With the explosive growth of FMCG B2B platforms over the past three years, the internetization of the FMCG industry has become a focus for brands and society at large. On December 15, a New Distribution reporter interviewed Dustin, General Manager of Sales Operations Planning, Hu Tao, General Manager of Eli, and other channel marketing staff at APP's tissue marketing headquarters for nearly two hours. Dustin fully elaborated on the practical strategies of APP's tissue sales COO Pan Jiahong and the sales operations department for Qingfeng and FMCG B2B platforms. Tentative Contact in 2016 Dustin told New Distribution that they had been closely monitoring FMCG B2B platforms since 2015. In July 2016, they formally initiated tentative cooperation with several national platforms. There were two reasons for this willingness to try:
1. Meeting current needs for outlet expansion and channel sinking;
2. Aligning with the development trend of the FMCG industry; First, although Qingfeng is the leading offline brand in tissue paper, it is also constrained by the category attributes of paper products, and there is still great potential for deepening outlet coverage. As coverage costs rise, the efficiency of terminal outlet coverage is declining. Cooperation between Qingfeng and B2B platforms in T4-T6 cities and even township markets has broad complementary and win-win space. Second, since the emergence of FMCG B2B platforms in 2015, Dustin has been closely monitoring them. From December 2015 to July 2016, for nearly half a year, the company continuously researched and verified that B2B is the correct direction for channel integration and transformation, helping to improve the efficiency of the entire FMCG supply chain. Riding the wave, Qingfeng not only wants to be the first to enter B2B but also to become a leader in the entire channel. If 2016 was just tentative cooperation, then for 2017, Qingfeng took a big step forward into FMCG B2B. Planned Cooperation in 2017 Dustin said that in 2017, Qingfeng began in-depth cooperation with some national platforms and dozens of local platforms. This made outstanding contributions to outlet expansion and sales improvement, creating considerable revenue for the company. In December 2017, GMV grew 8 times year-on-year, and by December 2018, it is expected to grow 11 times year-on-year. It is reported that while maintaining stable cooperation with various platforms, Qingfeng also offers different forms of cooperation for different types of platforms. 1. Direct operation model B2B platforms: For such national platforms, direct cooperation is carried out, with national contracts, national column activities, national product, price, and promotion planning. This reduces intermediate links and ensures efficient operation. 2. Matching model B2B platforms: For such platforms, Qingfeng designates professional distributors to join, thereby leveraging the respective advantages of manufacturer planning, platform promotion, and distributor local services. At the same time, for platforms with large sales volumes, Qingfeng has achieved factory-to-warehouse supply chain delivery, reducing logistics costs for participating distributors and ensuring operational efficiency. 3. For regional platforms: Encourage the development of regional B2B platforms, with regional docking to leverage local advantages. Tailor products, prices, and promotions to regional consumption characteristics, and coordinate development with national platforms. Comprehensive Planning for 2018 After nearly two years of exploration and practice, the complementarity between B2B platforms and Qingfeng's coverage system has fully emerged, with broad prospects for cooperation. In 2018, Qingfeng will vigorously develop B2B and strive for innovative, refined, and multi-level B2B management models, leading the new trend of new retail development. For 2018, Qingfeng's brand cooperation will focus on two points: 1. Comprehensive contact and deep cooperation;
2. Full integration into the annual marketing plan. 1. Comprehensive contact and deep cooperation. First, the attitude towards cooperation with all platforms is open and unwavering. Dustin said that in 2018, Qingfeng will fully develop cooperation with various B2B platforms. Whether local or national, active and deep cooperation will be carried out. And with key platforms, annual strategic cooperation will be formed, including new product launches, product customization, and B2B2C pilots. Qingfeng is confident in maintaining its position as the market share leader on various B2B platforms. 2. Fully integrate B2B into the annual marketing plan. From trial to deep cooperation, in 2018, annual joint business plans will be signed based on cooperation with various platforms. And B2B will be standardized into Qingfeng's GT distribution system, with long-term B2B planning to supplement and improve coverage of blank small stores offline. Looking at the overall B2B practice strategy of the Qingfeng brand, New Distribution has three viewpoints:
From Qingfeng's low-key trial in 2016 to comprehensive promotion in 2018, it will provide enlightenment of different significance to FMCG B2B and even the FMCG industry;
Taking the first step is far more strategically visionary than brands that have not yet started. It takes the lead in accumulating big data on brand operations, conducts thematic interpretations based on data accumulation, and launches market operation strategies based on big data. The determination to win the market is fully reflected;
From the configuration of Qingfeng's new retail department, to the division of channels (included in the GT distribution system), to product planning, it can be seen that Qingfeng's attention to B2B is not limited to channel increment. In the future, as B2B platforms mature, the focus will shift from channel increment to O2O and omni-channel marketing. After two years of trial and exploration, in December 2017, Qingfeng, as the first brand in China's paper category, took the lead in giving a response strategy for B2B platforms. This is not only recognition and support for B2B platforms, but also a signal release. Regardless of which B2B platform ultimately wins, and what the final business model looks like, B2B platforms will eventually penetrate and even reconstruct the channel structure of China's FMCG industry! -END-