“Order successful!” A cheer broke the silence in the Jinzhong Building office.

In October 2014, Yuexiu Auto Beauty Center in Shiqi District, Zhongshan, purchased a pair of transmission cooling oil pipes worth a total of 880 yuan from an auto parts store.

Part number 2042701127 became Baturu Auto Parts Store's first transaction order.

The first order took more than 20 hours from customer placement to receipt, backed by the entire team's year-long testing and preparation across technology, products, and processes.

In February 2014, after multiple rounds of environmental testing and transaction simulations, Baturu's full-vehicle parts trading platform “Auto Parts Store” officially launched.

Launch was just the first step.

From the February launch to the first order in October, it was another half-year of iteration and refinement.

Co-founder Wang Guangshi witnessed every step of Little Ba from swaddled infant to babbling toddler. He said: “The entire transaction—from inquiry-price quote-ordering-payment-receipt—completes a closed loop online, only then do we dare call it a ‘successful transaction’. This was an industry pioneering move at the time, and we couldn't afford to be careless. For the entire half-year prior, the team kept upgrading the Auto Parts Store functions, enriching parts data, and accumulating registered customers.”

Technical implementation is just the first step of a long march; even harder is getting repair shops to change their traditional procurement habits and embrace a new procurement method.

Long-established trading patterns made auto parts procurement heavily reliant on customer relationships and offline maintenance, unlike buying daily necessities where TV or phone ads prompt immediate action. To quickly penetrate the market, 2-3 ground promotion staff were dispatched per region, starting from Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, Zhongshan, Zhaoqing, Dongguan, etc., visiting shops one by one and teaching one by one.

▲In April 2014, Baturu organized platform basic operation training

Mr. Mai of Yuexiu Auto Beauty Center learned about Baturu from the ground promotion team at that time.

He admitted frankly that ten years ago, it was really too difficult for a platform like Baturu to break into the market.

“The industry had operated this way for decades, and suddenly someone jumps out saying they want to pull everyone online to trade—using the word ‘disruptive’ is not an overstatement. At the time, we thought these people were either scammers or crazy.”

Xiaolong Ge, who has long been on the front lines, deeply empathizes. In 2014, Rao Xiaolong joined Baturu as a regional manager and remains active on the front lines today. Over nearly nine years, he can't remember how many cities he's covered, but the over ten thousand repair shops he's personally visited let him truly feel how much time Baturu spent to reach customers.

“Back then, our ground promotion team was often chased out of repair shops as scammers, but our market staff persisted with the belief that this would definitely succeed, overcoming all difficulties. I was responsible for market development in Yangjiang and Maoming. Customers refused to provide business licenses during registration; to gain trust, the market manager paid out of pocket, letting customers receive goods first.”

While developing the Zhaoqing market, a repair shop's salesperson often complained about not being used to online procurement, but the shop owner was unusually persistent, believing it was the industry trend. Thanks to such customer trust, our market staff could stay resolute amid the harsh conditions back then.

Not just the client side, supply was also a major issue. At the time, many merchants saw Baturu as a new species, even a “competitor” that might steal business.

Trust comes from tangible results. Mingxuan Auto Parts was one of Baturu's first partner merchants, and after partnering, monthly sales steadily grew, reaching over 400,000 yuan in just over half a year.

▲In February 2014, the marketing team organized supplier training

“At the start, not many merchants were willing to cooperate; everyone was skeptical and watching. My first month's online sales were just a few thousand yuan, but by the second month, I knew this was the right path.”

Recalling the early entrepreneurial days, everyone's evaluation is the same: they worked like they were possessed. For example, in 2015, due to inaccurate data from third-party logistics, the team drove themselves, selecting the Guangzhou-Zhongshan-Jiangmen route to personally test dedicated line logistics delivery times. Also, building the platform's foundation took a long time, with developers often sleeping at the company. Such things were too numerous.

And so, from 1 to 100 to 100,000...... Baturu slowly came into view.

As orders increased, a “parts road” piled up on the Ma Road in Guangzhou Guyuan, waiting for logistics pickup.

“Back then, we put an electronic screen in the office displaying daily sales breakthrough data. The team kept upgrading the system, fearing it couldn't handle the growing customer volume if we weren't careful.” Nine years ago, Cai Ziyue was part of the initial team, starting from zero with Baturu. In her eyes, the Auto Parts Store went from nameless to famous in just one year of practice.

A lighting company boss sharing the Jinzhong Building office back then was Baturu's neighbor for several years and witnessed its early rapid growth. “From a single office on the 2nd floor in the first year, to later renting the 5th and 7th floors—other companies in the building had to time their lunch and after-work hours to avoid the peak with them; there were so many people, developing very fast.”

In 2015, a 60-square-meter billboard in the auto parts city drew attention; Baturu's early brand image—the robot warrior—strode forward with firm steps.

▲Auto parts city billboard

As the word “Baturu” implies—hero, warrior—the Baturu people, whether ten years ago or in the next N decades, will always drive progress in China's automotive aftermarket with fearless warrior spirit. Though the road is long and obstructed, steady progress will lead to arrival.