---
title: "A 20-Year Mengniu Distributor, Restless in Entrepreneurship!"
description: "At 9 a.m., when Yang Liang was met, he was deploying the latest work with department heads. After the meeting, I said, 'Why not go to your office for a quieter chat?' He replied, 'This is my office.' There was no separate desk or boss chair; the west side had a metal filing cabinet and two school desks piled with trophies, books, and products, while the east side had a long conference table for about ten people. Yang Liang's workstation was the first seat on the right. He distributes brands like Moutai, Jiannanchun, Mengniu, and Six Walnuts."
author: "袁来"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2019-08-26"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/a-20-year-mengniu-distributor-restless-in-entrepreneurship-a74e074b/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/a-20-year-mengniu-distributor-restless-in-entrepreneurship-a74e074b.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/vvafcN1nBl2hsoK_LmeilQ"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/20%E5%B9%B4%E8%92%99%E7%89%9B%E5%A4%A7%E5%95%86-%E5%9C%A8%E5%88%9B%E4%B8%9A%E8%B7%AF%E4%B8%8A%E6%8A%98%E8%85%BE%E5%88%B0%E5%BA%95-a74e074b.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/a-20-year-mengniu-distributor-restless-in-entrepreneurship-a74e074b/"
usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt"
---

# A 20-Year Mengniu Distributor, Restless in Entrepreneurship!

> At 9 a.m., when Yang Liang was met, he was deploying the latest work with department heads. After the meeting, I said, 'Why not go to your office for a quieter chat?' He replied, 'This is my office.' There was no separate desk or boss chair; the west side had a metal filing cabinet and two school desks piled with trophies, books, and products, while the east side had a long conference table for about ten people. Yang Liang's workstation was the first seat on the right. He distributes brands like Moutai, Jiannanchun, Mengniu, and Six Walnuts.

