---
title: "How a Distributor of Dali, Lay's, Oishi and Dozens of Other Snack Brands Became a Leading Local Player"
description: "This article profiles Zhou Dengyu, deputy general manager of Guiyang Yibai Trade, a snack food distributor that survived a near-collapse by refocusing on its core business. It details how the company used digital tools, a rigorous product selection process, and a clear strategic direction to thrive in a challenging market."
author: "周群"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2020-08-02"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/how-a-distributor-of-dali-lay-s-oishi-and-dozens-of-other-snack-brands-b-2f762c95/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/how-a-distributor-of-dali-lay-s-oishi-and-dozens-of-other-snack-brands-b-2f762c95.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/RmRtR6aWB3Op-V0tE4uxiw"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E4%BB%A3%E7%90%86%E8%BE%BE%E5%88%A9-%E4%B9%90%E4%BA%8B-%E4%B8%8A%E5%A5%BD%E4%BD%B3%E7%AD%89%E6%95%B0%E5%8D%81%E4%B8%AA%E4%BC%91%E9%A3%9F%E5%93%81%E7%89%8C%E7%9A%84%E7%BB%8F%E9%94%80%E5%95%86-%E7%A8%B3%E5%9D%90%E6%9C%AC%E5%9C%B0%E5%A4%A7%E5%95%86%E8%A1%8C%E5%88%97-%E4%BB%96%E6%98%AF%E5%A6%82%E4%BD%95%E5%81%9A%E7%9A%84-2f762c95.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/how-a-distributor-of-dali-lay-s-oishi-and-dozens-of-other-snack-brands-b-2f762c95/"
usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt"
---

# How a Distributor of Dali, Lay's, Oishi and Dozens of Other Snack Brands Became a Leading Local Player

> This article profiles Zhou Dengyu, deputy general manager of Guiyang Yibai Trade, a snack food distributor that survived a near-collapse by refocusing on its core business. It details how the company used digital tools, a rigorous product selection process, and a clear strategic direction to thrive in a challenging market.

**Click the image above for details**
In recent years, all industries have been talking about trends, and the distribution industry is no exception. Ten years ago, Taobao and JD.com rose rapidly, and some said e-commerce was the trend; four years ago, JD New通路 and Alibaba Retail Link emerged, and some said B2B was the trend; two years ago, community group buying blossomed everywhere, and some said home delivery was the trend; a year ago, Li Jiaqi and Viya sold tens of billions of yuan in goods annually, and some said live-stream selling was the trend... **What exactly is a trend?** In today's rapidly iterating internet era, no one can predict what tomorrow's trend will be. **I once saw a viewpoint: For a traditional distributor deeply rooted in offline channels, by the time you see a trend dividend, it's basically already the tail end of the dividend.** Indeed, **for distributors, rather than chasing trend dividends, it's better to focus on the direction of business development. How to plan the direction of business development is a question every distributor must ponder deeply.**

Recently, New Distribution interviewed a snack food distributor, Mr. Zhou Dengyu, deputy general manager of Guiyang Yibai Trade. In the urban area of Guiyang, with a population of over three million, they represent more than 70 snack food brands, including Dali, Want Want, Lay's, Oishi, and Ferrero, covering 1,100 SKUs.

Founded nearly twenty years ago, Yibai Trade has had its ups and downs. After weathering storms, how did they find the direction for business development and continue to improve? Hopefully, their experience can provide inspiration and thought to distributors still feeling lost.

**-01-**
**From the trough, find a new direction!**
Yibai Trade was established early, in 2001, when Guiyang had its first supermarket. After its establishment, it also actively and rapidly developed. In 2017, as New通路 and Retail Link rose, and unified warehousing and distribution became hot, Yibai Trade also seized the opportunity and actively prepared. However, after a period of operation, the online business did not bring the expected returns, and even required huge additional funds later. To secure follow-up operating funds, they also sought investors and did roadshows, but investors were not interested.

