Introduction In 2017, the New Distribution team selected 22 cities from China's top 40 economic cities as research targets. Collaborating with multiple brand owners and distributors, they conducted a market survey on the overall situation of China's FMCG B2B platforms. Based on actual market research data, they released the "2017 China FMCG B2B Industry Competitiveness White Paper" at the "3rd China FMCG + Internet Conference" hosted by New Distribution during the Chongqing Autumn Sugar and Wine Fair last year. The report conducted in-depth research and evaluation on various dimensions such as coverage, penetration, supply chain organization, platform operations, delivery capability, and service visits of each FMCG B2B platform in various cities, comprehensively assessing the competitiveness of each platform in the surveyed cities. The following content is the Nanjing market research report obtained by New Distribution team members visiting nearly a thousand retail stores and based on actual questionnaire feedback from the stores. Overall Research Situation of Nanjing Market, Report as Follows:

  1. Nanjing Market Introduction 1.1 Nanjing Overview Nanjing, abbreviated as "Ning", historically known as Jinling and Jiankang, is the capital of Jiangsu Province, a sub-provincial city, and the core city of the Nanjing Metropolitan Circle. It is an important central city in eastern China approved by the State Council, a national important scientific research and education base, and a comprehensive transportation hub. The city administers 11 districts, with a total area of 6,587 km². In 2016, the built-up area was 1,125.78 km², with a permanent population of 8.27 million, of which the urban population was 6.7814 million, and the urbanization rate was 82%. It is the only megacity in the Yangtze River Delta and East China. 1.2 Nanjing Economic Development Nanjing's economy is generally stable. In 2016, the regional GDP reached 1,050.302 billion yuan, an increase of 8.0% over the previous year at comparable prices. Among them, the primary industry added value was 25.251 billion yuan, an increase of 1.0%; the secondary industry added value was 411.720 billion yuan, an increase of 5.3%, of which industrial added value was 358.172 billion yuan, an increase of 4.8%; the tertiary industry added value was 613.331 billion yuan, an increase of 10.2%. Calculated by permanent population, the per capita GDP for the year was 127,264 yuan, equivalent to 19,160 US dollars at the average annual exchange rate. The industrial structure was further optimized. The ratio of three industries adjusted to 2.4:39.2:58.4, and the dominant position of the service industry continued to strengthen, with the added value of the service industry accounting for 58.4% of the city's GDP, an increase of 1.1 percentage points over the previous year. Consumer prices in Nanjing rose moderately. The overall urban consumer price level increased by 2.7% over the previous year. Among the eight major categories, "seven rose and one fell": food, tobacco, and alcohol rose 2.4%; clothing rose 3.5%; housing rose 2.2%; daily necessities and services rose 2.1%; education, culture, and entertainment rose 3.4%; medical care rose 9.9%; other goods and services rose 2.9%; transportation and communication fell 0.7%. 1.3 Retail Development in Nanjing Urban Area Nanjing's retail industry has a relatively high level of development domestically, with a rich variety of retail formats. The Xinjiekou business circle in Nanjing is known as China's No. 1 business circle. Among the top 20 large department stores and shopping malls in China, Nanjing has four: Golden Eagle International, Deji Plaza, Xinbai Nanjing Center, and Central Mall. Nanjing has also nurtured well-known retail enterprises such as Suning Commerce, Five Star Appliance, Suguo, and Macro Three. In terms of community convenience stores, Suguo has over 2,000 outlets covering the streets and alleys of Nanjing urban area. Its "Haode" convenience store is positioned as a mid-to-high-end convenience store, with about 2,000 SKUs per store, meeting the daily needs of white-collar workers, high-income groups, and fashion-conscious youth, with a relatively high development level. It is worth noting that Lawson also entered Nanjing this year, which undoubtedly raised the level of Nanjing's retail convenience market to a new level. During the research period, Nanjing Lawson opened five stores simultaneously and achieved a good performance of 140,000 yuan in daily sales per store. The small business formats in Nanjing market are particularly rich. There are numerous fruit stores, bakery shops, tobacco and liquor stores, etc., and the number of fruit stores greatly exceeds other formats.
