Currently, FMCG B2B has entered a period of rational development. During this period, brand owners, distributors, and platform operators all need to think more rationally about what the core value of B2B is and how to do B2B well. What is B2B? In the early stage, the concept of B2B was somewhat confusing. When B2B was mentioned, it was often associated with platform operators like Retail Link, New Access, and Yijiupi, with the belief that they were B2B or represented B2B. This understanding is incomplete. Literally, B2B is business-to-business transactions, that is, transactions between enterprises. Currently, B2B accurately refers to the transformation from traditional offline transactions to online transactions, relying on the internet. Originally, transactions occurred offline, with the main transaction processes realized offline. B2B aims to turn these offline transactions into online ones, with the main transaction processes realized online. Therefore, the accurate definition of B2B is essentially a transaction method. It is a shift from offline transactions to online transactions based on the internet. What can this change in transaction method bring? It is the word "efficiency." This is mainly reflected in five aspects: First, B2B can make transactions anytime and anywhere: The most direct manifestation of B2B is the change in transaction efficiency. Original offline transactions were limited by time and space; people had to be present for transactions, and orders were only placed during normal working hours. Under the B2B transaction model, with the online transaction method built on mobile internet connections, transactions can become anytime and anywhere. This eliminates the previous time and space constraints. In simple terms, transaction efficiency will be significantly improved. Second, B2B can connect the entire transaction chain: Original transactions were segmented into many links: from brand owners to intermediaries, with multiple distribution levels among intermediaries, and then from intermediaries to retailers. These links were relatively independent, with their own business systems and logistics delivery systems. Theoretically, multiple links will inevitably lead to reduced transaction efficiency, especially in order efficiency, inventory efficiency, and delivery efficiency. The B2B transaction model can theoretically connect various transaction links, enabling order sharing, inventory sharing, and delivery sharing. Theoretically, it can achieve a single order system, a single inventory system, and a single delivery system reaching the end terminal, supporting the reduction of intermediate links or supporting full-chain data connectivity and sharing. This will bring very important value to the improvement of transaction efficiency. Third, B2B can generate digital decision-making, digital execution, and digital collaboration: Chinese society is gradually becoming a digital society, or rather, digitalization has already played a very important role in Chinese society. Especially in the e-commerce field, a digital operation model has basically been formed. For example, JD.com, which faces 6.5 million SKUs to hundreds of millions of users and still achieves next-day delivery, relies on a digital operation system. The change brought by digitalization is to transform business operations from being human-centric to digital-centric, forming a new operation system of digital decision-making, digital execution, and digital collaboration. Achieving digital operations requires building a digital tool system centered on connectivity: connectivity generates data, and data generates intelligent digital decision-making, execution, and collaboration. In the future, digitalization will inevitably become the basic operation model of Chinese society. All enterprises will also operate under this basic model. The urgent task for enterprises is to build such a digital operation system. From a certain perspective, B2B is the infrastructure that helps enterprises achieve digital transformation in marketing. And this infrastructure will definitely be very important in the future. Fourth, B2B can achieve more efficient delivery: Essentially, the core links of enterprise marketing are two: order and delivery. The design of enterprise marketing models revolves around changing order and delivery efficiency. In a narrow sense, B2B's main function is to solve order efficiency, but it can also bring important value in improving enterprise delivery efficiency. For enterprises, delivery efficiency is definitely very important, whether it is B2B delivery or B2C delivery. In the current omni-channel environment, enterprises must study both B2B delivery efficiency and B2C delivery efficiency. B2B can leverage the connectivity of the entire transaction chain and the system's order aggregation function to separate orders from delivery, enabling goods to remain stationary while orders move. This is very valuable for improving delivery efficiency and reducing costs; moreover, under this model, it can support omni-channel and multi-form delivery, supporting both B2B and B2C delivery. Fifth, B2B can innovate enterprise marketing efficiency: Compared to the diverse marketing methods available online, traditional offline marketing models were very singular. From the current perspective, in the online transaction environment, both marketing models and marketing tools can innovate many new plays. Especially with the connectivity environment, it is possible to manage users more effectively. Therefore, overall, transforming to the B2B model is very important and urgent for enterprises. In the future, enterprise marketing models will definitely be reconstructed based on the B2B environment. Enterprises must understand B2B from its essence and not just look at current phenomena. In recent years, there have indeed been many chaotic phenomena in the development of B2B. In fact, these are normal and are the necessary costs paid during the process of exploration and development. However, enterprises must not only look at the chaos; they must see through the phenomena