governor, came to Fuxin City to conduct a special investigation on the progress of Datang International Fuxin coal-to-natural gas project construction and "integration of roads and mines" restructuring in order to fully implement the spirit of the 20th Party Congress, thoroughly implement the important exposition of the Supreme Leader General Secretary on investigation and research, and implement the important requirements of "deepening investigation and research to promote the solution of development problems".

  In recent years, Fuxin City has vigorously implemented the project of revitalizing idle assets, reorganized the Papua New Guinea Railway and the No.2 mine in Jilin Guole, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and revitalized the Datang coal-to-gas project as one of the "eight major battles", which was systematically promoted and fully attacked. At present, what difficulties and obstacles are faced with strategic reorganization and project restart, what are the deep-seated reasons, what matters and strategies need to be clarified, and how to promote breakthrough progress? With concerns, Li Lecheng carefully looked at, asked and understood all the way, and had in-depth discussions with local leading cadres, provincial departments, heads of financial institutions and enterprises, studied and analyzed item by item, and coordinated to solve specific problems.

  At Baiyudu Railway Station, the node station of Papua New Guinea Railway, Li Lecheng took an engineering train to Xinqiu Railway Station, the starting point of Papua New Guinea Railway, to inspect the railway operation along the way and listen to the report on the reorganization of "railway and mine integration". In Liaoning Datang International Fuxin Coal-to-Natural Gas Co., Ltd., Li Lecheng made a field trip to the factory, and listened to the report on the overall situation of Datang project and the idea of revitalizing it by combining sand table, exhibition board and PPT. He pointed out that at present, provinces, cities and Datang Group have reached a high degree of consensus on the idea of "integration of roads and mines". The key is to find out the specific methods, paths and steps to promote the work. We must further strengthen our confidence and determination, enhance our sense of urgency, seize the main contradiction of "integration of roads and mines", compact the territorial responsibility of local governments and the main responsibility of enterprises, and step up all aspects of work. It is necessary to adhere to the scientific path and method, conduct in-depth investigation and study, find out the problem base, re-evaluate and improve the reorganization plan. All levels and departments should form a joint force, fully support Fuxin to promote the strategic restructuring of "integration of roads and mines", take the road of transformation and development of resource-based cities, and make greater contributions in the three-year action of comprehensively revitalizing new breakthroughs.

  Liu Mingsheng, general manager of China Datang Group Co., Ltd. participated in some surveys.

Investigation on underground micro-plastic surgery: drugs can be used without knowing whether they are true or false or not.

  Everyone has a love of beauty. In recent years, micro-plastic surgery has become a so-called shortcut for beauty lovers, especially female friends, to pursue their own image perfection. However, when the pursuit of beauty encounters counterfeit drugs and illegal medical treatment, beauty lovers may face injury and lifelong regret.

  In May this year, the police in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province received an alarm from the victim, Miss Song, saying that she was almost blind in her right eye because she received a fake drug, micro-plastic surgery, from an illegal medical institution.

  At the beginning of 2015, Miss Song met a woman named Ma. In the subsequent exchanges, Ma recommended micro-plastic surgery to Miss Song many times. Miss Song, who loves beauty, could not resist the temptation of beauty and accepted Ma’s suggestion. She spent more than 10,000 yuan before and after, bought many medicines from Ma, and accepted several micro-plastic surgery by Ma and her husband Li.

  At the end of March this year, Miss Song wanted to have another rhinoplasty. She first bought hyaluronic acid from Li and Ma, but because Li and Ma were not in Changzhou, she found Gao, an acquaintance who is also doing micro-plastic surgery, to inject herself. In the morning, she went to her friend Gao’s home for micro-plastic rhinoplasty. But when Gao gave himself an injection, he suddenly felt a sharp pain. Miss Song said that her eyes were completely blind at that time.

  After receiving the alarm, the police and Miss Song went to the local hospital for examination. According to the doctor, due to the injection of hyaluronic acid into blood vessels, some functions of the eyes are necrotic, which may lead to blindness.

