Follow and star ↑↑ 「New Distribution」 See how many friends are with you, paying attention to industry trends In the 2G era, the constraints of wired telephones were lifted, and mobile phones freed our communication from spatial limitations. In the 3G era, the advent of smartphones shifted our gaze from computers to phones. In the 4G era, mobile internet allowed us to reach the world more quickly, bringing earth-shaking changes to our lives. In the 5G era, big data, AI, ultra-wideband, high network speeds, and the Internet of Everything make everything within reach. Business models will be disrupted, and distributors, as the bridge connecting manufacturers and terminals, will also change. On September 24, 2025, Lao Zhang, an FMCG distributor, takes us into the 5G world. 6:00 AM The intelligent robot rings the alarm on time, waking the sleeping Lao Zhang. During his morning routine, the intelligent robot automatically plays the morning news. Amid the sweet voice of the virtual anchor, Lao Zhang opens the refrigerator, takes out the last bottle of yogurt, taps the screen on the refrigerator, and in the shopping website that appears, selects his preferred yogurt brand. By evening, the yogurt, delivered manually by a courier, will appear in the low-temperature cold storage box downstairs in the community. In this city, supported by 5G networks, the Internet of Everything is maturely deployed. IoT devices provide consumers with more convenient shopping channels. Through phones, TVs, computers, or any IoT device, consumers can shop online via 5G networks. 7:00 AM Lao Zhang drives to work. The in-car assistant, through screen projection, automatically plans the best route for him. The in-car assistant ensures Lao Zhang rarely encounters traffic congestion. Through the Internet of Vehicles, every car becomes a smart terminal. They interconnect with other vehicles, traffic lights, and traffic control centers. Through 5G high-speed networks and cloud computing, they provide optimized routes and display traffic light wait times in real time. 8:00 AM Arriving at the company, Lao Zhang holds the morning meeting on time. Through 5G signals, video conferencing has become the main form of company meetings. At this time, salespeople are already on their way to various terminal stores. The display screen on Lao Zhang's wall accurately locates each salesperson. Through real-time positioning, AI technology collects data on their daily visit routes, thereby providing them with optimal visit routes. 9:00 AM Lao Zhang opens his phone and contacts a brand he is about to distribute. After 0.1 seconds, the real-time image of the brand's factory appears on the phone screen. Through the screen, Lao Zhang can choose cameras from different angles to watch the entire process from production to packaging to logistics. According to the system display, Lao Zhang's batch of goods will arrive at the warehouse tomorrow morning. In the 5G era, brand owners provide B-end distributors with visualized production processes through the network, allowing distributors to monitor the entire production process in real time. Meanwhile, for C-end consumers, through smart labels, NFC, QR codes, and other means provided by the brand, consumers can trace the entire product journey via smart terminal devices. Consumers can see every step from raw materials to finished packaging. Product traceability will become the foundation of brand competition. 10:00 AM Lao Zhang's business team has started a new day of visits. Salespeople take out their phones to photograph store displays. The photos are uploaded in real time to the terminal inspection platform. The intelligent brain automatically analyzes the photos to determine the quantity and area of product displays. Based on data from photos uploaded over the past week, it infers the store's product inventory levels. If below the set safety stock, the computer automatically places an order for the store and arranges delivery time through the intelligent logistics system. Additionally, through tools, the distributor can obtain the following information from basic salesperson visits: Precise Store Matching: Based on photos uploaded by salespeople during visits, through backend big data analysis, the distributor can obtain daily, monthly, and quarterly single-item sales and inventory turnover data for each store. Stores are categorized by sales volume, enabling scientific matching for future new product distribution and order quantities, reducing redundant inventory accumulation. Salespeople no longer need to "plead" when promoting new products. The distributor pre-inputs parameters such as consumer profiles, product positioning, price, specifications, and packaging for new products into the terminal, making suitable sales outlets clear at a glance. When salespeople enter a store to communicate, they send the product series parameters to the store owner. On the screen, the product's "spokesperson" is the owner, who explains in detail the product's suitability for the store, its origin, and selling points through a live stream, followed by a "profit analysis" forecast. Competitor Strike Prediction: Through photo uploads and historical big data analysis, smart tools calculate the distribution of competitors in the store and region, providing data support for the distributor to decide whether to invest additional funds. In the 5G era, the basic work of salespeople will be handled by computers. Third-party terminal inspection tools based on intelligent brains will bring higher intelligence to stores. More importantly, salespeople will handle the "human touch" that computers cannot. 2:00 PM Lao Zhang receives a message on his phone: a truck is about to arrive at the warehouse. At the same time, the electronic delivery note has been sent to his email. Through the phone screen, Lao Zhang can see the truck's actual route and the temperature inside the vehicle. In Lao Zhang's 1,000-square-meter warehouse, dozens of cameras are distributed, monitoring the quantity of products on shelves 24 hours a day. Based on daily shipment volumes, photos taken by the cameras are automatically uploaded to the computer. Through big data analysis, they provide warehouse managers with product turnover data, allowing them to place replenishment orders accordingly. In the 5G era, distributor warehouse management will become more intelligent. The proliferation of IoT devices will greatly reduce human resource investment. With the emergence of intelligent third-party logistics, distributors will not need to purchase their own vehicles, significantly reducing costs. Automated inventory monitoring can lower inventory levels, save distributor capital, and perhaps the era of zero inventory will arrive. 