---
title: "Chen Qinghong: Insights into the Transformation of the New Retail Era"
description: "Chen Qinghong, deputy general manager of Heading, seems to have returned to twenty years ago. He still remembers walking into Heading in 1997: \"The 15th floor of Lingyun Apartment, a mixed commercial and residential building.\" From this modest office, Chen embarked on his long journey in the retail industry. Over two decades from traditional ERP to internet-based information platforms, he has witnessed numerous industry changes and experienced Heading's transformation from a laboratory at East China University of Science and Technology to a leading retail information technology enterprise in China."
author: "New Distribution"
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published: "2017-11-01"
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# Chen Qinghong: Insights into the Transformation of the New Retail Era

> Chen Qinghong, deputy general manager of Heading, seems to have returned to twenty years ago. He still remembers walking into Heading in 1997: "The 15th floor of Lingyun Apartment, a mixed commercial and residential building." From this modest office, Chen embarked on his long journey in the retail industry. Over two decades from traditional ERP to internet-based information platforms, he has witnessed numerous industry changes and experienced Heading's transformation from a laboratory at East China University of Science and Technology to a leading retail information technology enterprise in China.

Chen Qinghong, deputy general manager of Heading, seems to have returned to twenty years ago.
He still remembers walking into Heading in 1997: "The 15th floor of Lingyun Apartment, a mixed commercial and residential building." It was from this modest office that Chen Qinghong embarked on his long journey in the retail industry.
Two Decades from Traditional ERP to Internet-Based Information Platforms
Compared to the emerging internet and communication fields at the time, retail seemed too traditional and lacking in mystery. But Chen Qinghong has stayed in this industry for twenty years, witnessing countless industry changes and experiencing Heading's transformation from a laboratory at East China University of Science and Technology to a leading retail information technology enterprise in China.
"Retail is very interesting," he said with a shy and gentle smile. "It seems simple, but there are many intricacies. For example, look at this roadside shop; it needs to handle purchasing, sales, promotions, returns, inventory management, loss prevention, and even theft prevention. Each aspect requires careful consideration. People say governing a large country is like cooking a small fish, but I think it's more like running a small shop!" In his view, doing retail well is not a simple task.
"This industry is ancient, existing since the pre-Qin period. What does that mean? Industries like clothing, food, housing, and transportation, which are basic needs with unlimited market potential, will never die out. There's no need to worry that they will disappear tomorrow. But they are not static; they are constantly evolving." After years of exploration in retail, Chen Qinghong has gained a deeper understanding and respect for the industry.
For those who focus on the same field for a long time, experience can sometimes become a constraint, leading to complacency. But for him, this problem does not exist: from traditional ERP to internet-based information platforms, he has always had a restless spark within. "I'm only 40 years old, still young. Retail informatization is a major trend, and I won't miss it," Chen Qinghong explained his judgment and pursuit of the market.
This is not the first time he has shown his "restlessness." In 2004, he discovered a gap in the domestic WMS system and volunteered to develop Heading's logistics product alone. "During that period, I spent three months in the warehouse, mingling with everyone there, conducting interviews, researching, and designing the product."
What started as an experiment has now grown into Heading's logistics business unit with nearly a hundred people. Data shows that the logistics business unit has maintained a steady growth of 20% to 30% annually and operates well. Chen Qinghong then stepped back and set his sights on a new goal: "This 'Qianfan Plan' is a more challenging internet information project. Heading and Wanda have joined forces to help small and micro merchants and their suppliers achieve informatization and jointly enter the new retail era."
Insights into the Transformation of the New Retail Era in Physical Commerce
**China's physical retail industry has undergone four major transformations.**
From planned consumption—where state-owned channels like supply and marketing cooperatives distributed goods to basically meet consumer needs; to free selection—where supermarkets, hypermarkets, shopping centers, and other formats emerged to meet consumer needs more diversely; to quality consumption—where improving quality wins consumer favor; and now, the era of personalized consumption with thousands of faces has arrived. The omni-channel digital operation of physical commerce is an inevitable trend at this stage.
The four stages of physical retail development align with the e-commerce 3.0 development path proposed by Hou Yi, CEO of the currently popular Hema Fresh: Version 1.0 is traditional e-commerce, solving the problem of ordering anytime; Version 2.0 solves the problem of real-time response but does not meet needs; Version 3.0, based on original e-commerce, requires precise traffic operation and omni-channel digital operation.
They both believe that **the future retail industry will be led by information technology.**
