---
title: "In the Future, There Will Only Be Service Providers, No Distributors"
description: "In the future, manufacturers will focus on products and brand promotion, first-tier distributors will provide market services, and terminals will handle sales. All other roles will become service providers, eliminating traditional distributors."
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2016-07-20"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/in-the-future-there-will-only-be-service-providers-no-distributors-5ef824ca/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/in-the-future-there-will-only-be-service-providers-no-distributors-5ef824ca.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/kDxFAhcPO4ZENaxzdHhOiA"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E6%9C%AA%E6%9D%A5%E5%8F%AA%E6%9C%89%E6%9C%8D%E5%8A%A1%E5%95%86-%E6%B2%A1%E6%9C%89%E7%BB%8F%E9%94%80%E5%95%86-5ef824ca.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/in-the-future-there-will-only-be-service-providers-no-distributors-5ef824ca/"
usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt"
---

# In the Future, There Will Only Be Service Providers, No Distributors

> In the future, manufacturers will focus on products and brand promotion, first-tier distributors will provide market services, and terminals will handle sales. All other roles will become service providers, eliminating traditional distributors.

Summary
"In my view, manufacturers make products and do brand promotion, first-tier distributors do market services, and terminals do sales—this will be the division of labor and model for market entities in the future. To put it extremely, manufacturers are responsible for products, and all other roles are service providers; there will be no distributors..."
**In the future, except for manufacturers, everyone is a service provider**
Looking at the long term, the major trend in the baijiu industry is flattening the channel.
In the past, a prominent problem in the liquor industry was that it cared too much about circulation. Excessive circulation, long logistics times, many circulation links, heavy assets, and too many employees led to low efficiency and high costs in the entire circulation process.
Are baijiu consumers really hard to find? No! The consumption scenarios for baijiu are not that complex; they mainly fall into three categories: restaurants, bars, and at home. It can be said that the bar counter and the stove complete 80% of baijiu consumption. So, in the future, do we need to connect with consumers through such complex channels? Can we compress the levels of circulation? Can we truly place the sales function in terminal stores?
If your answer is yes, then you should understand the opportunity that Lianduan is now seizing.
In my view, manufacturers make products and do brand promotion, first-tier distributors do market services, and terminals do sales—this will be the division of labor and model for market entities in the future. To put it extremely, manufacturers are responsible for products, and all other roles are middlemen; there are no distributors, only consumers. In the future, including restaurants and supermarkets will transform into service providers. Many foreign restaurants are consignment platforms. If the liquor industry reaches this day, with sales completed by terminals, even on consignment, the entire baijiu industry will be stable. In fact, this is the ultimate model for the baijiu industry.
Lianduan is building such a service platform. First, it does not disrupt the brand's own price system; second, it does not challenge the manufacturer's voice. The voice remains in the hands of the manufacturer: how prices are presented, where to sell, what promotional strategies to use, including real-time terminal data, are all still controlled by the manufacturer. We continuously use internet means to optimize the network structure and provide information feedback and data analysis for participating companies.
In this way, Lianduan Network, terminal stores, and all intermediate distributors will become service providers. Some serve logistics, some serve platforms, some serve consumer connection—all are service providers, and there should be no distributors in between.
**Lianduan is an efficiency tool + optimization platform**
Of course, from now to the ultimate state, we need to take steps one by one. In this process, what new value can Lianduan bring to all parties in the market?
Manufacturers now need to connect more with terminals and consumers, and understand consumption habits and changes. Originally, the focus was more on what manufacturers sold; now it is more about listening to consumers' voices. This is of great value to manufacturers.
Lianduan can provide this new value. While helping manufacturers, first-tier distributors, and terminals with logistics, sales data collection, data analysis, settlement and payment services, Lianduan can also collect data, analyze terminal and user consumption habits, and provide decision-making information to manufacturers. Originally, terminal information was fed back by distributors; whatever distributors reported, manufacturers accepted. Now, manufacturers can directly view the inventory and sales status of terminals.
Take Hongxing as an example. Hongxing Erguotou has a central warehouse in Beijing. The distribution from the central warehouse to terminal stores is undertaken by first-tier distributors. Lianduan provides the electronic system, order tracking, and order content reflection. For example, if they distribute to 5,000 terminal stores, the sales situation of these 5,000 stores, how much stock is in the warehouse, and important information such as terminal feedback can be grasped by the manufacturer in real time. Previously, obtaining this information required personnel visits, possibly 200 people running for a day, but now it is not needed.
First-tier distributors have similar needs to manufacturers. After knowing basic terminal data, they will adjust their logistics direction and resources based on Lianduan's real-time data analysis. For example, the logistics resources for 100 terminals might be served by just one vehicle for delivery.
Some may ask, manufacturers can do it themselves, why cooperate with Lianduan? Actually, it is still that problem. The tool architecture only completes half; the greatest progress of the internet and informatization is ultimately sharing and openness. If each manufacturer builds an e-commerce platform, it is at most sales electronification.
Terminal procurement is multi-category and comprehensive; it will not just buy one company's products. Without integration and openness, traffic costs will never come down.
By the way, this openness will naturally come about in the future, combined with the manufacturer's own will. It is unlikely to happen through burning money subsidies; it is even more impossible to force them with a big gun. It still requires manufacturers to grasp the pace themselves and realize the value the internet will bring them in the future.
**It is unlikely for baijiu manufacturers to build independent e-commerce**
Since the reforms by merchants are not effective, will manufacturers do e-commerce themselves? Moutai and Wuliangye have begun to try channel construction based on internet platforms.
In my view, it is unlikely that traditional manufacturers can build independent e-commerce. A good liquor e-commerce channel must meet three conditions: first, it must be truly internet-based; second, it must not affect the dominance of upstream liquor factories; third, its traffic costs must be low enough.
Comparing this with manufacturers doing e-commerce themselves, the problems are clear. Since it is an e-commerce platform invested and built by the liquor factory itself, it naturally will not affect the dominance of the upstream, but the other two points are hard to avoid: first, building independent e-commerce requires a complete and matching internet-based team. Moreover, this team needs independent operation and assessment, which most liquor factories lack.
Second, independent e-commerce must be a platform, and a platform must be open. If it is not open and sharing, its traffic costs will inevitably be extremely high, and independent operation cannot digest it. Therefore, traditional manufacturers doing e-commerce can at most become online brand service stores, not true independent e-commerce. This path is not feasible.
Source: Jiushishan 679 Viewpoint Club (ID: new-food)
-END-
The best FMCG distributor learning platform in China
Focusing on providing professional, practical, and applicable tutorials for enterprises and distributors
Committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly
**The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry**
Reply with the red number below to get corresponding content
Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base
| **001** Excellent article selection | **002** Distributor market operations | **003** Terminal visit management | **004** Sales supervisor skills | **005** Sales improvement techniques | **006** Channel expansion | **007** Managing distributors | **008** Distributor development | **009** Distributor internal operations management | **010** Team management | **011** Efficient distribution techniques | **012** Sales manager's eighteen skills | **013** KA operation methods and strategies | **014** First lesson for new salespeople | **015** Internet, brand | **016** Distributor B2B transformation |
[Long press QR code to follow]


---

## 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