  2. Research and Analysis of Mom-and-Pop Store Operations in Nanjing Market The surveyed mom-and-pop stores in Nanjing market mainly show the following characteristics: 2.1 What is your current average daily sales per store? Relatively high daily sales output: From the surveyed stores, most mom-and-pop stores have daily transaction amounts between 3,000 and 5,000 yuan, accounting for 37.7%, and another 28.2% of small stores have daily transaction amounts above 5,000 yuan. 2.2 What is your age? Store owners are mainly young and middle-aged: In terms of age structure, the main group of store owners is between 30-40 years old, accounting for 45%; followed by the under-30 age group, accounting for 29.7%. Returning home to open a store is becoming an increasingly popular choice for young people, and the trend of younger store owners in Nanjing market is obvious. 2.3 What factors do you mainly consider when stocking up? Store owners in Nanjing market value price and product completeness the most: In the research, we found that price remains the main factor affecting store owners' purchasing decisions, followed by product completeness. The demand for one-stop ordering is becoming stronger, and young store owners are no longer willing to run from one wholesale market to another like their parents did. 2.4 Where do you usually stock up from? In terms of purchasing channels, delivery by distributor sales personnel remains the main and highest proportion channel, accounting for 76.3%, while the proportion of store owners choosing internet B2B ordering is as high as 71%, indicating that B2B platforms are further strengthening their voice in the channel.
  3. Research on the Overall Development and Operation of FMCG B2B Platforms in Nanjing Market As the focus of this research, we focused on understanding the market coverage (installation rate), current development (ordering share), competitiveness (price advantage, delivery, service, etc.), and the development of advantageous platforms of FMCG B2B ordering platforms in Nanjing market. 3.1 Have you ever ordered from a B2B platform? Platform coverage in Nanjing market exceeds 90%: From the survey, 90% of surveyed store owners said they had ordered from B2B platforms, and only 8.3% said they had not been exposed to B2B platforms. 3.2 Which apps are installed on your phone? Many platforms cover Nanjing market: From the surveyed sample stores, there are 17 B2B platforms currently entering the Nanjing market. Among them, Yijiupi has the highest installation rate at 64.9%, followed by Dianda at 58.5%, and Dianshang Hulian-Dinghuobao at 57.2%. 3.3 In the last six months, which platforms have you ordered from? 3.4 In the last six months, from which platform did you order the most in amount and frequency? In terms of order volume and frequency, Dianda accounted for the highest proportion at 39.5%, followed by Yijiupi and Dianshang Hulian-Dinghuobao at 33.8% and 31.8%, respectively. 3.5 What percentage of your total orders is from B2B platforms? From the surveyed samples, 21.8% of small stores have more than 40% of their orders from B2B platforms, 31.6% have 20%-40%, and 28.9% have 10%-20%. This indicates that ordering from e-commerce B2B platforms is becoming an increasingly important purchasing channel. 3.6 How often do you order from B2B platforms? More than half of respondents said they order from B2B platforms every week, and 20% order every day. The trend of regular ordering from B2B platforms is obvious. 3.7 In the past six months, how much did you order from B2B each month? From the survey results, the highest proportion (30.6%) of store owners order between 5,000 and 10,000 yuan per month from B2B platforms. The proportion of orders exceeding 10,000 yuan is 42.9%, of which orders above 50,000 yuan account for 8.2%. 3.8 What types of goods do you order from B2B platforms? In terms of category coverage, most platforms are currently developing full categories, moving towards one-stop supply. However, according to the feedback from surveyed small stores, mineral water and beverages remain the main categories for ordering, followed by instant noodles, ham, and snack foods.
  4. Research on the Operational Capability of B2B Platforms in Nanjing Market During the research in Nanjing market, we focused on the current operation of B2B platforms and compared the competitiveness of platform companies: 4.1 Which company's sales personnel do you think visit most frequently? Nanjing Dianda's business team has the highest visit efficiency. Among surveyed store owners, 41.2% said Dianda's sales personnel visit most frequently, followed by Dianshang Hulian-Dinghuobao. 4.2 Which company's delivery speed do you think is the fastest? According to market visits, most platforms currently adopt next-day delivery. Among them, 42.2% of surveyed store owners said Dianda's delivery efficiency is high, followed by Yijiupi at 31.3% and Best Dianjia at 29.9%. 4.3 How long does it take for delivery after ordering from B2B platforms? It is understood that 71.9% of respondents said that if they order on the same day, it can be delivered the next day. However, during the summer beverage peak season, it occasionally takes until the third day, which seriously affects the ordering experience of small stores. 4.4 Which platform do you think has the most complete products? 43.2% of respondents said Dianda's products are relatively more complete. Followed by Best Dianjia at 32.2% and Dianshang Hulian at 28.8%. 4.5 Which platform do you think has the lowest price? A large proportion of respondents said that the prices of various platforms are not much different. Since commodity prices are largely affected by platform promotion intensity and frequency, the evaluation criteria for prices vary. However, from the feedback of surveyed small stores, Dianda, Dianshang Hulian, and Yijiupi have greater price advantages compared to other platforms.
