Click the image for details Yesterday, while consulting on some information, I chatted with the general manager of a non-famous brand. I asked him how 2018 had been. He told me it was quite good! I was surprised—wasn't everyone saying the economic environment in 2018 was not great? How could it be good? He explained that due to cooperation with B2B, sales achieved explosive growth. Previously, they mainly relied on traditional offline recruitment and dealer distribution. In July 2018, they partnered with a domestic B2B platform, and from an initial monthly sales of 1 million yuan, by the end of 2018, they reached 20 million yuan per month. In just half a year, sales increased 20-fold, and sales continue to grow. "That's odd," I said. "According to normal marketing logic, B2B doesn't have the capability to promote new products, right? How could there be such growth? Is it because the B2B platform helped the brand increase store coverage? With more stores, sales naturally go up." That sounded plausible. But my friend explained that the initial sales growth was indeed due to increased store count. However, later, it was the platform's data that helped them gain a new understanding and awareness of product design. Previously, a product had over a dozen SKUs. Now, through small-scale testing, store repurchase data, and the platform's label management for small stores, they cut the SKUs down to just three, upgraded them, and achieved differentiated packaging and specifications. Without data, they had to rely on experience. Now, with precise data support, they can assist in product R&D. For example, on the ordering app, they test which product selling points and phrases can increase sales opportunities. Once testing is complete, they pass these phrases to the sales department to form standardized product scripts... "Mr. Zhao Bo, founder of New Distribution, said, 'Mistaking B2B as a channel is the biggest misconception of brand owners!'" The value of B2B is not simply a product distribution channel, but also a "database" that brand owners can refer to before formulating marketing strategies. It is also a "test field" for real-time observation after strategy implementation. In China, the vast majority of FMCG manufacturers, especially small and medium brands, do not have mature and standardized marketing strategy systems. Some say that small and medium brands survive basically by "gambling." Gamble on the right category and enjoy the dividend of category growth; gamble on the right channel and achieve explosive growth; gamble on the right person, and a marketing director can complete the annual sales target. Success relies on personal experience and expertise, plus the demographic dividend. The value of B2B is to make product distribution and marketing strategies more scientific. Recently, a well-known B2B platform collapsed, leaving many lamenting. Many say B2B is a disruptor that broke the original stable market distribution system, disrupted prices, and eroded profits. But from a dialectical perspective, the above example shows that B2B's value is more like an enabler. New Distribution has been talking about transformation because of the full arrival of the internet, the disappearance of the demographic dividend, and the upgrade of consumer demand. Industry transformation has never been a "good thing." Without transformation, everyone stays in the comfort zone of the market, calm and peaceful. The arrival of transformation breaks the calm surface, eliminates comfort zones, and naturally brings chaos. There is a widely circulated saying: "Kill one thousand enemies, lose eight hundred of your own." Although this is a derogatory phrase, looking at the results, the side that loses eight hundred is at least the victor. Transformation is the same. New Distribution defines 2019 as the first year of digital transformation in FMCG channels. For B2B, after the competition over models and the land grab, B2B platforms have entered a stage of efficiency competition and refined operations. The iterative upgrade of B2B platforms deserves industry-wide attention. For brand owners, after gaining a basic understanding of industry transformation, they must begin to think about how to transform themselves. This is not only because of the emergence of B2B, but also because of diversified demand and fragmented channels. When distribution channels become ubiquitous, how should brands break through each one? For traditional distributors, as early product distributors, when encountering industry-wide transformation, how should they seek transformation to achieve irreplaceable value? Of course, the goal of transformation is not necessarily to switch to a different business, but to do the distribution business well with low cost, high efficiency, and more profit. From March 15 to March 18, New Distribution, with the core theme of "Breaking the Game," invited over a hundred guests and organized 13 themed forums. We hope that through this exchange, we can find a way out of transformation for brand owners, distributors, and supply chain enterprises. These guests are not only industry experts, but more importantly, they are founders, general managers, and operators of excellent brand owners, distributors, and supply chain enterprises. New Distribution hopes that through the sharing of "practitioners," attendees can gain insights and see the essence and way out of transformation. Review of Previous Conferences -END-