In this situation, the company suffered a major internal upheaval: the chairman passed away, and the company was on the verge of dissolution. At that time, Yibai Trade's biggest thought was to survive—how to stay alive after the upheaval. Based on this, Yibai Trade's management team reorganized the company's business and formulated a series of measures to address the current problems.

**First, subtract projects: cut all projects that have not yet generated benefits.** B2B and unified warehousing and distribution require dedicated operations teams and substantial capital investment, so they stopped the ongoing B2B e-commerce and unified warehousing and distribution projects, focusing on traditional trade.

**Second, subtract business: exit KA supermarkets and concentrate on circulation channels.** There are two reasons for not doing supermarkets: on one hand, many brands do direct operations in supermarkets, so they don't need us; moreover, supermarkets have many requirements and low profits, making it difficult; on the other hand, the large circulation channel is the company's key development direction, and in recent years, community supermarkets and convenience stores have developed well.

**Third, subtract products: focus on the snack food category and become a one-stop supplier for snack foods.** Previously, Yibai Trade also represented condiments, beverages, and even paper products, but only for circulation channels, and managing over 2,000 SKUs was very difficult. So the management team decided to focus on the category where Yibai had the most advantage—snack foods.

At the same time, due to their previous B2B experience, Yibai Trade still had some layout in online business, becoming a supplier to Xingsheng Youxuan, a leading community group buying platform. Zhou Dengyu told New Distribution that this is also a future growth point for Yibai Trade.

In this way, Yibai Trade not only was not defeated by the difficulties, but was able to develop steadily upward even as the distribution business became increasingly difficult. From being on the verge of bankruptcy, they now have over 70 employees, 15 delivery vehicles, and nearly 5,000 square meters of standardized warehousing and distribution center.

Zhou Dengyu told New Distribution that Yibai Trade not only made major changes in the company's development direction but also tried new methods in internal organizational management. **First, use digital tools for business management to ensure good sell-through and distribution; second, provide quality products to satisfy customers.**

**-02-**
**Digital tools are a major boost for distributors to become stronger!**
Zhou Dengyu told New Distribution that Yibai Trade has always practiced a principle: **Providing good service is the best way to ensure product sell-through and distribution.** This service is not simply visiting to sell goods, but a complete set of services. Through the use of digital tools, they optimize business visits and services, and make logistics more efficient.

Yibai Trade started using digital tools seven or eight years ago. Before that, salespeople were inefficient; they had to check in at the company every day, then visit terminals. During visits, it was unclear whether required actions were completed, and many problems could not be reported in time.

After customers placed orders, the process was also complex: the salesperson had to bring the order back to the company, the clerk reviewed it, and the warehouse issued the goods. The entire process was very long, often causing customers to run out of stock for several days before receiving goods.

**Now, with digital tools, all salesperson actions are visible, and process management is greatly strengthened.** At Yibai Trade, salespeople do not need to come to the company every day; they come twice a week, and all other issues are resolved with digital tools, greatly improving efficiency.

At the same time, **all Yibai Trade customers are filed in the system, and salespeople only need to follow routes and visit according to system prompts. All filed customers are visited at least once a week. Whether the customer places an order or not, all process actions must be completed.**

After products enter the store, salespeople immediately check the shelves and use product combinations for attractive displays, such as pairing snack food displays with small children's toys to attract consumers. For hanging products, they promptly set up hanging nets and auxiliary display tools near the cash register.

Yibai Trade's salespeople have assessments based on product and goal orientation, such as new product promotion, display arrangement, and after-sales handling. These all have process goal assessments, and the system records them. In this way, salespeople will sincerely provide service during terminal visits, and customer satisfaction will improve.

From the perspective of business visits, the use of digital tools improves salesperson efficiency while ensuring service quality. From the perspective of logistics and distribution, digital tools make delivery faster and more efficient.

Snack foods differ from beverages; the rate of split-case orders is high, making fast delivery difficult, but Yibai Trade's delivery efficiency is high. After a salesperson places an order at the terminal, the order is transmitted in real time to the backend, reviewed, and quickly sent to the warehouse, then delivered to the terminal. The entire process is controlled within two days.

