Recently, I attended a distributor symposium organized by a brand company. Unexpectedly, on the day of the meeting, nearly one-third of the distributors did not come in person but arranged for their children to attend. Looking at the young faces, I felt a sense of doubt, as this was different from my usual understanding. Checking the list, most of the second-generation distributors were born in the 1990s, with the oldest born in 1988. I initially thought that these young people, who had wealthy educational experiences and had just entered society, would not be interested in the hard and tiring job of being a distributor, and that they would attend the meeting as an opportunity to travel. However, their speeches at the symposium were refreshing. When we talk about distributor transformation, we often say that distributors are rigid in thinking and lack innovation, but we fail to understand the difficulties of the older generation of distributors, who are around 55 years old and have grown with their businesses. They may hope that their children can take over the baton and continue their careers. But relying on themselves alone is clearly insufficient. They see the communication opportunities provided by brand owners as a chance to enhance their children's understanding of the FMCG industry and expand their industry network. I would like to use this as a starting point to discuss the topic of second-generation distributors. In my opinion, this is also an unavoidable topic in the era of shrinking markets to enhance the synergy between manufacturers and distributors and solidify the brand's market foundation.

Second-Generation Distributors "Have Ideas," "Have Stories," "Have Dreams" A distributor representative from a mountainous area in Guizhou was speaking on stage, wearing a long dress, looking classical and elegant, confident and composed, with a leader's aura in her speech. Born in 1995, she showed no signs of the naivety and willfulness we might associate with the second generation. She recounted the hardships her father faced when starting the business and the difficulties of persisting over the years, with genuine emotion, which planted a seed in her childhood heart. Her father provided her with a comfortable life and educational conditions, and she felt grateful, also expressing respect for the brand's support along the way. Now, after completing her studies and returning, she has experienced hesitation about taking over the family business, but she has developed her own unique understanding of the business. Future business cannot just be about keeping your head down and pulling the cart. She organized a chamber of commerce, built a more efficient warehousing and logistics distribution system, paid attention to the development of emerging channels, and had a deeper and more professional understanding of young people's preferences. Thus, she firmly took up her father's business, with a blueprint for development in her mind. There are also second-generation heirs with annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan, who are not arrogant playboys. Despite receiving higher education abroad, they can still stay grounded, follow their fathers to the market, and study promotional policies. Of course, they have had their own ideas, wanting to start internet companies or engage in the hottest new retail chain businesses, but the current economic environment has not given them a reason to persist. Not aiming too high and staying down-to-earth are what their parents often tell them. So, under his father's influence, he began to understand the family business. Gradually, he found joy and a sense of value in his daily work. This time, he actively fought with his father to attend the brand's meeting, to broaden his horizons and see how successful distributors from all over the country operate. Many distributors must also hope that their children are like the above, with ideas and responsibility, and can continue to strengthen and expand their business. But through communication, I understand that this process cannot be achieved overnight. The younger generation today is unwilling to do mechanical work like making payments, delivering goods, and arranging products. They not only pursue wealth but also the realization of self-worth. They understand young people better, the internet better, and traffic better, but they lack a thorough understanding of the overall logic of the FMCG business and a deep understanding of many brand cultures. These are what brand owners should provide them with in a timely manner. In the era of market shrinkage, brand manufacturers want stable performance and lasting cooperation, which cannot just be slogans. If they only focus on pressing distributors to stock up and negotiate promotions, without knowing what customers are thinking, cracks will inevitably appear between manufacturers and distributors over time. Especially when the second generation of distributors takes over, they are likely to be less tolerant of the brand's usual practices than the older generation. Often, manufacturers and distributors need a long period of adjustment, and even cases of parting ways unhappily are common.

Action Guide for Manufacturer-Distributor Synergy How can manufacturers better cooperate with these second-generation distributors? I believe there are some directions to try. For distributors who intend to cultivate their second generation as successors, brand manufacturers should have a proactive helping attitude, working with the older generation of distributors to create opportunities and platforms for them, so they can quickly become familiar with the business, understand FMCG marketing, and feel the joy of the FMCG business.

I. Shift Perspective, Proactively Help and Train, and Stimulate Interest 1. Participate in daily manufacturer-distributor meetings. In routine weekly/monthly/quarterly communication meetings, invite second-generation distributors to fully integrate and participate. The manufacturer's business personnel should encourage them to express their opinions and put some of their innovative and valuable ideas into actual work. For ideas that differ from the existing operating model, do not rush to deny them. You can try them in local markets and provide appropriate resource support, so they can truly feel valued from the bottom of their hearts, and it also reflects the manufacturer's attitude and pattern of encouraging innovation and seeking change. 2. Accompany manufacturer management on market visits. When brand manufacturer management visits, invite second-generation distributors to participate, allowing them to experience the senior managers' multi-angle understanding of the market and their diagnosis of their own market operation issues. If there are banquet arrangements, let the second generation join the dinner, and through toasts and conversations, they can learn about social nuances and reduce generational gaps.