  Under the leadership of the victim Miss Song, the police found the so-called beauty salon where Miss Song was working in micro-plastic surgery at that time.

  In the face of the police and Song, Gao argued: "The medicine is not mine! She brought me the medicine! The medicine is still here. At the beginning, I said there was something wrong with it, and then she said … "

  Miss Song said: "The doctor also said that it has nothing to do with this medicine. It was when you hit your nose that you touched the nerve on the other side of your eyes. "

  The police then searched the beauty salon according to law. Gao did not have a medical qualification certificate after investigation.

  Five people were arrested for bringing out a fake drug sales gang from the black clinic.

  The police found some simple medical facilities and a batch of injected drugs in Gao’s "black clinic". The drugs have no Chinese and approval number, which belong to counterfeit drugs recognized by Chinese laws. The environment in micro-plastic surgery is also very poor, and there is no sterilization measures at all.

  Soon after, the results of the examination came from the hospital, and the doctor diagnosed Miss Song’s right eye retinal necrosis. It may be difficult to see again. Knowing this situation, Miss Song was very sad and regretted.

  When Miss Song was sad, she remembered Li and Ma, who started micro-plastic surgery with themselves. She suspected that they were also suspected of selling counterfeit drugs and practicing medicine without a license, so she reported it to the police. The police handling the case are divided into two groups. One group tracks Gao’s online purchase of counterfeit drugs, and the other group tracks Li and Ma. After nearly a month of careful investigation, in early May, the police successfully arrested five suspects and destroyed a four-story counterfeit drug sales gang.

  Micro-plastic fake drugs are sold at low prices and high prices online.

  After the trial, Chen Mou, an Anhui woman, bought Botulinum Toxin, Lipid-dissolving Needle, Inhibiting Enzyme and other drugs from illegal channels at a low price, and sold them to Wu Mou, a Shanghai woman, at a higher price through WeChat, and Wu Mou then transferred them to Ma and his wife in Wuxi and Gao in Changzhou.

  According to the police, in addition to selling counterfeit drugs, Li, Ma, Gao and others are also suspected of illegal medical practice. Ma and his wife do not have a medical qualification certificate.

  Illegal organization of training for profit without professional qualification.

  During the trial, these suspects confessed that they often only went through so-called training for two or three days before operating each micro-plastic surgery project, and the people who trained them did not have any professional qualifications and training qualifications, and the fees were 8 thousand and 10 thousand.

  I don’t know if the medicine is true or false.

  The arrested suspects, Li and Ma, started their own micro-plastic surgery "career" only after a few days of so-called training. They have been engaged in illegal micro-plastic surgery for nearly a year and have given micro-plastic surgery to more than a dozen people.

  So, how does this "underground micro-shaping" work? Where did their medicines come from? The suspect Li told us a lot about this illegal industry.

  The criminal suspect Li confessed that the first customers that illegal micro-plastic practitioners like them are often relatives and friends, and at the same time, these people are also "objects" to practice so-called crafts. If nothing happens after the operation, they will entrust these relatives and friends to introduce them around and accumulate their own customer base.

  Li confessed that the micro-plastic drugs and instruments in his hand were obtained from illegal channels. As for whether the drugs are fake drugs or not, he has no ability to distinguish what kind of curative effect he has.

  Huge profits drive the proliferation of underground micro-plastic surgery

  Li and his wife Ma had formal jobs, but after contacting illegal micro-plastic surgery, they found that this was a profiteering industry. Both of them quit their jobs and came to micro-plastic surgery.

  Li said: "This’ work’ is quite easy. You can earn a thousand yuan by poking a few needles at will. Listening to people, including some people around you who do make money, there are many people who earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in a few months. "

  Li said that after he and his wife Ma entered this industry, they realized that there were already four or five acquaintances who had been doing "underground micro-plastic surgery" for a long time, and there were more "peers" in their WeChat circle of friends.

  Li’s wife, Ma, is currently pregnant. The police allowed Li and Ma to be released on bail pending trial due to human considerations, but they will eventually accept legal sanctions.

