Click the image for details In September 2019, Yili's "Huntianyi" system was officially launched. The system can rely on digital systems to analyze, evaluate, and accurately predict market development trends, assisting in the planning and implementation of terminal outlet layouts. In addition to using the Huntianyi system at the downstream sales end, Yili also developed an MES (Manufacturing Execution System) internally to build a digital factory, achieving refined, transparent, and efficient management. In other words, Yili has planned and acted early for the future digital era, and has already achieved applications. What is Digital Yili? The following is a report on Digital Yili: Yili Group has been deploying for many years, and early on formulated the "Digital Yili" strategy to build a digital ecosystem across the entire industry chain. Digital Ranch: In Yili ranches, by promoting digital breeding, smart ranches have been created. Cows wear electronic ear tags from birth, and the tag data closely monitors various conditions of the cows. Yili Group's developed ranch management system digitizes the workflow of ranch operations. Digital Factory: Yili factories have digitized all information, creating a model room for smart manufacturing. With digital applications, real-time monitoring of operations can be done via computers. During the manufacturing process, various digital information is fed back to managers in real time, with indicators automatically aggregated and compared multi-dimensionally, benefiting from the "smart advisor." Smart Production: Relying on digital and intelligent deployment, smart production not only improves production efficiency but also ensures product quality. Yili has led the national "Smart Manufacturing Standards Research" project in the dairy industry. In addition, at the sales terminal: In terms of channel layout and consumer insights, digital smart terminals have also played a role. Through Yili's self-developed "Huntianyi" geographic big data system, digital systems analyze and accurately evaluate, precisely predict market development trends, and support precise planning and implementation of terminal outlet layouts. Overall, Yili has made digital deployments in upstream supply, internal management, and sales, showing a certain forward-looking approach. Consumer Goods Companies Need Digitalization Consumer goods companies generally exhibit a "calm and composed" temperament in the mobile era. Even with such a big trend and so many disruptive voices, not many traditional consumer goods companies have fallen. This has instead prompted some well-known consumer goods companies to forge ahead, conducting their own thinking and research, actively embracing the mobile internet and new economy, cooperating and experimenting, and striving to upgrade their management for the future digital era. So, Yili's "Digital Yili" shows us some actions in the consumer goods industry. Behind Digital Yili, there may also be thoughts that consumer goods companies need? Personally, I think it mainly includes the following points:
Recognize the future of the digital era. Not only should you not be confused by the mobile internet era (the prelude to the digital era), but you should also plan and act now. Thinking determines the way out;
Strategic attention with top-level design;
Use data as the foundation for unified deployment;
Multi-department and multi-function planning, not just the sales system, and not just based on e-commerce;
Aim for decision-making information, running through the development of the entire digital enterprise, and using that as the test for the entire system's operation; Overall, the construction of a digital consumer goods enterprise requires strategic height, data as the foundation, and decision-making and execution information as the verification basis, with full-functional implementation. Indeed, in reality, Yili has already implemented Digital Yili, but Yili is after all a traditional enterprise, which we often say is not an internet-genetic enterprise and does not have much digital gene. How can our consumer goods companies achieve sustainable growth in the future? We can still explore and supplement in the following aspects. Digital Packaging Based on the Present and the Past Consumer goods companies need to digitalize, but they should avoid traditional thinking and packaging a digital shell.
Although there is a digital strategy, the planning level is still traditional. There is no deep understanding of how a future enterprise that is mobile, digital, and intelligent will be fundamentally different from the present. For example, the transformation of business thinking brought about by the continuous improvement of consumer sovereignty.
Software development and execution are also based on tradition. That is, it may just start by moving some data or information that was originally on paper or PC to mobile phones. But sociality, collaboration, participation, etc., are not reflected.
Based on management rather than operation. That is, digitalization is not aimed at operation and performance improvement, but still aims at management convenience, control, process, and assessment.
Top-down, closed, one-way, pyramid-shaped enterprise operation logic.
