Pan Wenfu's 2015 public course "Distributor Internal Management" will be held on November 7-8 in Wuhan, Hubei. Interested distributors can see the detailed introduction at the bottom of this article.
Although distributor bosses have registered companies and set up departments, offices, middle managers, and rules, the core of their operations and management remains at the level of a wholesale market. In short, they have the "shell" of a company but the "core" of an individual business. Now, upstream manufacturers and downstream terminals are changing, so having just a company shell is useless. As a distributor boss, after registering the company, the next step is to conduct in-depth corporate transformation to truly achieve corporate operation. This will enable effective connection with external partner institutions and lay a solid foundation for the future development direction of networking, systematization, process orientation, and standardization.
So, where does the corporate transformation of distributors begin, and what pitfalls or key points should be noted? In recent years, I have helped some distributor companies with their corporate transformation, and from this experience, I have summarized some insights and identified some problems.
- Clarify the significance of corporate transformation Corporate transformation must genuinely connect with external manufacturers and distributors, with practicality as the starting point and effective connection with upstream and downstream as the goal. It should not become a vanity project.
Some distributor bosses focus too much on surface projects, hanging so-called corporate culture slogans on office walls, gathering employees in the morning to read company declarations, and putting up large outdoor billboards... These are flashy and even cause employee resentment. Corporate transformation is ultimately for connecting with upstream and downstream customers and making employees' work more efficient, not just to satisfy the boss's vanity and visual preferences.
Rome wasn't built in a day Some distributor bosses are too impatient during the transformation process, trying to develop and implement a complete system within three to five days to solve all management and operational problems. This impatience is understandable, but such matters cannot be rushed. The entire transformation process requires internal interviews, external research, planning and design, system design, process design, contingency planning, trial runs, revisions, and internal promotion. In short, it is a gradual, orderly workflow that requires time to design and implement, typically taking about twenty working days. Even after the relevant system plan is introduced, there must be a gradual adjustment process. The effects of corporate transformation will gradually become apparent only after one to two months.
Don't work behind closed doors Corporate transformation is a professional task that involves many professional aspects and sometimes requires referencing the management and operational systems of formal enterprises. However, many distributor bosses have no experience working in a corporate environment and have only a superficial understanding of modern corporate management systems. If the boss tries to do it alone, they may find it "more than they can chew," and might end up with a hodgepodge. The new system may not be effectively introduced and could even disrupt existing workflows. The expected goals may not be achieved, and they may lose more than they gain. Therefore, when conducting systematic transformation in a distributor company, if professional content is involved and the boss is not skilled or familiar with it, they should consult professionals to ensure the scientific and systematic nature of the rectification. Even if extra costs are incurred, it is worth it.
Where to start with people If the company has operational problems and employees are not managed well, the boss bears more than 80% of the responsibility. In other words, the root of most problems lies with the boss. In the transformation of a distributor company, the first step is to transform the boss themselves. Specifically, what aspects should be addressed?
A: Accept and understand new viewpoints; don't cling to old ideas. B: Start by regulating the boss's own words and deeds, so employees can see the change in the boss directly. C: Avoid offending employees with words. The boss hasn't been an employee for many years, so they cannot truly empathize with how employees think. Sometimes, the boss speaks from a boss's mindset, thinking they are right, but employees find it harsh and ridiculous.
Which department to start with In a slightly larger distributor company, there are generally four departments: sales, administration and logistics, finance, and warehousing and distribution. The core department is naturally sales. Logically, administration, finance, and warehousing should serve the sales department so that it can effectively conduct business with external customers. However, in reality, the sales department often cannot enjoy these internal services and instead has to accommodate the non-sales departments. Additionally, they face customer difficulties externally, so sales staff are caught in the middle. Therefore, in corporate transformation, start by emphasizing that non-sales departments must serve the sales department.
Which tasks to start with To achieve good transformation results, generating employee interest is key at the initial stage. Therefore, in the first batch of transformation work, avoid serious content such as rules and regulations, attendance, performance appraisals, and penalties. In short, don't tackle tasks that will cause employee resistance first. Instead, start with life-related aspects and humanized management measures. For example, purchase equipment that makes employees' lives easier (water dispensers, microwaves, refrigerators), add common medicines for employees to use, and provide umbrellas for borrowing on rainy days. These humanized measures cost little but make employees feel the company's warmth and internal service. At that point, the boss can clarify that this is part of the transformation, guiding employees' interest and acceptance of subsequent projects.
Clean up before rectification Even the smallest distributor company has a pile of internal and external problems. Before implementing solutions to these problems, first clarify the current issues. Handle those that can be solved with simple cleanup steps first, so employees can directly see that the company is undergoing obvious changes.