In 2024, where did the digitalization of China retail industry go?

For today’s China retail digitalization, there are still many problems to be solved urgently, which are like "fishbones" stuck in the "throat" of the growth of retail enterprises. 

Author | Doudou 

Editor | Pi Ye 

Producer | industrialist 

Bustling crowds, dazzling new year’s goods, festive Spring Festival couplets, blessings and window grilles … I don’t know when the supermarket has become a gathering place with a strong flavor of the year.

On the other hand, the Spring Festival just passed has also provided an excellent sales "stage" for retail enterprises.

A big data from multi-point DMALL shows that from the beginning of 2024 to January 12, the overall search volume of drinks increased by 48% month-on-month, and the sales volume of fresh products increased by over 30% year-on-year. The strong data corresponds to the consumer’s demand for consumption during the Spring Festival.

Up to now, it can be said that retail enterprises including Shangchao are facing the annual sales peak challenge. How can we stand out in this "competition"? Or how to better complete the promotion and then grasp the golden period? This is a problem that all retail enterprises are trying to solve.

In fact, from a larger perspective, with the changes of China’s supply chain in the current era, such as the decentralized arrangement of people and goods yards, and the trend of diversification, customization and fragmentation of time and space in consumer demand, the challenges faced by retail enterprises at present are not only from festivals, but also from daily life.

Digitalization is the fundamental way to solve these challenges. But how to digitize and what is the really effective digital transformation model for retail enterprises? Where is the node that plays the value? In the past few years, what we can see is a group of retail head enterprises’ attempts and explorations on digitalization, which include not only simple software access, but also the establishment of a series of retail middle stations including CRM, OA, CDP and COP.

However, there are still many problems that need to be solved urgently for the digitalization of retail industry in China today, which are like "fishbones" stuck in the "throat" of the growth of retail enterprises.

Standing at the node of 2024, we try to take stock and observe where the digitalization of retail enterprises in China has gone. Where will its next trend go? And is the current market an opportunity or a challenge for enterprises and service providers?

First, the invisible "thorn"

In a second-tier city, a small and medium-sized supermarket chain named "Hui Life" has increasingly felt the ceiling limit of revenue brought by the traditional model in the long-term development, and decisively tried to make a breakthrough in digital transformation.

But this is not an easy thing.

The most obvious problem is that, when the specific solution comes to the ground, because of its small scale, backward IT infrastructure and weak digital skills of employees, "Hui Life" can’t effectively connect with and make full use of the complex system provided by the digital service provider.

Although the solution is powerful, the high implementation cost and follow-up maintenance cost are beyond the budget of "Hui Life" supermarket. And the internal business process of "Hui Life" is relatively simple, and the standardization system of this scheme has not been customized for its special needs, resulting in some functional redundancy, but the core pain points have not been solved.

In addition, employees of "Hui Life" have a low acceptance of new technologies, and it is difficult to master new digital tools in a short time, which makes the utilization rate of the new system not high and the effect is not ideal.

The end result is that although service providers provide industry-leading solutions, it is not the best solution for small retail enterprises like Hui Life. What they need is a digital service that is more suitable for their actual situation, easy to implement and has a high cost performance.

One current situation is that the development of retail digitalization has now gone deep into the bone marrow, and the solutions provided by many digital service providers have covered all aspects from supply chain optimization, omni-channel integration to customer relationship management.

For example, in the refined marketing, SaaS service providers such as Youzan and Weimeng help enterprises to collect, integrate and analyze membership data by providing applet mall, membership management system and marketing automation tools, so as to realize accurate marketing and personalized service.

For example, in the CRM stage, service providers such as SalesEasy can provide more comprehensive CRM solutions for enterprises. Achieve all-round management of customer relations, from potential customer mining, sales follow-up, contract management to after-sales service, and comprehensively improve the sales efficiency and customer satisfaction of enterprises.

