---
title: "Empowering Enterprise Growth with Digital Wings: What Kind of B2B Platform Do Brand Owners Really Need?"
description: "The development of information technology has brought increasing challenges to the distribution channels of traditional FMCG products. On one hand, changes in information dissemination have diversified consumer access to information, leading to more personalized consumption demands. On the other hand, the emergence of e-commerce, B2B, O2O, and other new shopping methods has weakened the traditional channel-centric mindset, making it difficult to reach all consumers through centralized channels. How should FMCG companies respond to these market changes and leverage new channels like B2B to drive new business growth?"
author: "新经销刘少德"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2020-01-07"
categories: "Brand Marketing, Retail Formats, Supply Chain & B2B"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/empowering-enterprise-growth-with-digital-wings-what-kind-of-b2b-platfor-c2ea51a9/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/empowering-enterprise-growth-with-digital-wings-what-kind-of-b2b-platfor-c2ea51a9.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/CdUruFsOKU2QwwrB17hC9w"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E4%B8%BA%E4%BC%81%E4%B8%9A%E8%85%BE%E9%A3%9E%E6%8F%92%E4%B8%8A%E6%95%B0%E5%AD%97%E5%8C%96%E7%9A%84%E7%BF%85%E8%86%80-%E5%93%81%E7%89%8C%E5%95%86%E7%A9%B6%E7%AB%9F%E9%9C%80%E8%A6%81%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88%E6%A0%B7%E7%9A%84b2b%E5%B9%B3%E5%8F%B0-c2ea51a9.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/empowering-enterprise-growth-with-digital-wings-what-kind-of-b2b-platfor-c2ea51a9/"
citation: "新经销刘少德. “Empowering Enterprise Growth with Digital Wings: What Kind of B2B Platform Do Brand Owners Really Need?.” New Distribution, 2020-01-07. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/empowering-enterprise-growth-with-digital-wings-what-kind-of-b2b-platfor-c2ea51a9/"
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---

# Empowering Enterprise Growth with Digital Wings: What Kind of B2B Platform Do Brand Owners Really Need?

> The development of information technology has brought increasing challenges to the distribution channels of traditional FMCG products. On one hand, changes in information dissemination have diversified consumer access to information, leading to more personalized consumption demands. On the other hand, the emergence of e-commerce, B2B, O2O, and other new shopping methods has weakened the traditional channel-centric mindset, making it difficult to reach all consumers through centralized channels. How should FMCG companies respond to these market changes and leverage new channels like B2B to drive new business growth?

The development of information technology has brought increasing challenges to the distribution channels of traditional FMCG products. On one hand, changes in information dissemination have made consumer access to information unprecedentedly diverse, accompanied by increasingly obvious personalized consumption demands.
On the other hand, the emergence of e-commerce, B2B, O2O, and other new shopping methods has gradually rendered the traditional channel-centric mindset ineffective. The era of trying to reach all consumers through centralized channels is gone, and FMCG enterprises are now facing more uncertainties in their operations.
How should companies respond to the constant market changes? How can they gain new business growth through cooperation with new channels like B2B?
Recently, **New Distribution exclusively interviewed Ni Zhujie, Director of eRTM at Coca-Cola China; Chen Ting, National Sales Operations Director at Unilever; and Kato Takumi, General Manager of Ezaki Glico Foods Co., Ltd.** Standing on the shoulders of global FMCG giants, we explore how FMCG companies should address changes and challenges in channel distribution.

**-01- Eliminating Data Black Holes, Expanding Store Increment**
"Growth in hypermarkets has begun to slow, while sales in small-format grocery stores and convenience stores are steadily rising. Online e-commerce and consumption in third- and fourth-tier markets are also showing explosive growth," Chen Ting told New Distribution.
This has become the most intuitive feeling for most FMCG companies regarding channel changes in recent years. Behind these changes, **besides improvements in corporate productivity, more importantly, consumer attitudes and mindsets have undergone earth-shaking transformations compared to the past.** The diversification of consumer demand has become a fact that FMCG companies cannot ignore.

