Bread and Passion Dancing Together -- Exclusive Interview with Mr. Tang Mingwei of Yiku Supply Chain 【Origin】

 Building a learning-oriented organization has been a long-standing pursuit of Kinghelm (www.kinghelm.net) and Slkor (www.slkoric.com). Under the shared vision of jointly building knowledge and an ecosystem, we partnered with the Shared Procurement Alliance to empower procurement professionals. On April 26, 2026, during a procurement training session held at Kinghelm’s office, we had the honor of meeting Mr. Tang Mingwei, a seasoned procurement and supply chain lecturer and founder of Yiku Supply Chain. We immediately extended an invitation for this exclusive interview.

During the session, Mr. Tang taught over 30 procurement managers one of the most relevant workplace topics—career planning. Using the theme “Operate Yourself Like a Company — Career Planning and Transformation for Procurement Managers”, he provided logical analysis and practical advice. Through typical character portraits, categorized analysis of strengths and weaknesses, and a step-by-step progression from phenomena to essence, he ultimately presented a “career planning logic pyramid.” He offered guidance on how to break through from one’s current position, how to achieve a salary-doubling job change, suggestions for entrepreneurial transformation, and pitfalls to avoid. Judging from the participants’ focus, interaction, and Q&A, Mr. Tang’s course struck a chord with most procurement professionals—especially regarding the question “What comes after 35?”

Rich in cases, logically progressive, inspiring, and structurally sound—these are the hallmarks of Mr. Tang’s courses.

Mr. Tang Mingwei

In the classroom, participants affectionately called him “Teacher Tang.” Outside the classroom, Mr. Tang switches to another identity—“entrepreneur.” After one training session, he posted a self-reflective poem on his WeChat Moments:

Standing on stage, I speak with confidence and poise; Stepping down, I roll up my sleeves and get to work. Boasting loudly may sound impressive, But everyone still needs three meals a day. If not forced by reality, who would want to transform seventy-two times? Even with grand ambitions for centuries, one must bend down and hustle for money.

Over the years, Mr. Tang has seamlessly switched between teaching on the podium and diving into concrete business operations. This identity shift is not easy, yet what is rarer is his consistent rationality and clarity of mind.

【Bread】

Bread represents survival — it is the solid economic foundation. In Mr. Tang Mingwei’s view, while passion is beautiful, it must be built upon a firm foundation of bread. The dance between bread and passion constitutes a complete life, just as the economic base determines the superstructure.

Mr. Tang Mingwei transitioned from procurement manager to entrepreneur. In 2020, he founded Yiku Supply Chain (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., focusing on inventory recovery. More than six years later, the company’s motto remains: “Inventory is resources placed in the wrong location.” The company specializes in helping electronic manufacturing enterprises liquidate slow-moving materials, upgraded equipment, and other idle inventory, enabling rapid asset realization and turning idle stock into cash flow.

 

Yiku Supply Chain’s Recovery Business Scope

During the material shortage period a few years ago, Yiku helped upstream factories clear stagnant inventory while assisting many clients in sourcing and matching scarce materials, achieving relatively precise supply-demand matching for misallocated inventory. After 2023, as chip market risks accumulated and the market trended downward, amid factory relocations and closures, Yiku adapted quickly. The company adjusted its strategy and began participating in court auctions and whole-factory packaging projects. It successively secured disposal projects for automation equipment, idle assets, electronic materials, and relocation remnants from a series of well-known enterprises.

The recovery scope covers common industrial materials and equipment assets such as electronic components, PCBA, finished products, automation systems, air conditioning and refrigeration units, and mechanical equipment. After winning bids, the team efficiently classified and sold all materials, equipment, and production tools within a limited timeframe.

Through the successful implementation of numerous projects, the team’s comprehensive capabilities in professional evaluation, project execution, and classified distribution have been fully tested and strengthened. Many near-new (99% condition) reusable equipment items have been purchased by small and micro enterprises for continued use, genuinely helping numerous SMEs reduce costs and increase efficiency. In 2025, Mr. Tang helped a new energy materials company in Dongguan achieve cost savings of over 300,000 RMB. At the year-end recognition ceremony, Yiku Supply Chain was awarded “Outstanding Strategic Partner of the Year.”

 

Mr. Tang Mingwei: Doing projects is the best way to learn

Reflecting on six years of development, Mr. Tang candidly said, “Doing projects is the best learning.” Through high-frequency, high-quality, and high-efficiency project execution, the company has forged a competitive and professional team that has earned a solid reputation in the industry. During the interview, Mr. Tang’s phone kept ringing amid his busy schedule. His working style is concise and clear—he can handle business matters with just a few words or a short sentence. He noted, “This trust and tacit understanding come from long-term collaboration. Efficient communication is the result of natural selection in the waves of the market.”