Another example is enterprises like Tencent Enterprise Point, which can accurately grasp customer needs through data analysis capabilities and provide personalized marketing solutions for enterprises. Connect with CRM, ERP and other enterprise application systems to form a complete enterprise digital ecosystem, which helps enterprises improve work efficiency and reduce operating costs.

When we look at it, we can see that many digital service providers are constantly trying to solve the problem of digital transformation of retail industry and solve special problems in all aspects of retail digitalization (marketing acquisition, supply chain distribution, local retail, etc.). However, as the first case shows, not all retail digital solutions in the current market meet the actual needs of retailers, and not all retailers can find their own solutions.

In a survey of global enterprises, IDC pointed out that on average, less than half (about 40%-50%) of enterprises’ investment can be transformed into visible business results when they are undergoing digital transformation. This means that a large part of digital investment did not immediately produce the ideal return.

The same is true in the retail sector. From the perspective of retail information hardware market structure, computer network equipment accounts for the most, accounting for 45.67%, followed by pos system equipment, accounting for 11.92%, RFID system equipment, accounting for 10.33%, and other hardware products accounting for 32.08%. From the retail information software market, resource management ERP system accounts for the most, accounting for 44.27%, followed by supply chain management (SCM) accounting for 15.78%, customer relationship management (CRM) accounting for 14.18% and other software accounting for 25.77%.

Source: Zhiyan Consulting

The high proportion reflects the large demand, and the transformation of retail enterprises needs to invest a lot of money from the beginning. This makes retail enterprises often fall into confusion and uncertainty when choosing digital solutions.

These problems have gradually become an imperceptible "thorn" for retail enterprises and digital manufacturers. Behind it, the greater inducement comes from the complexity of the retail industry.

That is, different retail enterprises have different business models, scales and demand levels, which makes it difficult to have a "universal" digital solution in the market. That is, the digitalization of the retail industry is not as simple as buying a few software and hardware from offline to online. It is necessary to "prescribe the right medicine."

Second, retail digitalization, "unable to copy"

Retail has always been a very complicated industry.

Retail industry includes many sub-fields, such as clothing, electronic products, food, cosmetics, etc. Each field has its own specific product characteristics, supply chain management, sales strategy and customer experience. This diversity of tracks and links requires retail solutions to be flexible enough to meet the specific needs of different fields.

In addition, in addition to diversity, there are regional characteristics. That is, there may be significant differences in consumer demand, consumption habits and purchasing behavior in different regions. Therefore, retail solutions need to consider regional differences and be able to adapt to specific market environments in different regions.

In addition to these environmental factors, in the current digital age, the retail industry is destined to be a rapidly changing industry, with rapid changes in market demand and consumer behavior. Therefore, the retail solution needs to be real-time and can quickly respond to market changes and changes in consumer demand.

In addition, modern consumers pay more and more attention to personalized needs and experiences, and they hope to obtain customized products and services. Retail solutions need more personalized features to meet the specific needs of consumers.

This also makes the problems faced by retail enterprises in digital transformation more complicated.

The digitalization of any industry is inseparable from physical equipment and technical facilities. In the retail field, POS (point of sale) systems, self-checkout machines, intelligent shelves, RFID tags and readers, electronic price tags, mobile payment terminals, Internet of Things devices, etc. are the infrastructure of retail digitalization. However, different from other industries, the problems of high hardware investment cost, difficult maintenance and data security risk in retail industry are becoming more and more obvious and complicated.

In order to better contact with consumers, the transformation and upgrading of online and offline retail channels is also a necessary step. For example, through physical stores, official websites, e-commerce platforms, social media, own apps, small programs and other ways to reach consumers.

In this process, enterprises need to integrate scattered data sources, so as to improve cross-channel marketing effect and customer management efficiency. However, it is difficult to get through data between multiple systems, and online and offline data fusion and precision marketing have always been a problem. Therefore, the consistency of multi-channel services is not high and the customer experience is uneven.

In this process, retailers need to integrate scattered data sources based on ERP, CRM and other management systems under the premise of ensuring customer privacy, so as to improve cross-channel marketing effect and customer management efficiency. This is not an easy task.

