△Add friend and note "inspection" to register Distributors that survive in the future will not be those that only react when disaster strikes and struggle to make payroll; they will be those that anticipate change and actively prepare and transform now. This is the warning from Yang Su, chairman of Zhongshan Wanrong, P&G's largest offline distributor in China, about distributors who keep their heads down and operate like frogs in slowly boiling water. In his view, transformation is imperative in the current market environment, and it has reached a point where there is no choice but to change. But how distributors should transform may vary. Recently, New Distribution had an in-depth discussion with Mr. Yang Su: What is the future survival value and space for distributors? We hope his thoughts and practical path on transformation can inspire you. Additionally, New Distribution will also share our thoughts and opinions on the transformation paths of most distributors. 01B2B can achieve better distribution than distributors Why transform? Not only because distributors' days are getting harder, but also because they are in a "turbulent" distribution environment. In short, there are three "forces" driving changes in the distribution market. First, changes on the consumer side. Diversified, differentiated, and personalized consumption demands are emerging: the internet has flattened information asymmetry, and with rising incomes, consumer spending on FMCG categories has gradually shifted from safety needs to social and esteem needs. The evolution of demand drives product changes; the era of a single product selling nationwide and exceeding 10 billion yuan is gone. It will be increasingly unlikely for distributors to thrive by merely representing one brand or product. Second, changes on the retail side. Although traditional mom-and-pop stores cannot be replaced, more retail channels are rising, such as community group buying, vending machines, self-service machines, B2C e-commerce, Hema Fresh, WeChat Moments, etc. Many innovative retail scenarios are emerging and getting closer to consumers. Consumers are being "snatched away" by innovative retail scenarios. Not only innovative retail scenarios, but also traditional mom-and-pop stores are being harvested by JD.com and Alibaba, becoming branded convenience stores. Distributors may not run out of stores, but the available stores will definitely decrease. Third, the application of internet technology. The widespread application of internet technology, coupled with online giants wielding capital and waving the banner of information (B2B) platforms, is aggressively invading offline. These platforms have technology, capital, scale, and the internet mindset of "burn money first, harvest later." From a business logic perspective, B2B distribution and shelf placement efficiency is far higher than distributors' "manual operations." Yang Su believes that behind these changes, mainstream products corresponding to mainstream markets will gradually be replaced by internet B2B. Behind the distribution of mainstream products is essentially a process of warehouse-to-warehouse and warehouse-to-store transportation. Push-based promotion tasks will be completed jointly by brand owners and B2B platforms. With technological iteration and the improvement of infrastructure such as urban distribution, these mainstream, popular products are easier to achieve through large-scale, intensive B2B platforms. Yang Su told New Distribution that due to changes on the consumer side, future brands (products) will definitely be differentiated; there will be no more big single-product strategies, and the situation where one product "covers" all markets and all consumers will no longer exist. At this time, diverse products, especially personalized and differentiated products, will be active in "small markets." The target consumers of these niche, non-mainstream products will pay more attention to experience and even emphasize service. For the distribution business, this means more room for premium pricing. The focus of Zhongshan Wanrong's transformation is to become a marketing and promotion agent for these non-mainstream products. 02Consumer-centric marketing and promotion agent Wanrong represents P&G's full product line, through which it can reach consumer groups at all levels in the regional market. Since different products target different consumers, Wanrong initially filters consumers by product. For example, consumers buying VS Sassoon are different from those buying Pantene or Rejoice; Wanrong will focus on those buying VS Sassoon. Yang Su gave New Distribution an example: Guangzhou Zhongshan has a population of 3 million, but perhaps only 30,000 have the purchasing power and willingness to buy VS Sassoon (mid-to-high-end consumer group). Wanrong will find these people, based on their preferences and habits, and work with upstream brands to customize products, and set up suitable sales scenarios in channels where they are likely to appear, achieving precise promotion and distribution. It is understood that in terms of organizational structure, Wanrong has not only a conventional offline sales department but also a marketing department, planning department, and sales service department. Wanrong cooperates with local banks, real estate, cinemas, community service stations, and other business formats, exchanging resources and organizing activities. It uses products as a medium to deeply connect with target consumers. Yang Su believes that in the future, Wanrong may not necessarily become an agent for a certain type of product; Wanrong's core is based on insight and research into the target consumer group (mid-to-high-end), penetrating into channels where they may appear, building scenarios, and doing experiential marketing. In New Distribution's view, the future direction of Wanrong's business is no longer single-dimensional product distribution, but a marketing and promotion agent centered on a certain type of consumer. It links various possible offline traffic entrances, builds scenarios at these entrances, and conducts marketing experiences based on products. At this point, some might think: serving only 30,000 people, can the business grow? In Yang Su's understanding, although the target group is only 30,000, Wanrong will link countless brands and products in the backend, possibly daily chemicals, home goods, or even alcoholic beverages. Many distributors want to grow bigger, but Wanrong will become more refined in the future. The volume may be small, but the premium will far exceed 6 or 10 percentage points. 03Brand-centric marketing and promotion agent The above is the transformation path that Zhongshan Wanrong has explored based on its own advantages and external situation, which best suits Wanrong. It may not be suitable for all distributors. For example, the ability to obtain local resources (cinemas, real estate, communities, etc.), the ability to reach almost all consumers through P&G's full product line, and the ability to build a talent pipeline in the backend. But from Zhongshan Wanrong's transformation, we see that logistics, capital, and orders will no longer be the competitiveness of most distributors; marketing and promotion will be. As waist-level, medium-sized distributors, they may not be able to do consumer-based marketing and promotion like Zhongshan Wanrong, but brand-centric marketing and promotion is being practiced by some FMCG giants. A general manager of a well-known FMCG giant in East China told New Distribution: We are actively encouraging distributors to increase their self-sales ratio in the regional market (where the distributor's own team visits, promotes, and takes orders, rather than the brand's own sales staff). Through a combination of assessment and rewards, we promote the transformation of distributors into "brand marketing agents." At the local city manager level, we have proposed the slogan "from believing in the power of the office to believing in the power of distributors," and we strive to help distributors advance the pace of transformation. Mainstream best-selling products are already known to mass consumers, and the market is relatively mature and stable, in the profit harvesting period for enterprises. They can achieve more efficient distribution through B2B. At the same time, due to changes on the consumer side, future products will become more diverse. These products are new and need on-the-ground display and promotion, which requires distributors to assist brand owners in completing the sell-through tasks for new products. New Distribution has made a final prediction for the FMCG supply chain: China's FMCG supply chain will present four major platforms: order platform, logistics warehousing and distribution platform, supply chain finance platform, and marketing and promotion platform. In the past, these four platforms were all undertaken by distributors scattered across regions, but in the future, order, logistics warehousing and distribution, and supply chain finance will become highly platform-based and third-party. However, marketing and promotion, due to differences in competition intensity and retail environment in each regional market, will have various "personalized" operations. At this time, localized teams are needed to complete ground promotion work. Compared to others, distributors are the most suitable for this work. In the past, distributors were small but complete "four-in-one" distributors, integrating business flow, logistics, information flow, and capital flow, from warehouses and delivery vehicles to warehouse keepers, drivers, salespeople, and finance. Although small, they had all the necessary functions. The core competitiveness of distributors used to follow the barrel theory, but as social division of labor becomes clearer in the future, their core competitiveness follows the long board theory: focusing on doing one skill well is far better than doing everything!