When discussing the representative products of the current retail trend, the recently popular unmanned stores and unmanned shelves are candidates. However, Chen Qinghong stated that these concepts are not new:
"Mr. Ding, Chairman of Heading, proposed more than ten years ago that the future trend must be the combination of virtual and physical. Back then, Heading used RFID and other technologies to run unmanned retail. As for the 'convenience store + vending machine' model, our customers have been operating it for over six years. With market changes, technological maturity, and continued capital attention, unmanned retail is becoming an important part of the retail industry."
Traditional Channels Urgently Need Evolution, Opportunities and Challenges Coexist
Over the past twenty years, external competition has always threatened traditional players: first, the continuous expansion of international companies like Walmart and 7-Eleven; then, the rise of internet giants like Alibaba and JD.com. Now, brand owners, distributors, and chain enterprises are also entering the B2B field, hoping to leverage their own resources to connect the entire chain, break the original pattern, and reshuffle the old market.
Although the proliferation of B2B platforms has made traditional channel players anxious, Chen Qinghong believes that this smoke will soon pass, and traditional channel players will continue to exist for a long time.
**He cited three reasons for this:**
1. Large base of practitioners. There are 150,000 distributors nationwide, each with at least one business team, giving this group immense potential.
2. Deep-rooted local resources. Traditional distributor teams have maintained relationships with brand owners and local small merchants for years or even decades, and their trust and tacit understanding cannot be easily replaced by an online platform.
3. Specialized services. In addition to selling goods, distributors provide various personalized services such as delivery and inventory management, which are service endpoints that emerging B2B platforms find difficult to reach.
**While affirming the value of traditional channels, Chen Qinghong also pointed out that if they do not proactively respond to the changes brought by the internet, distributors will surely taste the bitter fruit.** It is foreseeable that the efficiency of the entire industry will improve due to informatization. Even without the impact of new B2B platforms, the efficiency gains of peers will still force those adhering to backward production and service methods to transform. Internet informatization is both a challenge and an opportunity for traditional channels to overtake on the curve.
The East Wind Has Arrived, and "Qianfan" Sets Sail
"The time for new retail has come, and the east wind has arrived. Not only channel players but the entire retail industry faces a technological revolution. The level of informatization will directly determine the survival of retailers." **In Chen Qinghong's view, every transformation, while improving efficiency, will kill off the inefficient.**
Since the last retail stage, Heading has been providing information services to mid-to-high-end supermarkets and convenience stores to help them improve efficiency. Currently, more than 500 large and medium-sized enterprises have completed informatization upgrades with Heading's help. Among the top ten convenience store chains, seven are supported by Heading, earning it the title "King of Convenience."
"We basically cover high-end and mid-end retail formats. Small and micro merchants are the last segment and the ones most in need of help in the retail scenario."
Based on the consensus on the trend of "physical economy + internet informatization," Heading and Wanda Group began deep cooperation in 2016, and the strategic project "Qianfan Platform" was launched recently. **The main purpose of the "Qianfan Platform" is to provide information technology and resource support to small and micro merchants and their suppliers, helping them smoothly transition through the new retail transformation.**
"To better serve all participants in the retail scenario, what is needed is not just software, but a complete set of internet tools and a platform that provides resource services to merchants. Heading's 22 years of retail informatization experience, combined with Wanda's abundant resource support, brings more possibilities for the Qianfan Platform to serve users comprehensively."
Conclusion: Every Day Awakened by a "Sense of Mission"
Some say, "What wakes me up every day is not the alarm clock, but my dream." In Chen Qinghong's heart, what wakes him up is something else.
"I'm not that artistic, and I don't give myself a pep talk every day. If I have to say why I stick to this position, I think it's a sense of mission. In the first ten years, I worked just for the sake of work. In the latter ten years, after basic needs were met and I was well-off, I thought more about how to leave something for the industry. Perhaps because I come from a technical background, I think software is our 'work.' Not to say that the work will be remembered for generations, but I hope our twenty years of experience can be passed on to more retail people and help them achieve success. This was also the original intention of our Chairman, Mr. Ding, when he founded the company."
Another autumn wind blows, and looking back, everything is vivid. Generations of retail people have either forged ahead or been eliminated in the waves of change. Chen Qinghong believes that only through communication, mutual assistance, changing mindsets, and embracing change can one stand firm in the waves. He firmly believes that the Qianfan Platform built by Heading can ride the wind and waves, safely delivering traditional retailers to the other shore of new retail.


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