Member management is also a crucial step in the process of retail digital transformation. At present, enterprises mainly collect and analyze consumer data through CRM system, and implement personalized marketing and services. However, in this process, the online membership, the opening of online and offline membership management system, and the distribution of benefits after the opening of online and offline membership systems need to be solved urgently.

From now on, behind many successful cases of membership management and precision marketing, there are still the voices of "harassing" marketing and big data killing, which constantly plague consumers and retail enterprises. For retail enterprises, not only high-quality user data is needed, but also privacy needs to be protected. At the same time, customers’ needs are accurately positioned and personalized services and offers are provided. These requirements make it difficult for enterprises to find suitable solutions.

There are also online and offline distribution links. The combination of online and offline means to ensure that products can circulate smoothly and respond to market demand quickly, whether in physical stores or e-commerce platforms. The pain lies in the difficulty of inventory sharing and real-time synchronization, the optimization of logistics distribution network, the efficiency and accuracy of order processing, and how to balance online and offline price strategies to avoid channel conflicts.

In fact, behind these problems, they are inseparable from the supply chain. An efficient supply chain needs to connect all nodes based on software such as supplier relationship management, order processing system, warehouse management system (WMS), transportation management system (TMS), demand forecasting tools and real-time inventory monitoring, so that information flow, business flow and logistics are unimpeded. However, in the retail industry, the supply chain is more complicated because of the complex fields involved. And for the retail industry, its digital penetration rate is closely related to the digital level of various industries, which also means that the digital model of supply chain in the retail industry is more complex and three-dimensional.

In addition, there are many small and medium-sized enterprises outside large enterprises. For these small and medium-sized enterprises, most of them will face problems such as low data quality and lack of effective data analysis tools because of their low ability to pay, and it is more difficult to collect and provide valuable data statistically.

The series connection of these problems has also jointly catalyzed the difficulty in forming the modern retail supply chain model of the new "people and goods yard".

One interpretation of digital people’s goods yard is that it means adjusting commodity structure, optimizing shopping environment and providing personalized consumption experience according to consumer behavior data. However, it is difficult to collect and integrate data, which makes it impossible for enterprises to accurately grasp the dynamic needs of consumers, flexibly adjust the layout and function of "field" and quickly respond to market changes to achieve efficient matching of "people", "goods" and "field" through BI (Business Intelligence System).

The bottom foundation determines the superstructure, and many problems in the retail industry also lead to its "fear of hands and feet" when new technologies come.

In the past year, the trend of large model technology swept the world. All fields want to integrate with it and redo the track. However, the landing of a new technology also needs to be based on digitalization. At present, in the field of customer service and marketing in the retail industry, various manufacturers are constantly making efforts, but for the moment, it has not brought about real productivity changes.

A set of data shows that there are significant differences in the landing speed of large models in various industries, and the two industries with the most active investment budget are energy and finance. The main reason is that these two industries have strong data, computing power and AI foundation. The retail industry, as the track with the most intensive consumer behavior, is not on the list.

Generally speaking, the digitalization of retail industry has many similarities with many industries, such as data collection, unpredictable cost returns, integration between systems, etc., but its difficulty is greater than that of other industries, that is, in addition to similar difficulties, the greater challenge lies in how to combine the characteristics of the industry to create solutions that meet the specificity of business processes and have efficient operation capabilities, while paying attention to the actual experience of consumers and data security, rather than simply applying the general technical architecture.

What it needs is not a general answer, but a specific answer.

Third, the "universal" retail digital scheme, pull out the "thorn"

Starbucks, in almost every busy street, will appear the figure of this enterprise. The data shows that up to now, Starbucks has a total of 38,038 stores worldwide, with more than 20,000 international stores, with a net increase of 816 new stores in the fourth quarter. Among them, there were 326 new stores in China in this quarter.

With such a large volume, the inherent operation mode of the traditional retail industry does not match the rapidly changing market environment and consumer behavior, so it is necessary to bridge this gap through digital means, so as to achieve efficient operation and sustained growth.