6:00 PM Lao Zhang leaves work, but the office computer does not rest. The computer connected to the store's POS system continues to collect sales data in real time. Combined with store inventory data, the computer automatically analyzes whether the store needs replenishment. Lao Zhang can also monitor store product sales data in real time via his phone. In the 5G era, distributors may no longer need to work "007" (24/7). With the support of smart devices, distributors have more free time. Passing by the convenience store downstairs, Lao Zhang buys some daily necessities. He doesn't need to queue when leaving; the camera at the entrance automatically scans his face and deducts payment from his phone. Facial recognition payment has become the mainstream payment method. At the clothing store next door, girls use VR and virtual reality technology to match clothes that suit them. Buying clothes no longer requires trying them on; by scanning the whole body, the system automatically provides multiple styles for selection. In the hypermarket, a cow in the dairy section attracts a group of children. Of course, it's not a real cow but realized through virtual reality technology. Brand advertising will no longer be limited to videos and live streams but will show consumers how products are made in a more realistic way. In communities, micro unmanned convenience stores are everywhere. Through big data analysis of community residents' consumption, they can analyze the categories residents love most, making these convenience stores more attuned to consumers. In the future, consumers will prefer to enter stores. "Thousand stores, thousand faces" allows consumers to experience different shopping scenarios, while online becomes a supplementary shopping channel. Consumer education will no longer rely on ads but will be presented panoramically through advanced smart devices. In the 5G era, from upstream manufacturers to midstream distributors to downstream terminals, all will be closely connected by smart devices. Distributors will take on more responsibility as service providers. It is predicted that by 2025, the industry will face the following changes: Trend 1: They are machines, but also employees Whether for manufacturers, distributors, or terminal stores, the proliferation of smart devices will share repetitive and basic work for us. They are not just machines; they are our employees. Intelligent production will save companies significant labor costs, while machines handle high-intensity work. Intelligent supply chains will greatly shorten logistics delivery times and improve efficiency. Smart terminal inspection and replenishment systems free distributors' hands, allowing them to control everything from in front of a computer. At the terminal, richer shopping scenarios and more novel shopping experiences will attract consumers back offline. Trend 2: Online scenarios become richer The FMCG industry meets our needs for clothing, food, and daily use. In the future, online shopping will not be limited to phones and computers. Any IoT smart device can embed shopping functions. TVs, refrigerators, smartwatches, and in-car computers will all become entry points for online shopping, allowing people to order anytime, anywhere. Shopping apps may become history. Trend 3: Brands understand consumers better In the era of big data, every time we go online, computers automatically collect data and analyze each person's consumption path and habits. Brands can then push different types of ads and products based on different consumer profiles. Niche products are no longer niche. Trend 4: Live streaming becomes a new shopping channel With the arrival of the 5G era with high speed and low latency, live streaming will become the main scenario for brand promotion. Live streaming will no longer be limited to phones; TVs, computers, elevator ad screens, and home virtual reality simulators will all become entry points for video streaming. Video streaming is not just about influencer带货 (product promotion); it's more about showcasing the production process. Factory live streams by brands will become an important way to attract fans, and live streams from origin places for fresh produce can better stimulate consumers' purchase desire. Perhaps everyone can become the star of a video stream. Trend 5: Helping local specialty products go global 5G breaks the boundaries of time and space. For regional brands, this is undoubtedly a good thing. No matter where we are, we can buy authentic Ningbo tangyuan, Dezhou braised chicken, Nanjing salted duck, and Xinjiang fruits. These scenarios rely on intelligent supply chains. With the development of intelligent supply chains in the 5G era, consumers can buy delicacies from different regions at any time. They may come from small workshops or remote mountainous areas, but based on advanced traceability systems in the 5G era, we can see the production and processing scenes in real time, ensuring product safety. 2025 is not far away. The technology era dominated by AI, 5G, and cloud computing has already quietly changed our lives. For the FMCG industry, giants have begun to lay out 5G. Baidu, JD.com, Meituan, Haidilao, Starbucks, and others have all started 5G initiatives. In the 5G era, distributors will become big and refined! Based on technological progress, brand owners will not need too many distributors to distribute their products. Distributors' warehouses will become brand owners' forward warehouses. The construction of intelligent logistics systems will help distributors penetrate deeper into channels, and distributors will take on more of the role of service providers. Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted. China FMCG + Internet Professional New Media Dedicated to FMCG manufacturer and distributor transformation and channel digitalization solutions