01 From Novice to FMCG The Only Way Is to Grow Bigger and Stronger From a business perspective, I am a novice. I entered this industry in 2017, and in the first year, I was studying and learning. I had no idea how to do FMCG business. After receiving investment, I had no direction at all. I knew nothing: how to do procurement? How to manage a warehouse? I didn't know. Let me tell a story: Around 2017, a driver called me and told me his tire had blown out. At the time, I thought, why are you calling me about a blown tire? Later, I understood. If his tire blew, I had to send a vehicle to handle it, and then I wouldn't be able to do anything else that day. While I was in the office planning the company's strategy, a driver's tire blowout would require mobilizing company resources to rescue the goods on that truck. Such incidents could happen at any time. Such unexpected events are endless in the B2B industry. Moreover, do our profits support handling such issues? No. If tires blow out ten times, it would be better to drive yourself, because you'd lose all your money. People who don't understand business might find it strange, because this industry has low entry barriers and seems profitable, but why is it hard to operate? Many bosses understand business very well. Their speaking skills, summarization abilities, management skills, and motivational skills are strong. But why do they fall into a dilemma after getting billions in resources? We must know: don't try things lightly, because our resources are insufficient. Every attempt could wipe out ten years of accumulation. This is very important. So why do I say that our model at 'Come Quickly' represents the right direction? Because we do the same business as you, but we succeeded. What did we rely on?
02 What Is the Model of 'Come Quickly'? The FMCG industry has low gross margins, and the space is not as big as imagined. We survived and thrived under extreme cost control and urgent digitalization. Selling the same things, where do we create profits? From Douyin or Pinduoduo? No, we, like everyone else, dig deep down.
'Come Quickly' Does Not Focus on GMV Many people like to talk about GMV, but it's not very meaningful. Why? For example, if Boss Li has 5,000 boxes of mineral water in his warehouse, I call him and ask him to give them to me. Then Boss Qin calls me asking if I have mineral water, and I sell him 3,000 boxes. With a few phone calls, you might do business five times over, making GMV of 100 million, but the 5,000 boxes never moved. So from day one, 'Come Quickly' has not focused on GMV but on sales revenue, because only the goods actually sold are your business. Under the strict management pressure in Shanghai, we achieved good numbers. In June, sales revenue exceeded 60 million yuan (specifically 64.4 million), with dozens of employees (specifically 47). Per capita sales exceeded one million (specifically 1.37 million). Per capita managed orders exceeded 600 in Shanghai's small and medium convenience stores. These numbers are not large, but they were from June when Shanghai just reopened, which is already impressive. In the first month of reopening in June, the situation was complex. Our warehouse was sealed for a total of 93 days, with significant losses. Many products have shelf lives of one month or three months. During the pandemic, these items were valuable, but with the warehouse sealed, goods couldn't come out, and expired items were left unattended.
SKU Management Standard: Low Demand but High Profit During June in Shanghai, over 50,000 small shops placed orders on 'Come Quickly'. We managed over 4,000 SKUs (specifically 4,800). But we had only a few purchasers, which might surprise you. Because we had a few people managing over 4,000 SKUs, each person had to place orders for more than 1,200 SKUs, and one purchaser contributed over 10 million per month. Of course, looking at these numbers, if you need such a small team to maintain operations, you need a strong digital tool. It must enable purchasers to accurately order over 4,000 products and replenish accurately, because stockouts are not allowed. Costs must also be correct. If you want to grow bigger and stronger, you must think clearly: do you have such management capabilities? Some products are not profitable, but why do we do them? Where are our profits? They mainly come from products with low demand but high profit. That's why we maintain over 4,000 SKUs. In summary: fewer people, but accurate replenishment.
