---
title: "Do FMCG Companies Need a Middle Platform?"
description: "Currently, it is mainly the large internet platforms that discuss middle platforms; without them, they would fail. Whether to adopt a middle platform depends not only on its effectiveness but also on whether the company has the need, or admits it has a problem. FMCG companies' existing systems do not require a middle platform, but if they transform to new marketing, especially B2B digitalization and B2C community-based approaches, a middle platform becomes necessary. The middle platform for FMCG marketing should combine business and data middle platforms, and it requires organizational changes to support front-line independent business units."
author: "刘春雄"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2019-07-26"
language: "en"
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---

# Do FMCG Companies Need a Middle Platform?

> Currently, it is mainly the large internet platforms that discuss middle platforms; without them, they would fail. Whether to adopt a middle platform depends not only on its effectiveness but also on whether the company has the need, or admits it has a problem. FMCG companies' existing systems do not require a middle platform, but if they transform to new marketing, especially B2B digitalization and B2C community-based approaches, a middle platform becomes necessary. The middle platform for FMCG marketing should combine business and data middle platforms, and it requires organizational changes to support front-line independent business units.

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Currently, it is mainly the large internet platforms that discuss middle platforms. Without them, they would die.
Whether to take medicine depends not only on the efficacy but also on whether one is sick, or rather, whether one admits to being sick.
If sick, one must take medicine, unless one wants to die.
FMCG companies' existing systems indeed do not require a middle platform. However, if they transform to new marketing, especially B2B digitalization and B2C community-based approaches, a middle platform becomes necessary. The middle platform for e-commerce transactions is not discussed in this article.
The types of middle platforms in large internet platforms include: business middle platform, application middle platform, data middle platform, mobile and algorithm middle platform, technology middle platform, R&D middle platform, and organizational middle platform.
The middle platform for FMCG marketing should be a combination of business middle platform and data middle platform.
The type of resources controlled by the middle platform determines its type.
In the digital era, the resources controlled by the FMCG middle platform are first and foremost data, such as channel digitalization brought by B2B.
Secondly, the resources controlled by the FMCG middle platform are B2C touchpoint relationships, such as user relationships established after mini-program transactions and community relationships after channel community-based transformation.
Thirdly, the resources controlled by the FMCG middle platform are user information, such as membership information. This is different from B2C touchpoint relationships. Touchpoints are relationships, while user information is transaction information.
Fourth, the middle platform controls externally accessed resources.
In summary, channel digitalization (B2B) can provide B2B data; new retail can provide B2C data; new marketing can provide community data.
These data are generated at the front end and stored in the middle or back end.
The middle platform is an organizational form that efficiently combines resources with the front end.
The middle platform organization is not just about splitting the original back end into back end and middle platform. If it were only that, it might be redundant.
The middle platform organization also needs to change the front end. In fact, only by changing the front end first can the middle platform operate effectively. Therefore, the role division of marketing organizations needs to be redefined.
Traditional organizations are process-oriented central organizations. From the command system perspective, they are centralized. This is a basic feature of traditional organizations: unified command, no multiple commands; from the organizational function perspective, they are process-oriented to avoid risks, using processes to prevent individual decision-making errors.
This is the bureaucratic system we hate.
This bureaucratic system, even with the internet, remains bureaucratic. No matter how traditional organizations engage in "process reengineering," the essence remains unchanged.
This is the dual nature of industrial society organizations, a structural problem. It can be alleviated but not solved.
The organizational system characterized by a middle platform is no longer a centralized organization, no longer top-down, but a front-end organizational system of "squad leader command warfare."
The characteristics of this organization are: first, treat the back end and middle platform as resource platforms; second, turn the front end into "independent business units."
If Amoeba is forcibly turning organizations that cannot independently account into independent accounting units, the middle platform organization actually turns the front end into truly independent business units.
From a marketing perspective, only by achieving the trinity of "cognition, transaction, and relationship" can it be a truly independent business unit. In traditional marketing organizations, cognition is the role of the marketing department (brand), and even regional communication of cognition relies on the marketing department's budget. The sales department only takes on the roles of relationship and transaction. Although relationships can also bring cognitive changes, compared to the effect of mass cognition, cognition brought by relationships (word-of-mouth) is limited and long-term accumulated.