At 9 a.m., when I met Yang Liang, he was deploying the latest work with department heads. After the meeting, I said, 'Why not go to your office for a quieter chat?' He replied, 'This is my office.'
There was no separate desk or boss chair; the west side of the room had a metal filing cabinet and two school desks piled with trophies, certificates, books, documents, and various products. The east side had a long conference table for about ten people, and Yang Liang's workstation was the first seat on the right.
As a distributor representing well-known brands such as Moutai, Jiannanchun, Mengniu, and Six Walnuts, with annual sales exceeding 200 million yuan, his office was like this—this was the first time I had seen such a thing.
A few days ago, I had a conversation with this distributor, Mr. Yang Liang, General Manager of Fuyang Xiehe Trading Co., Ltd. He came from a rural background and started his business at 23. Even though he is now financially free, he still works on the front lines. Not only does he run a trading company, but he also opened chain convenience stores and extended his business upstream to produce soy milk. He seems never to relax, guarding his business while starting new ventures, never stopping his pace of progress.
**Only Seeing the Thief Eating Meat, Not Seeing the Thief Being Beaten**
**Looking back at Yang Liang's entrepreneurial history, it is actually a history of hardship.** Yang Liang told New Distribution that he came to the city at 23 to work, starting from the 'bottom-level' business. He opened a 40-square-meter shop in a wholesale market for alcohol wholesale.
Every day, he rode a tricycle to visit stores and sell goods. After six or seven years, the business gradually improved. Due to the obvious seasonality of alcohol, there was basically nothing to do in summer. Coincidentally, he saw a Mengniu advertisement on TV (at that time, Mengniu's slogan was 'The milk of the grassland can speak'). Immediately, Yang Liang contacted Mengniu, paid a 10,000 yuan deposit, and officially began nearly 20 years of Mengniu distribution business.
Yang Liang recalled that at that time, Guangming was still the leader in the market, and promoting Mengniu was very difficult. Initially, he pushed six packs at stores: two packs of pure milk, two packs of yogurt, and two packs of sweet milk. The early days were bitter, with almost no one recognizing the brand. The popular drinks then were Jianlibao and Wahaha.
At that time, he couldn't afford to hire people, so he ran around urban and rural areas every day, especially in summer, soaking wet from head to toe almost every day. He didn't dare to go shirtless for fear of sunburn. In this way, he laid out products pack by pack and sold them pack by pack, and the market gradually improved. With the Mengniu and alcohol business, the trading company grew stronger.
2014 was a key node for Xiehe Trading. Xiehe Trading formally transformed from a single trading agency company into a comprehensive commercial company with multiple categories, multiple businesses, and extending upstream and downstream.
That year, Xiehe did five things: **1. Entered downstream, trying to open chain convenience stores; 2. Entered upstream, building a factory to produce soy milk; 3. Became a distributor for Six Walnuts, optimizing the agency product structure; 4. Gave up the distribution agency for Gujing Gongjiu; 5. Obtained the distribution rights for Moutai.**
Yang Liang told New Distribution that at the beginning of 2014, he focused his energy on thinking about the development of the trading company. He believed that a trading company should not overly rely on a single brand or category. To go long-term, **it must have diversified business integration to resist uncertainty in the external environment.** At the beginning of the year, he went to Taiwan and Japan to inspect convenience stores and research the soy milk market. After careful consideration, he made the above series of adjustments and decisions.
After four years of development, as of now, Xiehe Trading has opened 15 convenience stores. During this period, the convenience stores also opened and closed. Yang Liang told New Distribution, **'Whether it is profitable within half a year is our key criterion for deciding to close a store. If it cannot be profitable within half a year, we close it immediately. Our strategy for opening stores is "no waiting, no consuming, no nurturing."'**
There is also a story about how he obtained the Moutai distribution rights: When Yang Liang first started the alcohol business, he had always wanted to be a Moutai distributor, and he waited for 10 years for this. During that period, to maintain customer relationships, Yang Liang also became a distributor for Moutai Yingbin Wine, and for two years, he even ranked first in the province in sales.
In 2014, during the implementation period of the 'three public consumptions' policy, he finally got the Moutai distribution rights, but that month he lost more than 1 million yuan. At that time, some people poured cold water on Yang Liang, even advising him to give up. But he firmly believed that good quality would always have a market. The final result is obvious to all.
Yang Liang concluded, **'Many people only see the thief eating meat, but never see the thief being beaten. Xiehe Trading has done a lot along the way. Whenever we decide to do something, even if the road is long and bumpy, as long as the path is right, we will persist.'**
**Seeking Profit from Management, Doing Business in Data**
Xiehe Trading was registered and established around 2000. In 2006, during the company's start-up period, Yang Liang spent more than 100,000 yuan to purchase software to standardize financial management. For delivery vehicles, to avoid high temperatures during summer deliveries, Xiehe Trading replaced its vehicles with JMC vehicles early on to ensure sufficient air conditioning.
Whether in software or hardware configuration, Xiehe Trading has never been sloppy. Of course, this is not only reflected in the investment in tools, but also in management, where Yang Liang pursues 'ultimate management.'
As is well known, to achieve profitability in milk distribution, refined management is essential, with the core reflected in two aspects: **First, sell-through management, vivid displays, and consumer promotions; Second, management of product freshness.**
Yang Liang revealed that in dairy beverage distribution, if freshness management is not done well, and large-date products are not handled timely and properly, losses may occur. A bottle of milk has a shelf life of 6 months, but normal sales only last 3 months.
Before 2019, for the management of large inventory age, the approach was **'unified return to warehouse for inspection and review, then centralized return to KA stores and some traditional trade stores for special offers and gift-with-purchase sales.'**
