KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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It’s very difficult to kickstart industry transformation results and existing scale. Many capabilities can only grow out with certain operational scale. But in the home renovation sector, very kind of scale has been pretty rare historically. Furthermore, the requirement for achieving RMB1 billion, RMB30 billion or RMB15 billion [ph] scale in rents differ across the real capabilities is like evolution. We must remain agile and non-conformity to establish loss. For example, with a strong presence in the city or region, we can establish the entire scale, supply chain and delivery process, which allow us to tap into economical scale, addressing deeper route industry challenges, and preparing a way for our transformative business methodology. Looking ahead, if acquisition can help us more effectively achieve our fast strategic objectives, then they are crucial and valuable.

However, we are just a means to reach a grander vision nor the end goal where now acquisitions brings in a necessary resource and like-minded individuals. I think these are important assets for transforming the industry. That’s my answer. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. Your next question comes from Xiaodan Zhang with CICC. Please go ahead.

Xiaodan Zhang: [Foreign Language] So the company has made remarkable progress in standardization and digitalization of your core business in the past years. So how should we think of it in terms of the emergent home renovation business? It would be great if you can share with us some of the milestones you have achieved. Thank you.

Tao Xu: Thank you, Sophie. To start with the home renovation supply chain is long and complicated. Not all stage can or should be standardized. We can break it down into three categories, standardization, personalization, and the betweenness. Standardization is enacting pricing, customer practice, and the streamlined process of rules. Personalization within this offering is emphasized by our tailored design solution and the rich variety of products that are offered. The degree of the standardization or personalization for renovation mature lies somewhere in between these two rings [ph]. Mature selection are based on stringent criteria, while still providing our customers with ongoing diversity to make a personalized choice that makes their individual tests.

For areas that need standardization, we need to reshape the process and set standards. We will define distinct roles within our operation flow, establishing a set of mechanisms for collaboration, path allocation, and the gate incentives. For example, in terms of the role definition and the fee settlement for renovation construction, it used to be common practice in the renovation industry for the project managers to bring their own team of workers in control to the workshop. While the renovation company only dealt with payments with the project manager. This open result in the project manager starting off at a loss position when they took on the new project. This lead to several issues. Their focus gets pulled into the actual charts and the tasks for more profits and the manager access labor schedule for other projects.

Additionally, minimum renovation companies have limited expertise in managing workers and leading to the cost [ph] issues. On our platform, our project manager role is to ensure a project goes smoothly and the customer are happy. And they’re not allowed to touch money. Their job is to manage project timelines, ensuring labors are delivering quality craftsmanship and so on. All of which improve customer satisfaction. While the platform is responsible for dispatch orders, setting up standards and certifying workers’ qualification, implementing evaluation, and the reward system, et cetera. And complete the salary settlement based on the performance system centered around the cost services. As such, we redefined the roles, workflows, standards, and the incentive mechanism within the industry.

Regarding the digitalization, it is essential a manifestation of in depth, industry understanding, and the serves that means to facilitate the implementation of a standardization. Here, let’s take the example of project manager and the workers for illustration again. This part of the digitalization is now achieved throughout the home staff system. This module covers a various sub module such as project schedule management, material dispatching, and the construction quality control. It enables augmented assignment of tasks, tracking of the main material orders, acceptance inspections, certification process, et cetera, providing a streamlined management approach. Additionally, it encompass digital title management for both workers and project managers, including scoring systems, performance incentives, training certification, and more.

The home staff system will be upgraded to version 2.5 in November. This new version combines industry expertise of both Chengdu and Beike, making it more compatible and inclusive of the various module like construction delivery, customer acquisition, sales, centralized design control, supply chain delivery, employment tools and the data strategy. Moving forward, our focus will be on developing the designer and the delivery middle office module in order to standardize workflow process and achieve what you see is what you’ll get design approach. This will also save designers time in reputable workers and improve our interaction with client design solutions, which they care more and more these days. Lastly, we want to reiterate that the core goal of standardization and the systemization is to establish a customer centric digital infrastructure that supports the industrial ongoing development.

This infrastructure should be able to accommodate the diverse industry players, allowing participants across the value chain to operate on the streamlines and the well-structured guidelines as we gain deeper understanding of the industry through the experiments and its provision in various cities, as well as the coalition of our ideas following the merger and acquisition. We’ll continue rapidly iterate the process of standardization and the digitalization. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. We are now approaching the end of the conference call. I will now turn the call over to your speaker host today, Ms. Siting Li for closing remarks.

Siting Li: Thank you once again for joining us today. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Beike’s Investor Relations team through the contact information provided on our website. This concludes today’s call, and we look forward to speaking with you next quarter. Again, thank you and goodbye.

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