Resources are limited, but circulation is infinite. Mr. Tang shared that the original intention behind founding “Yiku” carried a meaning of “pursuing beauty and goodness.” From early electronic material recovery to factory idle equipment, after years of development, the company now operates nationwide. It provides factories and enterprises with one-stop, high-price, high-quality, full-category inventory recovery services covering electronic materials, finished goods, equipment and instruments, and whole-factory asset packages.

【Passion】

Mr. Tang admits that the identity label of “lecturer” was “purely an unexpected outcome.”

More than a decade ago, while responsible for procurement at TCL, he joined a TTT (Training the Trainer to Train) professional training camp simply to improve his public speaking skills. Little did he know it would launch a lecturing career spanning more than ten years. Initially, he started internal department training. In addition to lecturing himself, he encouraged colleagues to learn and share actively. Topics ranged from professional knowledge such as raw materials, procurement processes, supplier management, and MRP principles, to general management courses like project management, communication skills, and time management. The department’s learning atmosphere grew increasingly strong, earning strong support from HR and high recognition from company leadership.

To address gaps in his professional knowledge, he further studied the authoritative CPSM (Certified Professional Supply Manager) certification from ISM and PMP project management. Combining real-world work experience with hot topics in procurement, he designed course materials and was invited in his spare time to lecture and share at major procurement and supply chain platforms across the Pearl River Delta.

From internal company sessions to external ones, from Shenzhen to Dongguan, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, and Zhongshan, from small classes of dozens to keynote speeches at thousand-person summits at the Shenzhen Convention Center—he has been appointed as a senior lecturer at Boway Training Center, a gold medal lecturer at the Shared Procurement Alliance, an outstanding lecturer at Positive Energy Electronics Network, a procurement and supply chain consultant, and a guest speaker at multiple procurement and supply chain summits. He has also spoken at Huaqiangbei’s “Huaqiang Big Lecture Hall” and “Positive Energy Electronics Network Private Sharing Sessions.” Mr. Tang says every step has been a testament to growth.

 

Mr. Tang Mingwei delivering a keynote at the 2025 Positive Energy Electronics Network Annual Summit

【Focus】

When asked about effective learning methods, Mr. Tang concisely summarized it in eight characters: “Learn by teaching, force input through output.” He explained that adult learning is highly purposeful yet often fragmented. A teacher’s role is to help learners focus and refocus as much as possible within a short time.

For over ten years, he has loved the classroom—carefully prepared slides, rich case-based interactions, fluent delivery, and three-hour sessions that flow naturally. The classroom is lively and engaging; one can feel the energy even when sitting in as an observer. When a person treats their work as a passion, the selfless dedication that flows from the heart cannot be faked. It emerges naturally, without showing off. At that moment, one focuses for the sake of passion and finds joy in it. Focus leads to professionalism—this is how it works.

Mr. Tang is also fond of calligraphy, a hobby that further demonstrates the power of focus. He admitted that for many years he believed casual, free-spirited writing was the true essence, but something always felt off. Starting in 2025, he began copying Ouyang Xun’s Inscription of Sweet Spring in Jiucheng Palace. After several months of persistent practice, he suddenly understood: Calligraphy is about the rules and standards of writing. Without rules, there is no square or circle. While free expression retains one’s nature and is fine for personal enjoyment, it ultimately becomes a vulgar “Jianghu-style” script. It does not help elevate one’s aesthetic level, and it may pollute the viewer’s eyes and mislead others.

He said that advancing even one inch in calligraphy brings tenfold joy to the heart. Late at night, with one lamp, one dish of ink, and one brush, he concentrates fully; once the brush touches paper, everything else is forgotten. By persisting in copying a few pages every day, he has written nearly ten thousand characters in nearly half a year. From his previously unbearable “wild style” to now stepping through the “kindergarten” threshold of calligraphy, this is what true passion and focus look like. Focus does not guarantee professionalism, but without focus, one will never understand what beauty is.

He noted that people who use computers too much often forget how to write characters. Nowadays, AI can write poetry and robots can write Spring Festival couplets. Survival anxiety fills our emotions. He suggests that while we have not yet been replaced by AI/robots, we should quickly cultivate hobbies that can soothe the soul—hobbies that may even possess an imperfect beauty—to heal our tired and fragmented spirits.

 

Mr. Tang Mingwei’s calligraphy piece presented to Kinghelm and Slkor:

In stillness, observe the mind; the heart travels far with the green mountains. With a serene and detached spirit, there naturally comes a lofty grace. Deep cultivation in one’s field leads to distant success; Firmly believe that even a glimmer of light can embark on a long voyage.