II. Enhance Cognition and Strengthen Consensus 1. Organize industry exchange and learning training. Brand manufacturers have more opportunities to access industry trends and marketing skills. In the future, such opportunities should be more inclined towards distributors to empower customers to grow quickly. Brand manufacturers can convene second-generation distributors for special training on a quarterly or semi-annual basis. It cannot just be like the past, with meals, drinks, and lucky draws, as such formats cannot fully stimulate the enthusiasm of the second generation. Only through a large number of professional trainings that enhance cognition, combined with the interpretation of the brand manufacturer's own development strategy and planning, conveying the manufacturer's more advanced and forward-looking management concepts, can the second generation gradually form a consistent industry and corporate cognition with the brand manufacturer. 2. Participate in the formulation of brand manufacturer marketing strategies. Only with consensus can we go far. In the processes of new product research and development, consumer promotion formulation, digital solution construction, and channel policy planning, let second-generation distributors participate extensively, encourage them to offer suggestions, and give certain rewards to customers whose opinions are adopted.

III. Transmit Brand Corporate Culture The ultimate goal of manufacturer-distributor cooperation is to maintain a long-term, more fitting, and continuously upgraded cooperative relationship. Such a lasting relationship cannot be without recognition of the brand's corporate culture. Therefore, for second-generation distributors, the transmission of corporate culture also needs to be gradually infiltrated by brand manufacturers in advance. 1. Visit the corporate exhibition hall and factory. Most companies use this method to let new employees quickly and comprehensively understand the corporate culture. This method is also effective for distributors. The company's difficult entrepreneurial history and development path that follows the general trend are a huge inspiration to distributors. Second-generation distributors themselves also aspire to achieve their own careers and surpass their fathers. 2. Visit model markets on-site. Manufacturers periodically select regional model markets and lead customers to conduct on-site experience exchange and learning. This is the most effective way to stimulate customers' business confidence and corporate identity, and it has a greater impact on the second generation. The distributor customers' own testimonials are the most persuasive. If conditions allow, manufacturers can select some model markets where second-generation distributors independently or participate in market operations for exchange and learning, building a targeted communication platform, which will have better results.

IV. Recognition and Trust to Fully Stimulate Initiative After a subtle cultivation process, we can gradually entrust second-generation distributors with important tasks, ultimately taking on daily business communication and completing the business handover from their fathers. 1. Serve as the contact person for brand pilot projects. Brand manufacturers often have pilot projects such as channel model reform pilots, digital system launches, and new product launches. Let second-generation distributors serve as project leaders, connect with the manufacturer to lead the specific implementation of the project, and in the process, deeply familiarize themselves with the business and leverage their innovative advantages. 2. Participate in the formation of regional chambers of commerce. Leverage the advantages of young second-generation distributors who are good at socializing and have active thinking, assist them in forming or participating in distributor chamber organizations, actively expand their network, and build their own influence. 3. Explorers of new marketing models. Leverage the characteristics of second-generation distributors who are good at contacting new things and have strong innovation capabilities, encourage them to take on the responsibility of exploring new retail and new business models, such as live-streaming e-commerce, B2b models, and self-operated chain supermarkets, actively integrate manufacturer and distributor resources, and share operational results periodically.

Conclusion The above are some ways I have thought about for manufacturers to build new relationships with second-generation distributors. In fact, the manufacturer-distributor relationship has always been a topic that brand manufacturers can never ignore, especially for large first-line FMCG beverage brands. A healthy RTM (Route to Market) system is the most important link supporting performance. However, in recent years, facing operational pressure, manufacturers and distributors seem to lack patience. Result-oriented cooperation has led to constant conflicts between them. Distributors won't pay without policies, and even ask manufacturer personnel to provide credit card loans; manufacturers are not polite either, saying if you fail at critical moments, I will replace you. At present, especially the older generation of distributors face great pressure, and their hardships lack understanding from brand owners: There is pressure from economic downturn and declining sales; pressure from the impact of e-commerce platforms and new retail channels; anxiety from changes in national tax policies (Golden Tax Phase IV); confusion about new distributor models (such as B2b transformation and warehouse model optimization); and helplessness about their children not being able to quickly take over. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." For the manufacturer-distributor relationship under the new situation, manufacturers need to leverage their own advantages on the basis of full mutual understanding to help the older generation of distributors cultivate second-generation successors who have ideas, responsibility, and foresight. In the process of helping the second generation smoothly transition and take over, manufacturers and distributors can truly establish a closer and more trusting business relationship, becoming truly mutually beneficial and win-win partners. Manufacturers should also believe that the smooth succession of the second generation will bring more new vitality to the development of the manufacturer's business.

Xing Renbao, with 14 years of marketing management experience, has served famous FMCG companies such as Coca-Cola, Yili, and Red Bull, focusing on corporate marketing diagnosis, manufacturer-distributor relationships, channel operations, and digital transformation.

From August 20 to 22, 2024, the '2024 6th China FMCG Conference' with the theme 'Crossing the Shrinking Era' will be grandly held in Shanghai. The '3rd China FMCG Distributor Conference' will also be held concurrently, where the 'FMCG Industry Distributor B2b Platform Strategy Guidance Report' and the '2024 FMCG Distributor Operating Conditions Survey Report' will be released. Interested friends are welcome to scan the QR code to inquire about the details of this conference!