For marketing cognition, traditional sales departments can only solve B2B cognition, while B2C can solve user cognition. In traditional marketing, B2C cognition relies on the back end (marketing department).
The change that new marketing brings to the sales department is "BC integration," where salespeople are "airborne marines." "BC integration" and "airborne marines" truly achieve the trinity of cognition, transaction, and relationship, creating conditions for individual salespeople (or teams) to become independent marketing units.
The FMCG middle platform brings not only changes in weapons (data) and organization, but also changes in business logic.
The smallest business unit in agricultural society is the "family," in industrial society it is the enterprise (company), and in information society it will return to individuals or small organizations.
The smallest business unit in information society is individuals or small organizations, and in agricultural society, the family is also a small organization. So what is the difference between the two?
Family business resources are within the family, while small organization resources are in the middle platform. The back end also has resources, which are shared by everyone. The middle platform's resources (not referring to policy resources) are not only shared but also can be provided to whoever needs them.
In the information age, various departments have accumulated information resources. But the characteristic of bureaucratic systems is "self-importance with resources," leading to low resource utilization and segmentation across departments.
Data on storage devices is not a resource; it becomes a resource when combined with the front end. The value of the middle platform is to maximize shared resources. When the "squad leader calls for firepower," firepower support must be provided.
This is the model of US special forces.
Of course, this model requires time to become familiar and smooth.
The current question is: what kind of firepower does the front line need?
Provide support according to what kind of firepower is needed. This is the role positioning of the middle platform organization.
The relationship between the front end and the middle platform: the front end is both the source of information resources for the middle platform and the recipient of resources from the middle platform.
The resources of the middle platform come first from the integration of front-end resources, concentrating scattered resources into a unified whole as shared resources; second, from externally input resources.
The shared resources integrated from the front end come from B2B data, B2C data, and information from various platforms and communities (communities) interactions. After filtering and screening, information becomes valuable resources.
Many companies have completed digitalization technically, but have not turned data into resources operationally; it remains just bytes on storage devices.
What kind of firepower does the front end need? This is the core issue of the middle platform.
From a marketing perspective, the front end needs the middle platform to solve B2B, B2C, and regional communication issues.
Chinese channels are human chains; because of interpersonal relationships, promotion, orders, and distribution are derived. Therefore, although the internet cannot replace the sales force in solving B2B issues, solving B2B issues accurately and efficiently requires B2B and B2C data. Because all B2B and B2C activities will ultimately be reflected in B2B and B2C transactions. At the same time, B2B and B2C data can also provide value for building customer relationships.
New marketing has two major driving forces: IP-driven and channel + community-driven.
Channel + community-driven means channel community-based transformation and customer group channelization. Channel community-based transformation does not mean rebuilding channel communities, but fully utilizing existing channel communities, leveraging communities with strong offline relationships, and sharing the company's existing community relationships.
Channel + community-driven is neither unified company operation nor individual sales force self-building, but distributed communities. From customer group linking, it should utilize the connection capabilities of all sales force members; from community operation and data monitoring, it should use the middle platform to provide content and monitor information.
IP-driven can be back-end driven or jointly driven by the middle platform and front end, igniting communication within regions, even implementing "precision delivery" IP ignition, especially for personalized products, which should be delivered accurately.
The relationship between the middle platform and the front end and back end is also key. If not handled well, it could become two back ends.
The middle platform is a shared platform. If it is not shared, the middle platform can be organizationally integrated with the front end.
The middle platform provides support to the front end. Unlike the traditional back end, it is easy for functional departments to become power departments. The value of the middle platform is reflected in the front end.
The back end is still needed. However, the back end's functions are weakened, and some functions are transferred to the middle platform. But centralized functions still exist.
Source: Teacher Liu's New Marketing (ID: liuchunxiong1964)


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