Starbucks’ approach is to launch the "Star Club" membership program to encourage users to register and bind mobile applications. Through this platform, Starbucks can not only integrate and analyze members’ consumption data, but also push customized offers and services according to users’ preferences. At the same time, strict privacy policy ensures the security of member information and avoids over-marketing. So as to do a good job in membership management.

In terms of channels, Starbucks online mall and offline stores cooperate with each other, and users can purchase goods or redeem points in any channel to realize O2O (online and offline integration) mode. For example, the function of online pre-ordering and picking up goods at the store breaks the service boundary of traditional stores and enhances customer stickiness.

At the same time, advanced supply chain management system is introduced to monitor inventory in real time, predict demand and optimize replenishment process. In addition, combined with big data analysis, raw material procurement and logistics are finely managed, thus reducing the impact of uncertain factors and ensuring the stable and efficient operation of the supply chain.

Starbucks uses data analysis to adjust its product mix and store layout to meet the preferences of consumers in different time periods and regions. The application of intelligent POS system and Internet of Things technology has also greatly improved the work efficiency of employees, made the service more personalized and flexible, and reconstructed the logic of people and goods yard.

It can be said that with the help of digital tools and strategies, Starbucks has effectively solved the problems of high cost of offline store renovation, complex personnel training and online and offline collaboration, and successfully realized a comprehensive digital transformation from a single physical retail to a seamless connection between online and offline.

In this case, the digital transformation of retail is not a simple online and offline integration, but a comprehensive upgrade of the entire business process, operation model and profit model.

From the case of Starbucks, it is not difficult to see that retail digitalization is different from the past. With new requirements, digital service providers also need to make changes and seize new opportunities.

Therefore, for digital service providers, it is necessary to provide all-round services and products.

First of all, we should establish a close cooperative relationship with retail enterprises, and through in-depth understanding of their business model, operational needs and scale, tailor-made digital solutions for enterprises. This can not only meet the overall needs of retail enterprises, but also avoid unnecessary waste of resources.

Secondly, in order to make it easier for retail enterprises to implement digital solutions, service providers can provide modular and customizable solutions, so that enterprises can select and adjust corresponding functional modules according to their own needs, which can not only reduce the implementation difficulty of enterprises, but also improve the adaptability of solutions. Taking Tencent Enterprise Point, Antelope and JD.COM U+ as examples, in the specific service process, their service models can now be modularized and customized according to the needs of enterprises to help them build a complete digital link.

In addition, enterprises may encounter difficulties in technology, personnel and management when implementing digital solutions. Digital service providers should provide all-round training and support services for enterprises to help them successfully survive the transition period.

In order to ensure that digital solutions can bring practical benefits to enterprises, service providers should advocate results-oriented implementation strategies and ensure that they can create value for enterprises by continuously optimizing solutions.

In a word, the future retail digital scheme should be personalized, intelligent, scene-oriented, social and ecological, so as to meet the diversified needs of consumers and help enterprises achieve sustainable development. In this context, digital service providers need to constantly innovate and provide more competitive products and services to adapt to market changes.

Only in this way can the products of digital service providers be more versatile, and the balance between supply and demand can be achieved between retail enterprises and digital service providers, and the "thorn" of digital transformation of retail industry can be removed.

"Now it is not only the marketing problem that is simply solved, nor the private domain problem, but the retail design of the whole process from CDP (data center) to BA (text analysis) and MA (marketing automation), which includes consulting, and also includes the drive from data to behavior." A person in charge of a marketing company told us.

Write at the end:

Nowadays, it is not an exaggeration to say that the digital transformation of retail enterprises has become the core factor that determines the "life and death" of enterprises, especially for large retail enterprises.

A set of data shows that as of September 2022, the growth rate of online shopping of social consumer goods in China is 6.1%, of which 64% consumers choose online shopping, 36% consumers choose offline shopping, and 91% consumers choose online and offline shopping at the same time.