Specific cleanup items:
- Documents and archives
- Office housekeeping (clean walls and personal office desks)
- Centralized placement of office equipment and supplies
- Warehouse organization and drawing a warehouse map
- Summary of customer complaints
- Summary of reasons for customer non-payment
- Chart display of business distribution
- Chart display of sales staff's weekly travel plans
- Chart display of each department's current workflow
- Quantify as much as possible In a distributor company, once the number of employees exceeds eight, internal disputes increase. Disputes arise because there is no evidence or quantitative standards. The simplest way to solve disputes is to quantify all work and processes. Of course, at the initial stage of corporate transformation, it is impossible to quantify all work, but some simpler tasks can be quantified, for example:
- When transmitting information internally, require both parties to provide written explanations and sign
- Use fingerprint attendance machines instead of traditional time clocks
- Sales staff count daily actual sales and post them on the wall the same day
- Between employees and their supervisors, both parties must keep records of tasks assigned or communicated for verification
- When departments accept work tasks, they must clearly state the number of working days required to complete the task, and this response must be posted on the wall
Employee symposiums During the initial phase of corporate transformation, the boss should hold multiple special symposiums with employees to inform them of the purpose, plan, and progress of the transformation. Don't work on these things alone in a corner, as this will make employees think the boss is secretly designing new punitive strategies, leading to vigilance and resistance. After implementing the transformation system, promptly listen to employee feedback and suggestions for improvement to make timely corrections. For transformations that involve significant adjustments or affect business security, it is best to conduct small-scale trials first.
Improve internal security and monitoring systems Safety is the prerequisite for a company's longevity, but in recent years, distributor companies have suffered from theft, fire and water damage, malicious payment delays, and other accidents. The main reasons are the boss's lack of internal security awareness and relevant security equipment. At the initial stage of corporate transformation, implement security measures, including:
- Anti-theft alarm equipment for warehouses and finance departments
- Surveillance cameras for important departments, offices, and warehouses
- Fire-fighting equipment
- Publication of accounts receivable and risk assessment
- Regular inspection of electrical circuits, gas lines, etc.
The above points do not involve the core business of distributor companies, but they are preparatory work for core business transformation. They are easy to implement, require low investment, and have obvious effects. Additionally, pay special attention to the pitfalls mentioned earlier. Otherwise, deviations in the guiding ideology and starting point in the early stage will bring many troubles to the later transformation work.
Course Introduction for Distributor Internal Management:
Instructor: Pan Wenfu Target Audience 1. Bosses or senior staff of distributor companies; Note: ordinary employees are not recommended to attend. 2. Personnel designing distributor management systems for manufacturers.
Course Background Business development first requires safety and controllability, clear goal planning, and then the organic combination of internal management and external operations to ensure healthy and sustainable growth.
In the early stages of a trading company, the focus is mainly on sales, with relatively weak backend construction. When the business scale reaches a certain level, constraints from the backend begin to emerge, especially in personnel management, work efficiency, operational effectiveness, customer management, warehouse and vehicles, cost control, internal friction and waste, and even employee misconduct. Of course, the boss has been trying to solve these problems, whether by exploring methods themselves or introducing external technologies. Such as incentives, shareholding systems, point systems, corporate culture, team spirit, corporate vision, performance appraisal, standard quantification, corporate self-rotation, etc. However, after these rectification measures are introduced, the actual results are often poor, employee acceptance is low, or they fizzle out and quickly return to the original state, or even have adverse effects.
Perhaps it is not the solution itself that is the problem. Moreover, the management and operation of distributor companies are not high-tech. The poor results of solutions are more due to the lack of fit between the solutions and the actual characteristics of distributors, and the lack of groundwork and strategy in introducing external solutions. Direct introduction without considering employees' acceptance habits leads to conflicts. After all, strictly speaking, most distributor companies are not yet enterprises, nor are they simple individual businesses, but rather a state in between. As the saying goes, they have the shell of a company but the heart of an individual business, with their own independent operation and development model. They also have certain characteristics in backend management and employee teams, and not all management models from advanced enterprises can necessarily adapt.
This course targets the actual characteristics of distributor companies, analyzes the root causes behind current problems, especially the actual situation of the employee group, and then proposes corresponding solutions.
This is not a traditional lecture-style course. Instead, it provides specific execution manuals for specific solutions, accompanied by physical execution tools. More importantly, during the actual implementation in distributor companies, our team will follow up and provide timely technical guidance for any technical issues that arise during implementation.
Course Outline: Please click: Read the original text to see specific content
Course Fees and Payment: -----2800 yuan (without supporting technical manual toolkit and follow-up) -----6500 yuan (including supporting technical manual toolkit and follow-up) Fee Description: Pure course fee, excluding tax, travel, accommodation, and meals.
- Bank transfer: China Construction Bank Wuhan Echengdun Sub-branch 6217002870005966914 Payee: Huang Qi (our financial staff)
Registration Method: Email: ff@senpan.net Wuhan: 027—8396 8132 / 83968251 Shanghai: 021—5235 3796 / 52353769 Address: Room 2305, 23rd Floor (note: not 23A), Tower 1, Times Square, 159 Yanjiang Avenue, Jiangan District, Wuhan, Hubei Province, Hongchunhui Wine Club
For the course outline, please click below: Read the original text