to understand the essence of the B2B model and the future of the industry. Through years of exploration by various platforms and types of enterprises, the development trend of B2B is becoming clearer, and the future market structure is becoming more defined. Looking at B2B from Four Perspectives I have always believed: B2B is the infrastructure that promotes the marketing transformation of FMCG enterprises and is the underlying architecture for reconstructing the new marketing model of the FMCG industry. In the future, the marketing model of FMCG enterprises will be built around the B2B model, constructing a new marketing model. From the current perspective, this model reconstruction involves four main links: brand owners, intermediaries, platform operators, and terminal retailers. These four links must find their new positions and new models in the reconstruction. In this process, it is important to conduct in-depth research on model transformation from two aspects: First, the technical logic: From a specific perspective, B2B is mainly a tool that uses technology to change efficiency. That is, B2B mainly uses technology to solve transaction efficiency issues. B2B itself does not represent a specific business model, or rather, no matter what the transaction model is, B2B can be used to solve efficiency problems. Second, the business logic: This is the key aspect. That is, enterprises need to study how to reconstruct a new business model in the B2B environment, combined with their actual business. Because although B2B uses technology to change efficiency, it breaks some traditional business logic. In this regard, whether it is brand owners or intermediaries, the business model logic differs greatly between different enterprises. It is also necessary to see clearly: B2B itself does not have the natural attribute of disintermediation. Whether to remove intermediaries is a matter of your business model design. This is not a problem that B2B needs to solve. What needs to be seen more clearly is: In the future Chinese market, whether it is the B2B market or the B2C market, it will move towards a diversified market structure. Enterprises must adapt to this diversified market structure change as soon as possible. From this perspective, the transformation of enterprises to the B2B model does not involve who replaces whom or who controls whom. That is, the concern about whether they will be controlled by platform operators is particularly prominent now. Platform operators are just one component of channel diversification. Of course, stronger platforms have greater value, while weaker platforms have relatively less value. From the perspective of market competition, there will inevitably be strong and weak players. Of course, in recent years, some platform operators have set very ambitious goals, attempting to "control." Control is a desire, but whether it can be realized in reality is another result. Therefore, the key to enterprise transformation to B2B is that the business model design must adapt to the diversified development trend. Based on the above analysis, brand owners, intermediaries, platform operators, and terminal retailers all need to redesign and plan new business models in the B2B environment, combined with their actual business. From the perspective of brand owners: I believe: The B2B transformation of brand owners is the main driving force for the next stage of B2B development. Moreover, transforming to B2B will definitely bring the greatest value to brand owners. Because from a direct perspective, B2B is a new efficiency tool that completely changes the marketing efficiency of brand owners. From the prominent problems faced by some B2B platform operators in recent years, the main issue is that brand owners have not yet taken action. Therefore, there is a lack of product support and promotional support from upstream brand owners. In such an environment, platform operators find it very difficult. The key to brand owners' B2B transformation is the design of a new business model based on the B2B environment. There are two key points: First, how to reconstruct the existing distribution system, that is, the transformation of the existing market; Second, how to face the model adjustment of channel diversification, that is, how to do well in the incremental market. Of course, the solution to these two problems is intertwined. Enterprises must use new B2B tools to solve the efficiency problems of the existing distribution system, and they must also use the new B2B model to respond to the development trend of channel diversification. It is impossible to abandon the existing market, and it is unrealistic not to correctly face the new opportunities brought by diversification in the incremental market. Therefore, the key is to solve these two contradictions as soon as possible. Through B2B transformation, the existing market should achieve a smooth transition, and with new tools, better tap the potential of the existing market, while also seizing the new opportunities of the incremental market brought by diversification to achieve better market development. The core point of the entire business model design is: whether to limit to the existing distribution field or to achieve business sinking and connect the entire transaction chain. From the perspective of future development trends, connecting the entire transaction chain is the inevitable direction of development. In fact, the connection of the transaction chain is only the connection of the order chain and the delivery chain, not the full control of the entire transaction chain. Because there are many factors affecting orders, and from both theoretical and practical perspectives, the intermediary link has important value in affecting order efficiency. Therefore, brand owners transforming to B2B does not mean cutting off distributors, but rather promoting the transformation of distributors together. Of course, in this transformation, the functions and value of distributors will change. Therefore, the focus of brand owners' B2B transformation is to design an open, new distribution system that