Ni Zhujie, Director of eRTM at Coca-Cola China
"Economic development and changes in consumer mindset mean that consumers today not only want to drink beverages but also want to drink different beverages. Especially the rise of new-style tea drinks has unprecedentedly satisfied consumer demands and given consumers more choices," Ni Zhujie said.
"Coca-Cola has always been cautious but willing to experiment with digital channels. Every year, we cooperate with various new channels, including FMCG B2B and foodservice B2B. We know that only by partnering with such new channels can we understand their internal development logic and use them to drive new growth for our business."
JD New Channel is a typical example. With the emergence of such platforms, the previously opaque FMCG industry has become transparent thanks to digital tools. Brand owners used to have a vast number of wholesalers nationwide, but they operated independently like scattered sand, making cooperation costly and difficult. Now, B2B platforms like JD New Channel have effectively solved this problem.
**In addition to helping brand owners achieve channel digitalization and transparency, more importantly, leveraging data-driven channels and tools can genuinely help FMCG companies expand store coverage and gain new business increment.**

At the end of 2017, JD New Channel signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Unilever
Another typical case is Unilever, which screened the stores covered by JD New Channel and found that the overlap between their sales points was only 5%-10%. This means that through cooperation with JD New Channel, Unilever could quickly reach more sales points, adding hundreds of thousands of new sales points in a very short time. For brand owners, this undoubtedly represents a new round of business growth potential.
Glico, although it only established a comprehensive strategic cooperation with JD New Channel in April, has seen rapid business growth within just a few months, with monthly GMV reaching nearly 10 million yuan at its peak. Especially in weak regions like the northwest, Glico achieved a breakthrough from zero to one.
To this end, Unilever and Glico have specifically established B2B teams dedicated to B2B business. To date, the B2B channel has become one of the most important sources of business growth for many brand owners.

**-02- Deepening Strategic Cooperation, Refining User Stock**
Besides helping brand owners achieve digitalization and channel transparency, more importantly, through cooperation with JD New Channel, brand owners have more options in channel layout.
"In lower-tier markets, we previously could only cover the market by recruiting agents and deploying more distributors. But in many economically weak regions, the local population is insufficient to support a distributor's survival, posing a high challenge to our market coverage. Through JD New Channel's joint warehouses, we can share the platform's channel and warehousing resources, expand our market coverage and penetration depth, and effectively compensate for our weak offline presence in some regions," Chen Ting told New Distribution.

Kato Takumi, General Manager of Ezaki Glico Foods Co., Ltd.
Similarly, Glico also hopes to focus on third- and fourth-tier markets through cooperation with JD New Channel. "When Glico first entered China, it initially settled in East China. In the northwest and other regions, as well as the vast third- and fourth-tier markets, consumer awareness is low, and these are precisely the markets where JD New Channel has comparative advantages. In the future, we will strengthen cooperation with JD New Channel, complement each other's strengths, and continuously increase investment in brand promotion and consumer awareness," Kato Takumi said.
Coca-Cola, based on its coverage of millions of sales points nationwide, continues to deepen its connection with sales points through cooperation with JD New Channel, focusing on the existing market.

**1. Establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership**
In 2018, JD New Channel signed agreements with Coca-Cola China, COFCO Coca-Cola, and Swire Coca-Cola
As early as 2018, Coca-Cola China, COFCO Coca-Cola, and Swire Coca-Cola each signed tripartite cooperation agreements with JD New Channel. This ensures close cooperation between Coca-Cola and JD New Channel at both the brand and market execution levels, thereby ensuring that Coca-Cola China's brand marketing strategies are effectively implemented in the market.

**2. Collaborating with JD New Channel on "Boss's Afternoon Tea" Live Streaming**
In addition to strategic cooperation, Coca-Cola will also launch "Boss's Afternoon Tea" live streaming with JD New Channel. As a regular segment on the JD Boss Bao app, "Boss's Afternoon Tea" interacts with store owners through relaxed live broadcasts, providing brand owners with a more direct and effective opportunity for product promotion and user reach, thereby promoting product placement, effectively boosting conversion, and driving sales.

**3. Opening Brand Pavilions, Using C-end Thinking for B-end**
Currently, many brand owners have opened brand pavilions on JD Boss Bao. Coca-Cola hopes to leverage the incremental market to turn its brand pavilion into a platform for communication and interaction with store owners, "using C-end thinking for B-end," thereby helping store owners understand Coca-Cola's products and market policies more quickly and efficiently, and helping stores achieve more profitability.