...... Why is WeChat successful? It completely departed from PC, started from mobile internet, analyzed possible future scenarios, and conducted product design and software architecture. The first step for traditional consumer goods companies in digital transformation is to break inherent thinking and build digitalization based on the future, not the present or even the past. Is it a Data Entry Point or a Data Operation Management System? Overall, many consumer goods companies want to digitalize, but it is still more of an information collection system. As seen above, Yili's ranch cows, production control, market channel terminal information, etc., seem to be more dominated by information collection. Of course, information collection is the raw material for implementing Digital Yili. From this perspective, many companies, as they do it, only create a collection entry point and very simple data operation analysis capabilities. Conversely, it should also be noted that there was once a consumer goods company that did OA, CRM, ERP, etc., but lacked a data entry system. This is also something to note. This causes various management software to be developed at great expense, with inconsistent data calibers, let alone unified service for management decisions. Therefore, the basic requirement for future digitalization may be to have forward-looking top-level design and comprehensive planning, even if the digitalization of each segment is completed step by step. Terminal Management Rather Than Business Operation In its Digital Yili system, Yili has a grandly released "Huntianyi" system. This "Huntianyi" system can collect information from millions of terminal stores nationwide. According to the introduction: The "Huntianyi" system integrates internal and external multi-data sources, uses deep learning algorithms and mathematical modeling technology to accurately identify market environment and channel conditions; at the same time, it uses the most cutting-edge big data, image recognition, address parsing and other technologies to achieve smart manufacturing, integrating people, goods, and places, effectively assisting the business development of the frontline retail market. It helps special groups find the nearest retail address and gives optimal recommendation plans for different types of consumers. For example, through automated data selection of potential high-consumption areas, it increases the distribution volume of a certain category in that area, thereby expanding the market in high-consumption areas for that category. The introduction also mentions: Currently, Yili has used "Huntianyi" to establish a precise store management system covering more than 300 cities, dozens of business types, and more than 5 million outlets nationwide. Through AI and AR image automatic recognition and upload, it achieves automated real-time management and improvement of in-store distribution. In addition, drilling into transaction crowd big data, real-time analysis of crowd characteristics, in-store promotions, new product launches, distribution deepening, user (member) deep cultivation and other functions can complete blank outlet deployment, convert low-potential stores to high-potential stores, create new smart stores, and achieve city precision cultivation. I have given lectures to Yili's national channel department and regional sales managers. I roughly know that Yili's national model is mainly a distribution collaboration model, that is, Yili mainly relies on distributors for terminal control, with the company assisting. This "Huntianyi" system can control terminals that were not fully covered before, which is a major progress. However, the real future digitalization of consumer goods channels is from control to operation. That is, in addition to information understanding and decision-making, it is more important to achieve comprehensive integration of planning, orders, warehousing, promotions, marketing, activities, etc., in one system. Including intelligent sales improvement at the terminal, and even departmental management of channel intermediaries or terminals, may be realized in the future. Therefore, for future consumer goods companies, the digitalization of the sales segment should enable sales execution and business management personnel to collect data while also directly applying it to comprehensive work. Digitalization and Consumer Communication Digital Yili mentions that frontline data, after entering the backend, allows Yili to analyze based on the data, not only understanding consumers but also conducting product development based on consumer information. But based on our industry experience, we guess that Yili's system has not fully reached the consumer level, and the consumer information entered is likely indirect or incomplete. The realization of true consumer information requires a very strong consumer-oriented concept, very strong management + IT accumulation, and possibly requires employees to truly participate in data system development. For example, consumer arrival paths, communication methods, interaction systems, scenario planning, data label design, internal operation processes and systems, external cooperation processes and content, etc., all need to be deeply understood and presented through very simple operation interfaces. At the same time, the output content and charts should be planned comprehensively. Integration of Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence From the above analysis, Yili has indeed made its own performance in digitalization, and can be said to set an example. If it can better combine with the future and achieve versions 2.0 and 3.0, it should be able to provide template support for the digitalization of many small and medium-sized consumer goods companies in China, and even give some giants good reference and inspiration. Digital operation management is very large and very valuable for consumer goods companies. How to take the first step well, avoid detours, and do more exploration and preparation for digital upgrades is very necessary. Source: Food, Beverage, and Alcohol New Distribution will hold the 2019 (5th) FMCG + Internet Conference during the Chengdu Spring Sugar and Wine Fair from March 16 to March 18. This conference will focus on the topic "Breakthrough" and conduct in-depth discussions with many brand owners, supply chain service providers, distributors, retailers, etc. Compared to previous conferences, this summit will be fully upgraded. In addition to the original topics such as channel innovation, city distribution logistics, distributor transformation, it also adds multiple parallel forums such as new marketing cases, IP + FMCG empowerment, community group buying, innovative retail, etc. Through three days of ten high-density and high-quality expert sharing and exchanges, we believe every brand owner and distributor can learn the latest business models, expert opinions, and implementation methods, find new tools and methods for their own breakthrough in 2019, and return to the track of rapid growth. -END-