can face the diversified development trend of the future market. On this basis, with the technical support of B2B, form an efficient transaction system. From the perspective of distributors: Currently, the B2B transformation of distributors is very urgent. For distributors' B2B transformation, don't think too much. For the time being, position B2B as a tool to solve existing business efficiency. Therefore, distributors' B2B transformation is to give full play to the five efficiency values of B2B mentioned earlier, and first make good use of this tool that can change current business efficiency. The traditional business model of distributors is definitely no longer viable. If you can do B2B well, it will bring you tremendous efficiency changes. In recent years, many distributor enterprises that have transformed to B2B have been observed. Those that positioned the transformation as a tool have achieved better development, but some enterprises that wanted to become platforms from the start encountered problems. Of course, many factors are involved, but the main issue is still the design of the business model. Looking to the future, the overall market structure will be: Under the B2B transaction model, regional B2B trading platforms will play a very important role. In the future regional market, there may be both large platforms like Retail Link, New Access, Yijiupi, and Shuhai covering the market, as well as regional, vertical, and professional platforms with strong market service capabilities. My judgment: In the future distribution market, the B2B transaction model will be the mainstay. In the market, there will be B2B systems built by some large brand owners, some regional B2B systems, and national market coverage B2B systems like Retail Link, New Access, and Shuhai. These B2B systems either have strong marketing capabilities and the ability to capture orders, or have strong delivery capabilities and cover the market with the advantage of delivery capabilities. From the current perspective, for large brand owners, building a new B2B distribution system is a must. At the same time, facing the diversified development trend of channels, it is also necessary to consider connecting with various platforms and leveraging their market coverage value. For distributors who have the ability, conditions, and willingness to grow in the future, they should seize the current opportunity and transform to the B2B model as soon as possible. They should rely on their existing product and team advantages as distributors and systematically transform as soon as possible. The key to distributors' B2B transformation is to form regional market coverage density. For enterprises without the ability or conditions, they should also explore how to cooperate with B2B platforms as soon as possible and explore new distribution models under the future B2B environment. From the perspective of platform operators: After years of reshuffling, the platform operator group has basically left a few large platforms. From recent market visits and research, several large platforms are also undergoing market adjustments. Currently, from the perspective of platform operators, the key is to return to rationality. Seeking rapid growth is unrealistic, and controlling stores is also difficult to achieve. Regarding the transformation of platform operators, there are several suggestions: First, adjust the direction: Shift from controlling stores to controlling goods, from mainly serving small stores to focusing on serving upstream brand owners. Through years of practice, it is difficult to force brand owners to cooperate by controlling stores. Stores are hard to control, and stores without upstream product support and promotional support are even harder to control. Although some platforms have signed cooperation agreements with hundreds of brands, there is no substantive cooperation, meaning brand owners have not shifted their channel focus to B2B. From the current perspective, platform operators do not have the ability to serve brand owners well. Platform operators should transform by shifting their focus to serving brand owners, either serving head brand owners or serving small and medium brand owners. By starting from serving brand owners, and having the ability to serve brand owners well, they can obtain corresponding product and marketing support, and thus have the ability to capture small stores. Without such ability, they cannot effectively control stores. Second, shift from national market layout to key market layout: Make the regional market thorough. It is not necessary to do 1 million stores; the market value generated by making the regional market thorough is more important and will have a greater impact on brand owners. Third, the market should be solid: Not too superficial. Doing the market does not rely on shouting; it mainly depends on results. Many business logics still need to be thought through fundamentally, and solving current problems still requires finding the right methods fundamentally. Platform operators are one component of the future B2B market, but not the only one. The key is to find their own position and leverage their own advantages. From the perspective of terminal retailers: In fact, the terminal retailer link is the easiest to solve in the B2B transformation process. Don't worry about their acceptance of new tools and models; focus on the new value that new models can bring them. For terminal retailers, the most important thing is to focus on their own interests. No matter what the model, if it can create new value for them, it will be welcomed. Conversely, only some illusory value is hard for small stores to accept. Product advantages, price advantages, and promotional support advantages must be the main focus of small stores. In summary, the new internet environment has created important transformation opportunities for enterprises to switch to new marketing models. The core of enterprise transformation to B2B is to use new technical means to change marketing efficiency, and the focus is to reconstruct the business model under the new environment.