Warehouse Management, Precise Distribution I had no concept of warehouses before. There are two important concepts in a warehouse: inventory surplus and inventory shortage. My first reaction was that shortage is easy to understand: if goods are missing, you have to pay for them. But how do you understand surplus? How can you have extra items? The team said that surplus must also be accounted for and bought back. I thought that's not right; business can't be done that way. I believe surplus and shortage are virtual concepts. In my first year, I wondered why people were so enthusiastic about surplus and shortage. What we need to do is manage operational errors. Shortage is an operational error, and surplus is also an operational error. What we need to do is reduce operational errors and ship accurately. Additionally, returns are a very troublesome issue. Why? Our warehouse handles over 900 tons of goods in and out daily (specifically 900 tons). You might not have a sense of this number. Let me give a practical example: land in Shanghai is expensive. To control operating costs, our warehouse is far from the city center, but it still costs 1.5 to 1.8 yuan per square meter per day. With such high costs, we can't afford it. So I had to convert a factory building. But can a factory building accommodate vehicles handling over 900 tons? So where do many people fail? They have money and supply, but lack operational capability. They can't ensure the flow of over 900 tons of goods, nor can they accurately load goods onto each vehicle. With so much goods moving in and out, how do we do it? From day one, 'Come Quickly' decided that employees do not work overtime. If you make them work 12 to 15 hours a day without high pay, they will quickly switch jobs. If you make them understand the business logic and write software, it takes at least six months. After six months, they suddenly realize that earning 30,000 yuan here is not as good as switching to a job paying 50,000 yuan a month. Then you have to retrain, but who pays for your time cost? My point is, we are in a marathon, not a sprint. Use the eight hours of work fully and well, making everyone feel relaxed. We have maintained this pace from day one, and this method has defeated many companies. Our 12,000-square-meter warehouse handles over 900 tons daily, with over 100 9.6-meter trucks coming in and out each day. This is a huge operation. To meet these demands and reduce labor usage, we use 14 electric forklifts, with 5 constantly charging. Why so many electric forklifts? Because without 14, our warehouse staff turnover would be high, as boxes are heavy. Why not use conveyor belts? Because they cost money. Boxes on a conveyor belt consume electricity, which is expensive. The high electricity consumption would eat up gross margins. So bosses must be clear about these details.
Online Payment, No Returns We have visited many wholesale departments and found that each has a capable 'boss lady' (老板娘). How capable? She knows what type of customer you are and quotes a satisfactory price; she knows the cost and where goods are stored; she can accurately quote any single product, knowing the retail price and manufacturing cost of thousands of SKUs. But as a boss, can you find such a 'boss lady'? No. So we made a decision: should we do cash on delivery? But according to my 2017 research, the answer is no. Why? Because if there is a 15% to 20% rejection rate, what do you do with returned goods? What if 5,000 boxes are returned in a day? Similarly, you can't guarantee that returned goods are yours; packaging might be damaged. When re-entering the warehouse, you have to inspect. If goods are swapped and become expired, how do you pay the 5,000 yuan fine? These situations can happen. So returns are very troublesome. What to do? We have a principle: if you want to develop, grow bigger, and stronger, collect money first and don't extend credit. Why? Because these bosses are very sharp. If you ask for money too often and too aggressively, they say they only have so much money. If 100 or 500 customers each owe you 5,000 yuan, how do you operate? Financial cost is a very important cost. So from day one, 'Come Quickly' has only accepted online payment and no returns. These are two operational elements. Otherwise, the management cost of fund collection and payment would also eat up half of the gross margin.
Data-Driven Operations We developed an independent, full-process digital management tool. The market barriers brought by sales scale are gradually forming. Fully data-driven operations and independent management methods constitute the company's operational foundation. I know the profit status every minute. My phone tells me; with a refresh, I can see how much money is made every minute, faster than my finance. The system must achieve this level. For example, for all goods, what proportion of light and heavy items should be? The system has daily demand, and the weight ratio for each truck loading should be clear. What does that mean? For instance, after loading today's goods, with proper volume and weight matching, the full load rate should reach 95%. The dispatch result should be 95% to 103%. So you need a data tool to measure and balance these indices. Don't blindly think it's done; you need data quantification. What is a warehouse? It's not a handling concept but an assembly concept. Like assembling a car, you need to load goods in the best proportion, deliver them to the destination, and unload similarly. So you need data tools to help you operate well.
Final Thoughts: I've talked about our operational methods. To summarize: the FMCG industry has fierce competition, low profits, and no entry barriers. You can start a small shop. The industry is not attractive to high-end talent, and returns to investors are insufficient. So, to do FMCG well, you must manage sales revenue, personnel efficiency, and improve procurement efficiency. Every sentence above is from my long-term practical experience, and it's basically core content. In summary, we must maintain cost advantages in regional markets, operational advantages, and cross-field cost control capabilities. If you don't understand, you must spend time researching and then applying. You must ensure your operational processes are short, fast, and accurate.
Yang Qiming, CEO and founding partner of 'Come Quickly', senior FMCG channel expert, IT system architect. He previously worked at the well-known IT company Founder Group, where he participated in designing core software and won the 'President's Special Award'. Since founding 'Come Quickly', he has led the company to rapid development and continuous profitability, standing out in the FMCG B2B track laid out by internet giants like Alibaba and JD.com.
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