  5. Comparison of Service Capability between B2B Platforms and Distributors in Nanjing Market During the research in Nanjing market, we made a special comparison between B2B ordering platforms and the current distributor model: 5.1 Which is more convenient for ordering: B2B or distributor business? 56.1% of respondents said B2B platform ordering is convenient and can basically meet one-stop ordering needs; 39.1% think distributor purchasing is more convenient, and the marginalization trend of secondary wholesalers is obvious. 5.2 Which delivers faster: B2B or distributor business? In terms of delivery speed, 46.3% of surveyed store owners said B2B platforms deliver faster, followed by secondary wholesalers at 31.6%, and 22.4% think distributor delivery is the slowest.
  6. Comprehensive Competitiveness Comparison among Platforms in Nanjing Market Comprehensive analysis: Based on voting from terminal sample stores, from seven dimensions: installation quantity, order quantity, order frequency, product richness, delivery efficiency, product price, and service visits, the results are: Dianda, Yijiupi, and Dianshang Hulian-Dinghuobao rank in the top three. Overall, in Nanjing market, Dianda has obvious advantages over other platforms in terms of market coverage, delivery efficiency, product richness, etc., and has a good reputation among terminals. From the Nanjing market research, B2B platforms have achieved good penetration and development, and retail small stores have a high acceptance and recognition of online ordering. Overall, the FMCG B2B industry is developing in a healthy and sustainable direction.
  7. Summary of Nanjing FMCG B2B Industry Market Research From the research results, the FMCG B2B platforms in Nanjing market show characteristics of large numbers, rapid development, and fierce competition. Retail small stores have a high acceptance of B2B ordering methods, and with the trend of younger store owners, the frequency and amount of B2B platform ordering will gradually increase. However, during the research, we also found some problems, as follows: 7.1 Small stores are only sensitive to price, lacking stickiness to B2B platforms When asked why small stores do not order from B2B platforms, a large part of the reason is that the price is not right; in addition to the small advantage in supply chain, we believe that B2B platforms should increase their additional advantages, such as delivery efficiency, service, or other value-added services, to increase the stickiness and loyalty of small stores. 7.2 Goods are not good, often out of stock Frequent stockouts are another evaluation of e-commerce B2B platforms by small store owners. Unsustainable supply seriously affects the ordering experience of small stores. 7.3 Difficulty in returning and exchanging goods Many times, small stores have no market concept of whether products are best-selling, which leads to many products being stocked under the "hype" of sales personnel. When products do not sell well or approach expiration, B2B platforms cannot return or exchange them in time, and ultimately the products expire or are absorbed by the store owner, which is a great impact on the trust of small store owners. How to solve the return and exchange problem is an unavoidable issue for B2B platforms. 7.4 Slow delivery speed During the research, we found that most B2B platforms adopt next-day delivery standards, while secondary wholesalers close to the market can achieve same-day delivery. "One phone call, and the wholesale is delivered immediately, no need to wait." How to solve the demand of small store owners for delivery timeliness is also a problem that B2B platforms need to pay serious attention to. Final Thoughts Nanjing, as an important economic city in the Yangtze River Delta and the capital of Jiangsu Province, is where many internet companies originated, such as Suning and Qianmi. People have a high acceptance of new technologies such as the internet, which to some extent promoted the development of B2B in Nanjing market. During the visits, we found that small store owners in Nanjing market have a high acceptance of mobile ordering, and it is common to have multiple ordering apps downloaded on one phone. However, problems such as poor delivery timeliness, poor service, and incomplete goods still exist in the development of B2B platforms. And how to truly provide more value to small store owners and truly empower small stores, B2B platforms may still have a long way to go. -END-