Currently, FMCG B2B internet platforms mainly adopt two business models: self-operated and matchmaking. Each has its own merits, with the fundamental difference lying in the ownership of goods and logistics.
Self-operated B2B platforms, represented by JD New Channel, Zhongshang Huimin, and Jinhuobao, purchase goods themselves, manage unified warehousing and distribution, and generate revenue through price differences, cost reduction, and efficiency improvement. The self-operated model has pricing power and controls warehousing and logistics, making it easier to be accepted by brand owners in the early stage. With the support of warehousing and logistics systems, it achieves high terminal stickiness, but later it may conflict with local distributors, as price is the core concern for terminal stores.
Matchmaking B2B platforms, represented by Alibaba Retail Link and Zhanghe Tianxia, do not change the traditional sales model. They facilitate transactions between traditional suppliers and supermarkets on the platform, earning profits through commissions on goods, advertising, and value-added services. They build platforms by seeking partners and cooperating with local suppliers, leveraging their resources to quickly open markets and promote rapidly without disrupting the local distribution system. However, city partners often appear in the form of franchising or joint ventures, and the execution of ground promotion is not guaranteed, requiring strong management capabilities.
Development Trends in the B2B Industry
1. The Era of Intensification
Currently, the FMCG supply chain is severely fragmented: distributors have limited categories, small stores are chaotic, logistics and warehousing are inefficient, and goods pass through at least 6-7 circulation steps from merchant to terminal. The supply chain is overly complex, leading to high costs, and these problems exist throughout the traditional retail chain. Optimizing the retail chain and moving from fragmentation to intensification is the core proposition that most B2B platforms are attempting.
2. Control and Penetration of Convenience Stores
FMCG B2B platforms are integrating terminals, upgrading small stores to chain convenience stores, rebranding, installing light boxes, and promoting platform ordering systems. Controlling terminals and incorporating them into the system is a necessary strategy for FMCG B2B platforms. According to Kantar Retail Consulting data, there are approximately 6.8 million non-chain small stores (street mom-and-pop shops), which are vast and fragmented. These stores need overall upgrades, suffer from low profitability, and lack value-added services, revealing huge market space. The B2B slogan is to solve the problems of small stores, empower them, help them upgrade, address their poor bargaining power and insufficient management capabilities, and enhance their comprehensive service capabilities. With the support of terminal stores (supply chain purchasers), B2B platforms gradually penetrate B2B2C to solve the last-mile problem for consumers, which in turn solves the traffic problem for terminal stores. Only by integrating and penetrating terminal stores can the basic information flow and logistics of B2B platforms operate.
3. Evolution to Semi-Self-Operated and Semi-Matchmaking Models
From the current development of B2B platforms, the business models of FMCG B2B platforms are becoming blurred, with semi-self-operated and semi-matchmaking forms emerging. Self-operated platforms have begun to open non-core single products to expand the number of products on the platform, while matchmaking platforms have formed teams to cooperate with brand owners to customize or self-purchase single products, attempting the self-operated model. From representatives of matchmaking platforms like Zhanghe Tianxia and Yijiupi, and self-operated platforms like Best Store Plus and Meicai, it can be seen that the semi-self-operated and semi-matchmaking model is gradually emerging. Perhaps in the near future, FMCG B2B platforms will, like B2C platforms, balance self-operation and matchmaking.
4. Retail Industry Catering to B2B
With the advent of the new retail era, traditional large supermarkets and hypermarkets are also undergoing industrial downward expansion and transformation. Carrefour, Walmart, RT-Mart, and Yonghui Superstores have all launched boutique convenience stores; Moutai released Moutai Cloud Business; and many first-line FMCG brands are also cooperating with B2B platforms to enter the B2B field. Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's WeChat terminal red envelope activities are guiding consumers to visit stores, cultivating loyalty, and creating new consumption scenarios, shopping models, and shopping experiences, which is an interpretation of new retail. The retail industry catering to B2B can only help B2B e-commerce platforms go further and gradually form a state of contention among many players.
5. Financial Empowerment of the Supply Chain
Financial empowerment of the supply chain: not only small stores need capital in the supply chain, but also distributors, delivery providers, and partners. The circulation of goods involves cost investment. Financial empowerment can accelerate supply chain operations: small stores can expand their area, upgrade their storefronts, and add services; distributors can increase categories and invest in marketing; delivery providers can increase warehouse space and delivery vehicles, and upgrade the unified warehousing and distribution model; partners can introduce new technology software or platforms and increase investment to raise equity share. Finance is not just traditional financial products like funds, loans, and credit periods; in the entire supply chain, finance can empower more dimensions, using internet thinking to derive new products that can accelerate supply chain development.
The Future of B2B Platforms
B2B will inevitably go through four stages, and it is currently in the first stage, called reshaping. In this stage, B2B platforms are investing, strengthening models, and doing a lot of basic construction: self-purchasing goods, integrating terminals, building warehouses and logistics, and mapping out territories. In this stage, each maintains its own state and waits for opportunities. Goods enter stores, traffic flows into the platform, and driving supply chain operations can achieve a closed loop. What matters in this stage is terminals, goods, warehousing, and logistics, reshaping the model.
The second stage is called alliance. In this stage, more B2B platforms will cooperate with brand owners in the traditional retail chain, emphasizing cooperation and relationships with brands. From big data in the retail chain, the core needs of terminal stores will be derived, which are not just product prices but more services, matching multi-party resources and jointly building.
The third stage is called empowerment. Small stores are most benefited in this stage. With mature supply chains and intensive development, artificial intelligence may have replaced traditional labor in this stage. There are many unknowns and possibilities for small stores' goods, capital, and traffic. With the arrival of new technology, small stores will become the core carriers of new retail in the new era.
The fourth stage is called sharing. The sharing economy has already arrived. Resource sharing does not lie with any enterprise or B-side; the ultimate beneficiaries of sharing are always C-side individuals. B2B2C is the ultimate goal of the FMCG supply chain. Purchasers in the retail chain are also consumers. Small stores are not only small B but also large C. The sharing model ultimately serves humanity.
New Perspectives on B2B
FMCG B2B is a grand spectacle. To outsiders, it may seem bland, but within the industry, it is full of joy. The FMCG B2B drama has just begun. What the future story and ending will be, let us wait and see.
Source: B2B New Vision (ID: NEW-b2b) Long press to scan and follow for more FMCG B2B information. -END-