In September 2017, after three months of interviews with over 120 supplier executives, nearly 200,000 online votes, and a survey of 99 retail suppliers and B2B platforms, the 'Supplier Satisfaction Survey' conducted by the Shanghai Eastern Century Consumer Goods Development Promotion Center, affiliated with the Shanghai Economic and Information Technology Commission, was finally released. In this official report, covering eight business formats including chain hypermarkets, chain supermarkets, chain convenience stores, premium supermarkets, e-commerce retail, mother-and-baby chains, B2B, and potential new retail, Auchan, Nonggongshang Supermarket, FamilyMart, Ole' Premium Supermarket, JD.com, Eibaby, Dianda Mall, and Hema Fresh each topped their respective categories. At the same time, several companies were at the bottom of the list and were 'criticized by name.' Among the many business formats surveyed, the development of B2B platforms attracted particular attention. According to statistics, in the first half of 2017 alone, the FMCG B2B industry saw 15 financing rounds. On the one hand, this indicates that FMCG B2B has gained sustained attention from VC institutions over the past year; on the other hand, it shows that the arrival of the new retail trend and the inherent characteristics of traditional FMCG—clearer industry chains, more obvious multi-level, upstream and downstream fragmentation—are providing more companies with opportunities to open up new blue oceans in this field. Dianda Mall, which won the '2017 B2B Supplier Satisfaction First Place' and 'Yangtze River Delta Leading FMCG B2B' honors, according to public data, focuses on the Yangtze River Delta, covering more than 30 cities and serving nearly 100,000 mom-and-pop stores. Well-known brands including PepsiCo, Jiang Xiaobai, Jinmailang, Qiaqia, and Hsu Fu Chi have successively established strategic cooperation with Dianda. The survey organizers commented that its wide market coverage and timely sharing of product sales data with suppliers were key to its high overall satisfaction. When asked about his views on winning this award, Dr. Rui Yun, Chairman of Dianda Mall, showed his signature honest and confident smile and quoted two lines from Tang Dynasty poet Liu Yuxi: 'After a thousand siftings and a hundred washings, the gold finally appears.' Bottom Line and Business Rules: B2B Should Not Lose Its Way in Short-Term Gains 'FMCG is a vast field, with suppliers and B2B platforms all playing a part,' said Rui Yun. 'But in the past few years, I have been saddened to see some chaos that undermines industry development.' In fact, since the birth of the B2B business model in the FMCG field, 'five sins'—diversion of goods, cross-regional selling, price chaos, delayed payment terms, and defaulting on payments—have become the B2B platform's reputation in the eyes of suppliers. This has left experienced brand suppliers with lingering fears, and for a long time, they have hated this emerging channel more than loved it. There is even a story circulating in the industry: a brand manufacturer, helpless in the face of its products being sold at chaotic prices through high subsidies on a platform, flew into a rage at an internal review meeting. Rui Yun believes that such chaos has touched the bottom line of the industry, and B2B platforms that disrupt the rules are already approaching defeat. For FMCG, the healthy development of the market is undoubtedly the cornerstone. New business formats and new operating models can optimize the supply chain and disrupt consumption habits, but this is different from destroying the supply chain and its rules. Large-scale diversion and cross-regional selling leading to buying low and selling high, hoarding and speculation, will quickly plunge the market into disorder; price chaos leading to the collapse of the price system will only bring temporary GMV growth to the platform, but the consequences are endless; delaying payment terms and payments is the last straw that breaks the trust between both parties. Rui Yun stated that the FMCG market is a complete ecological chain. The essence of the 'five sins' is actually low-level business behavior. Greed is the cause, and the snake swallowing the elephant is the effect. Some platforms blindly pursue development, are eager for quick success, and use VC money to disrupt the entire industry, which is very foolish. 'Those who follow the Way have many helpers; those who abandon the Way have few. This still applies to our business today,' said Rui Yun. 'Even during the most difficult entrepreneurial period, Dianda never had such thoughts. Only by respecting the rules can we be good people, do good things, and build a good enterprise.' Value Tracing: The Key to B2B Survival and Victory In the vast business world, FMCG is definitely not a high-profit industry. Even in the retail sector, it is not. Thin profits and difficulty in making money are the focus of everyone in the industry. Those B2B platforms that take risks and act as destroyers are still motivated by profit. On this topic, Rui Yun clearly has a lot to say. In his view, thin profit margins do not mean there are no profit points. The source of value should be creating value. (Photo: Rui Yun, Chairman of Dianda Mall) Previously, Rui Yun shared with the media Dianda's 'three axes' for achieving profitability: cost control, increasing gross margin, and moving upstream to brands. These three profit rules are all inseparable from operations. B2B platforms seem to be divided into two camps: pessimists and optimists. Pessimists believe that the industry's low profits are a terminal disease and that survival requires unconventional means; optimists believe that the industry's blue ocean has formed, and the market shows a situation of 'everything is ready, only the east wind is needed,' and this east wind is operational methods, and platforms must become 'wind-callers.' Today, Dianda's public data is gradually negating the former, and the company itself is gradually becoming a leader of the optimists. 'We should look for reasons within ourselves, not blame others or hurt others when encountering difficulties,' Rui Yun summarized. 'Those who fail and are declining lack patience and courage. Always thinking of getting rich overnight really doesn't work in this industry. Dianda faces the same industry, the same pain points and problems. We always feel there is no shortcut; we can only force ourselves to improve efficiency and create value as much as possible.' Facts have proven that this seemingly clumsy path has actually worked. Born from the Same Root, We Should Prosper Together 'Brothers born of the same root, connected by the same breath.' Rui Yun smiled and gestured to us. 'Suppliers and platforms like Dianda are originally brothers born in the same industry. Only when the family is harmonious can everything prosper.' This reminds one of the ancient saying: 'The right time is not as good as the right place, and the right place is not as good as the right people.' The new retail trend is in full swing, which can be seen as the right time; the openness and inclusiveness of the Yangtze River Delta region to business corresponds to the right place. But without a corporate value that embraces 'harmony among people,' it would be difficult to produce the same Dianda Mall under the same conditions. Rui Yun recalled: 'In fact, we value every supplier who comes to seek cooperation more than you might imagine. Every time they come all the way to sign contracts and discuss cooperation, I think to myself: Can Dianda do better? Can we provide more value and services to these suppliers? Dianda hopes to strive for excellence in this process. We do not want to let down any brand or any supplier's trust.' At this point, Rui Yun became a bit emotional. 'Trust must not be betrayed.' He repeated this sentence two or three times, showing a simple sincerity. Looking at this former Chinese Academy of Sciences PhD and founder of Dianda Mall, there is a precious quality shining in his business dream. Business is based on honesty, and people win by trust. No matter how difficult the road ahead, it will become a smooth path under the feet of fellow travelers who gather sand into a tower. It seems that such qualities and entrepreneurial spirit are what everyone would like to see become the norm in retail and even broader business. Source: New Retail Headlines (ID: xlstoutiao666) -END-