In other words, if enterprises can’t successfully carry out digital transformation and effectively integrate online and offline resources, then they are likely to be eliminated by the market.

In this era, consumers’ consumption habits have undergone fundamental changes. It is more and more inclined to shop online. For offline physical stores, it expects more convenient and personalized services. If enterprises can’t meet these needs, then enterprises are likely to lose consumers and face a crisis of survival.

Digital transformation does not just mean moving from offline to online, or returning from online to offline. It refers to how enterprises can upgrade their business by using new technologies and new models in the face of today’s fierce market competition to better meet the needs of consumers. In this process, enterprises need to break the original business model and deeply integrate online and offline channels to realize global marketing.

The digital transformation of retail enterprises in China is a great challenge to the survival and development of enterprises. Only those enterprises that can actively respond, be good at innovation and be brave in reform can stand out in this transformation and realize sustainable development. For service providers, retail digitalization is also a difficult but promising industry track, and service providers with full-link service capabilities from data to behavior-driven and effect-paid will also become the ultimate beneficiaries and winners.

Retail, from the ancient merchants to the modern digital "people and goods yard", is welcoming a new era of change under the blessing of software and AI.

How to exercise scientifically? Here comes the authoritative guide!

  CCTV News:Nowadays, people pay more and more attention to health, and pay more attention to maintaining proper physical activity every day. So what exactly is the most scientific activity? Now there is an authoritative guide. On the 29th, the National Health and Wellness Commission issued an expert interpretation of "Guide to Physical Activities of People in China (2021)", giving targeted activity plans for different groups of people.

  Question 1: What’s the difference between physical activity and exercise?

  Chen Junshi, Academician of China Academy of Engineering:People in a day, for different purposes, all kinds of activities are called (physical activities), including all types, intensities and categories of activities. Why emphasize physical activity? Because a large number of studies at home and abroad have confirmed that lack of physical activity, that is, sedentary, has become the fourth major risk factor for death worldwide.

  According to experts, insufficient physical activity may affect children’s growth and development, while for adults, it may increase the risk of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, and also affect sleep and bone health.

  Question 2: How should different groups of people move?

  The Guide is aimed at children aged 2 and under, 3— 5-year-old children, 6— 17-year-old children and adolescents, 18— Six groups of people, including 64-year-old adults, 65-year-old people and patients with chronic diseases, have given guidance on physical activities. Generally speaking, exercise is beneficial, more exercise is better, moderate efforts are needed, and persistence is important.

  Zhao Wenhua, Chief Nutritionist of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention:Children under 2 years old, first, have various forms of interactive play with caregivers every day; Second, children who can walk independently should have at least 180 minutes of physical activity every day, that is, 3 hours; Third, the time limit should not exceed 1 hour at a time, that is, being held and bound; Fourth, it is not recommended to look at various screens.

  Children aged 3 to 5 should have 180 minutes of physical activity every day, including 60 minutes of active play, encouraging more outdoor activities, no more than 1 hour of static behavior every day, and no more than 1 hour of cumulative time watching the screen every day.

  Zhao Wenhua, Chief Nutritionist of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention:For children and adolescents aged 6 to 17, first, they should engage in moderate to high-intensity physical activities for at least 60 minutes every day, and encourage outdoor activities as the mainstay; Second, at least three days a week to exercise muscle strength and strong bones; The third is to reduce static behavior, each static behavior can not last more than 1 hour, and the video time per day should be less than 2 hours. 

  Adults between the ages of 18 and 64 should do 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activities or 75 to 150 minutes of high-intensity activities every week, do muscle exercises for at least two days every week, and maintain daily physical activities to increase the amount of activities.

  Zhao Wenhua, Chief Nutritionist of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention:Older people aged 65 and above can completely follow the physical activity suggestions of adults if their physical health permits; Adhere to the practice of balance, flexibility and flexibility; If physical conditions do not allow, try to increase all kinds of physical activities as much as possible. Patients with chronic diseases should consult their own doctors and start physical activities under the guidance of professionals.