To achieve efficient delivery, Yibai Trade has also established a specific rule: if delivery is not made on time, customers receive a late subsidy.

If a customer orders on the same day with an order amount of 300 yuan or more, and there are no special circumstances, delivery will be made within two days from the next day. For cash customers, if delivery is not made on time, the company compensates the customer 1% of the order amount for each day overdue, with a minimum subsidy of 20 yuan. Logistics personnel who fail to deliver on time are also penalized according to this standard.

Even during the most severe months of the epidemic (February-March), Yibai Trade, while taking protective and disinfection measures, still ensured all-round customer delivery services, making customers feel our quality service during the special period.

The use of digital tools not only qualitatively improved salesperson efficiency but also won customer trust in service, greatly increasing customer loyalty, and the overall business is actively developing upward.

**-03-**
**Quality products are the foundation for customer choice!**
As is well known, the most important thing in snack food distribution is product selection, especially in circulation channels. The quality of products directly determines whether the business can succeed. Without good products, no matter how high the efficiency or how good the service, if the terminal cannot sell through, the result is still zero. That is why Yibai Trade has established a complete set of logical methods for product selection.

Zhou Dengyu told New Distribution that there is a core point: **Be sure to do product combination well, pairing first-tier products with third- and fourth-tier brands.**

Everyone understands the logic: first-tier products are used to open sales channels; terminals are willing to accept your products because they must have certain brands. But the disadvantage of first-tier products is obvious: low profit, so you need third- and fourth-tier high-profit brands to increase profits.

As for how to determine whether a product is suitable for terminal sales after selection, Yibai Trade's trial sales system perfectly solves this problem.

Yibai Trade has laid out some wholesale stores in Guiyang. Zhou Dengyu explained, **Wholesale stores have low profit margins; they mainly serve a display function. When new products arrive, wholesale stores conduct trial sales.**

**At the same time, they also select some quality customers and place new products in their stores for trial sales. The trial sales period is 2-3 months. If trial sales are not good, the company bears all losses for the stores. If trial sales are good, the company increases investment and promotes them on a full scale.**

Not only that, the sales team conducts data analysis on products every quarter. Whether a new product is worth promoting is decided jointly by the sales team and management team; it must be approved by the majority before introduction. **Based on this, Yibai Trade maintains a 10% annual product elimination rate, while correspondingly introducing new products, continuously screening to ensure all products are quality products that satisfy customers.**

Through this product selection method, Yibai Trade's brand structure has gradually become more complete, covering various areas of snack foods: pastry series, cooked food series, children's candy and toy series, puffed potato chip series, biscuit series, instant cereal series, instant noodles/fans/self-heating rice series, candy and jelly series, nut and fried goods series, and dried fruit series, with nearly 1,100 SKUs.

**Final words:**
The distribution business has reached a point where dividends are basically gone. In an environment lacking dividends, how should distributors go further?

For this question, Zhou Dengyu has his own views. **First, find your own positioning. Yibai Trade positions itself as a snack food operator, and through this positioning, tells salespeople that they are the category business consultants for small terminal stores, not limiting themselves to selling goods for sales volume.** **Second, leverage the momentum of the internet. Although they missed the online dividend, online resources are still available. Distributors should learn to borrow momentum, using platform traffic to develop their own traffic.** Distributors should not regard online platforms as a flood of beasts; community group buying and B2B platforms still have many resources. If handled well, they can be a significant increment.

New Distribution has previously mentioned two future directions for distributors: **Category operators, who become operation service providers for a certain category and serve as category business consultants for small stores; and channel suppliers, who provide one-stop product supply around circulation stores.**

Whichever direction, do not limit the business to offline, but combine your own advantages and gradually penetrate into new retail, community e-commerce, and other online fields for multi-dimensional development.


---

## Copyright and AI use

This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL.

Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671