**-03- What Kind of Digital Distribution Platform Do Brand Owners Need?**
With the continuous penetration of digital tools and technologies and deepening cooperation with B2B platforms, brand owners have increasingly higher requirements for FMCG B2B platforms. So, **what kind of digital distribution platform is truly a partner that adapts to brand development?**

**1. Information Capability**
"Stores were previously unknown to us; we didn't know their sales volume or even where they were. Now, through B2B platforms like JD New Channel, we can know where these stores are and even clarify sales for some stores. The more transparent the information, the more willing brand owners are to invest resources with a clear target. This is the value that B2B platforms can provide us, which traditional wholesale channels cannot," Chen Ting said. B2B platforms can also ensure real-time information flow and quick problem resolution, which traditional channels cannot achieve.
Beyond the distribution stage, through the Boss Manager smart store management system and JD Convenience GO mini-program, JD New Channel is also improving B2B2C data capabilities in both in-store and home delivery scenarios, truly connecting the entire chain from manufacturer to store to consumer.

**2. Store Coverage Capability**
There is significant non-overlap between brand owners' sales points and JD New Channel's, and a large proportion of these non-overlapping stores are low-VPO sales points for brand owners. Through JD New Channel's coverage capability, especially in lower-tier markets, improving brand service to such sales points can undoubtedly complement brand owners well, thereby refining the existing market and boosting sales.

**3. Technology and Data Capability**
B2B platforms have always been ahead of brand owners in applying new technologies. Typical examples include JD New Channel's Huiyan big data system, Xingzhe promotion platform, and JD Distribution Bao. The continuous application of these tools will help brand owners improve distribution efficiency and generate enormous value.

**4. High-Speed Consumer Reach Capability**
JD New Channel has completed coverage of millions of small retail stores nationwide, undoubtedly becoming a force that brand owners cannot underestimate. Moreover, JD New Channel has placed maximum effort on sales promotion.
In addition to building its own field service team nationwide, it leverages the power of joint warehouses to achieve unified and efficient store visits, continuously helping brand owners improve product sell-through in traditional small stores, greatly alleviating the pain point of high labor costs. A series of digital systems form a closed loop between online and offline, ensuring precise promotion and direct delivery of resources to the terminal.
"Through cooperation with JD New Channel, we hope to reach more consumers and cultivate consumer mindset. Glico entered China starting from the East China market, but in other regions, especially the vast third- and fourth-tier markets, consumer brand awareness is far from sufficient. Through cooperation with JD New Channel, we hope to build and enhance consumer awareness of Glico more quickly," Kato Takumi told New Distribution. In the future, consumer information from stores will also be accumulated on the platform, which will inevitably become a powerful tool for brand owners to conduct precision marketing.

**5. Strengthening Store Management, Implementing the "Six Unifications" Strategy, Truly Moving from Price War to Value War**
"In the RTM chain, there are three nodes: brand owners, channel distributors, and sales points. A B2B platform that serves one end well can survive, but if it can serve both ends well, it can create significant value for brand owners and sales points. If there is no strong control over sales points, stores can purchase from multiple channels in parallel, and then B2B competition with other channels will only fall into endless price wars, and the value generated by the platform will inevitably diminish," Ni Zhujie said. JD New Channel's "Six Unifications" strong control over stores can provide more additional services and value-added products, thereby freeing platform development from the quagmire of "price wars," which is an inevitable sign of B2B development at this stage.
"We encourage B2B platforms to strengthen services to stores through store control. We also eagerly hope to see China's millions of stores adopt unified display standards, unified and efficient procurement systems, and receive high-quality services, so that the entire industry can enjoy the fruits of digital tools and processes, truly improve the efficiency of the distribution chain, and let the world see the development speed of China's supply chain and retail with Chinese characteristics."

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## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: 新经销刘少德
- Published: 2020-01-07
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/empowering-enterprise-growth-with-digital-wings-what-kind-of-b2b-platfor-c2ea51a9/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/CdUruFsOKU2QwwrB17hC9w

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