Written at the end Zhang Liaoyuan, founder of Three Squirrels, recently said in an interview: Any enterprise must complete transformation across eras to sustain development. If you succeed in your first venture, it must be because you encountered a dividend; with a dividend, even a pig can fly. Only entrepreneurs who have experienced two eras can be called entrepreneurs. For regional distributors at a turning point, it is no different. The 10th B-end E-commerce Inspection - "From Product to Scenario" Event time: December 10-13 Event location: Wuhu, Nanjing, Changsha Event schedule: December 10 morning: Visit Three Squirrels headquarters + snack store

December 10 afternoon: Visit Nanjing Squirrel Small Store

December 10 evening: Visit Nanjing Gao Master Beer Workshop

December 11 all day: Nanjing-Changsha, or free arrangement

December 12 morning: Community group buying exchange salon

December 12 afternoon: Kaola Select Heroes League press conference

December 12 evening to December 13 early morning: On-site visit to Kaola Select logistics center——This time period is the peak sorting period in the warehouse, allowing direct observation and learning of the backend operation process of community group buying e-commerce Distributor friends who are interested are welcome to join us to learn and inspect on-site: Organization format 1. Big-name exchange salon************2. Company visit

  1. On-site explanation
  2. One-on-one exchange************5. Actual market case visit Friends who want to participate If you are interested in a specific day's content, you can register separately Long press this QR code or click "Read Original" to register with one click! Add friend and note your intention -END-