A recent reflection: only mediocrity can be designed; even the most brilliant strategies are swept away by the tides of the times. Since it's hard to design, one must quickly chase the era. In 2012, I was defeated by e-commerce while I was in the physical economy. I thought, with all my years of experience, couldn't I beat this little thing called e-commerce? At that time, I underestimated e-commerce. I thought I would get up where I fell. However, over the past four years, I haven't found opportunities in e-commerce, and increasingly I've realized that e-commerce only benefited BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent). Most of us were just spectators; even if we did e-commerce, we were parasitic on BAT. It wasn't until 2014 and 2015 that I saw the opportunity, because B-end e-commerce emerged. I can be considered one of the early promoters of B-end e-commerce in China. To seize the B-end opportunity, I did two things: first, I invested in several distribution e-commerce platforms; second, together with Teacher Jin Huanmin, I established a maker park in Yanling. Now, it has become a benchmark for central and western China. No one objected to investing in B-end platforms. But many couldn't understand why we built a maker park in Yanling, Xuchang, Henan. Yet opportunities often lie where most people don't understand, because when everyone sees an opportunity, it's no longer one. The Limits of C-end and the Opportunity of B-end C-end e-commerce is consumer e-commerce, with two characteristics: high value or high added value, and non-immediate consumption. For example, FMCG products are not particularly suitable for C-end e-commerce. Many friends have told me, "We want to do e-commerce, but our products aren't suitable. For beverages, instant noodles, or ham sausages, even if we open a flagship store on Tmall, annual sales might not match one day of offline sales." B-end e-commerce is different; it suits almost all enterprises and businesses. What wasn't suitable before is now suitable. Ma Yun said that in five years, all enterprises will be e-commerce. I believe the premise must be the popularization of B-end e-commerce. Alibaba's CEO has also recently identified B-end e-commerce as a major trend. Because C-end e-commerce is consumer e-commerce, its statistics are based on total retail sales of consumer goods. For example, in 2014, e-commerce accounted for 11% of total retail sales, which was 26 trillion yuan. Moreover, as C-end growth slows, it might only reach 18% in five years. B-end e-commerce is different because it suits almost all enterprises and is measured by GDP, which was over 60 trillion yuan in 2014. So, the B-end market is much larger than C-end. B-end is Segmented I've always said B-end is distributed, but many don't understand. Last night, a boss used the term "segmented" when explaining to others, and I think that's easier to accept. C-end e-commerce is centralized, so it only benefits a few platforms like JD.com and Taobao. B-end e-commerce is segmented; it can be done by industry, such as FMCG or agricultural materials; by region, like the Yanling Maker Park I'm doing now; or by segment. The full process of B-end e-commerce can be expressed as F2B2R2C (F—factory, B—user, agent, R—retail, C—consumer). Segmented approaches can be F2B, B2R, R2C, or F2C, F2B2R, etc. There are many combinations. Ma Yun's focus on cross-border e-commerce in 2016 is also B-end e-commerce. What's the benefit of segmentation? It's hard for anyone to monopolize B-end like BAT. The influence from discourse power becomes less effective. E-commerce also needs meticulous cultivation, even deep distribution. B-end Activates Tradition C-end has been described as "highway robbery" due to "de-intermediation," but B-end is particularly suited to activating traditional industries. Recently, I've met many traditional business owners. Initially, many were reluctant to talk about e-commerce, thinking all e-commerce was C-end. When I mentioned B-end, many eyes lit up. B-end can activate traditional industries, save labor, improve marketing efficiency, enable targeted communication, and develop more customers. These are all things bosses are particularly interested in. The B-end Dividend 2015 can be seen as the first year of B-end e-commerce. That's why I unveiled the plaque on December 28. I believe the B-end dividend period may be longer than C-end. After all, it's a model suitable for all enterprises, so promotion might be slower, but the truly decisive time might only be two years. Thus, 2016 and 2017 are crucial. Can a County-level Maker Park Work? Many doubt my maker park in Yanling, so let me explain today. In the past two years, many counties have built maker parks or e-commerce parks, mostly C-end. They had two main functions: facilitating Taobao and JD products going to the countryside, and getting agricultural products online. I won't comment on their merits. I have confidence in county-level maker parks. First, because we are doing B-end. B-end e-commerce can activate traditional industries, even entirely, which local governments are particularly interested in. Second, Teacher Jin Huanmin's early groundwork. In his public account, Teacher Jin wrote: "I must be blind; I built such a large office building in a county town. Heaven has eyes; I built it right." The maker park went from proposal to unveiling in just 52 days because Teacher Jin's early hardware almost fully met requirements. Third, relying on the influence of Teacher Jin and me in traditional fields, many traditional enterprises are willing to cooperate. They are excited even before moving in, waiting to be activated. And thanks to my years of dabbling in the internet, many platform and service providers are willing to follow unconditionally. The internet makes the world flat, but the application of the internet in different cities is clearly tiered, determined by attitudes and awareness. Internet "Island" Survival Some ask: Can a county-level maker park, like an island, succeed? I say, e-commerce parks and maker parks were initially islands. Even Shenzhen, Beijing, and Hangzhou, now hot for the internet, were initially islands, out of sync with their surroundings. Whether it's an island doesn't matter; what matters is whether it can form an ecosystem and rapidly increase in value. Isn't India's IT industry an island? A county-level maker park, as long as it brings in external resources, is only a geographical island, not an internet island. Although the actual preparation time was only a month, an ecosystem has already formed, and it can survive as an island. With so many resources moving in, I can only believe it's the realization of my accumulated resources. And the traditional enterprises' desire for B-end e-commerce, I think, can quickly realize the value of incoming resources. Finally, a proud remark. After a friend visited, he said this county-level maker park model can already be sold for money. As long as you're a friend, you're welcome for tea, and we'll slowly talk about B-end e-commerce. -END- Content Selection Reply with the following keywords to search and read related articles: Sales Supervisor, Second-tier Management, Regional Manager, Distributor Management, New Channels, City Manager, Competition, 2015, Manufacturer-Dealer Game, Product Stagnation, Terminal Visit Management, Route Management, Deep Distribution, Internal Management, Sales Skills, Profit Improvement, Recruitment, Distribution, Daily Management, Team Motivation, Channel Promotion, Sales Misconceptions, New Product Launch, Township Market, New Product Pricing, Sales Target Achievement, Closing Deals, Market Visit Inspection, Baijiu, Beer, Sales Increase, Agent Products, Channel Crossing, KA, Terminal Merchandising, New Market, Market Operation, Learning, Book Recommendations, Inventory Management, Sales Novice, Consumer Promotion, Execution, Old Products, Expired Product Handling, Model Market, Investment Attraction, New Media, Distributor Development, Performance Appraisal, Assessment, Annual Planning, Shopping Guide, Morning Meeting, Display, Transformation, Pressure Stock, Festival, Distributor Cost Control, Channel Operation, Marketing Theory and Laws, Brand Truth, Order Meeting, Team Management, Training, Work Report, Work Report.