This process generated a series of repetitive tasks. Frontline salespeople counted quantities at stores and applied to return them to the warehouse. In the warehouse, warehouse staff had to review and inspect again, then centrally send them to some stores that could resell. This not only delayed sales work but also increased counting time and the cost of back-and-forth handling...
Why not let salespeople handle it directly in the market? Although this is the best method, the reality is that no one can guarantee the authenticity of the quantity. A one-time exchange of hundreds of products is key to determining whether the company can profit.
Difficulties always need to be solved. At the beginning of 2019, Xiehe Trading introduced the 'Aiyingli' sales management software to digitize business management. Through photo evidence and real verification, large inventory age management is conducted in a fair and transparent environment.
According to Yang Liang, now each route's salesperson can choose 1-2 stores that can resell, and set the transfer time and discount for secondary sales in the system backend in advance. This allows large inventory age to be exchanged directly in the market without returning to the warehouse.
**Compared with the transfer rate in 2018, as of now, Xiehe Trading's average transfer rate has decreased by 30%-40%. According to this implementation, the estimated reduction in losses is nearly one million yuan, which is exactly the company's net profit. Not only that, in this process, Xiehe Trading also opened the right to use the large inventory age expenses to frontline salespeople. If the expenses incurred are lower than the monthly plan, they can also receive an additional incentive of 50% of the balance.**
Yang Liang told New Distribution that through systematic management, Xiehe Trading can know the monthly, weekly, and daily data at any time, including which stores return or transfer goods, with quantities, items, specifications, and dates all clear. Through these data, Xiehe Trading also made rankings and rewards to improve internal organizational management efficiency.
**Firmly Believing That the Soy Milk Industry Will Surpass the Milk Market**
Yang Liang persists in what he believes in, and this is especially true for soy milk.
If before 2014 was 'making wedding dresses for others,' then after 2014, Yang Liang began to gradually 'make wedding dresses for himself.'
In 2014, Yang Liang started building a factory to produce soy milk and registered the 'Huaixiang' brand. When asked why he was so fond of the soy milk category, Yang Liang told New Distribution that during his inspections in Japan and Taiwan, he found that the market capacity for soy milk is huge, no less than milk, but mainland consumers have little awareness of the value of soy milk. He believes that soy milk has huge room for exploration.
Facts have also proven Yang Liang's judgment. In April and December 2017, FMCG giants Dali and Yili successively launched 'Douduben' and 'Zhixuan' soy milk brands.
Of course, seeing the value of soy milk is not enough to support Yang Liang's heavy investment in building a factory. Another important reason is that northern Anhui, especially the Taihe area of Fuyang, is very suitable for soybean cultivation, and the nutritional value of soybeans is exceptionally high, rich in lecithin and isoflavones.
Yang Liang told New Distribution, 'As a soy milk manufacturer, although we are small now, our quality requirements far exceed domestic soy milk brands. We are walking slowly. In the early stage, we put most of our energy into polishing the product, and we dare not be careless about product quality.'
When asked about market strategy, Yang Liang emphasized, **'The soy milk category must not be operated with a "beverage-style" approach, otherwise it will die. Douduben and Zhixuan have almost verified that following the beverage approach cannot open the market.'**
Currently, Huaixiang has launched Tetra Pak, glass bottle, and plastic bottle specifications. Yang Liang admitted that not using beverage operations means not flooding the market; just doing distribution is useless. We will work hard along the consumption scenario of 'first choice for family meals.' Be patient, don't rush, take it slow. First, do well in our own field, and strive to succeed in one area at a time.
**Written at the End**
After listening to Mr. Yang Liang, a word came to my mind: 'restless.' Behind the restlessness is the passion, confidence, and assessment of future trends of Xiehe Trading.
Frankly speaking, many distributors, when they made a fortune during the market dividend period, completed primitive capital accumulation, and achieved financial freedom, gradually became slack, even indulging in past successes, no longer paying or striving. They only guard their business, not start new ventures.
The current market has almost no dividends left, and moreover, it faces multiple pressures. If distributors continue to 'boil like a frog in warm water,' clinging to the past, not being restless or reforming, their business will inevitably die.
Where should distributors 'be restless'? Two directions: First, internally, improve management efficiency; use tools, motivate personnel, and upgrade existing business. Second, externally, extend diversified businesses, such as upstream production, downstream retail, or cross-category distribution.
Future distributors will either attach themselves to brand owners, with manufacturer support, acting as a 'little brother,' similar to a dedicated promoter; or they will grow bigger and stronger, focusing on multi-brand distribution within a category, or multi-category and multi-brand distribution. We believe that in the future distribution industry, pressure will not only come from upstream manufacturers and downstream stores; the biggest crisis often comes from former friends, the 'cross-border hijacking' by distributors of different categories.
Doing displays and fighting for terminals is actually fighting on the battlefield. If a general no longer stirs, no longer studies tactics, no longer studies how to defeat opponents, how can he win on the battlefield? When a boss does distribution business, if there is no restlessness, no killing intent, no passion, no direction, how can he survive?
Focus on FMCG distributor new distribution / brand owner new marketing cases
If the report is adopted, a reward of 400-2000 yuan will be paid.
**China FMCG + Internet Professional New Media**
**Committed to FMCG manufacturer and distributor transformation and upgrading and channel digital solutions**


---

## Copyright and AI use

This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL.

Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671