---
title: "The Six Evolutions of Deep Distribution"
description: "Since Bao Zheng and Shi Wei proposed deep distribution around 2000, it has become the 'best Chinese marketing practice' and the standard for channel-driven FMCG over more than a decade. Since 2003, deep distribution has undergone multiple evolutions, up to its current integration with the internet. 1. Deep Distribution 1.0: The 'Eight-Step Method' version. The early eight-step visit method included: preparation, greeting, checking, sampling, inventory check, replenishment, POP posting, and farewell. Basic characteristics: customer relations equal distribution, and distribution equals sell-through. The eight-step method includes..."
author: "刘春雄"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2020-06-14"
language: "en"
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---

# The Six Evolutions of Deep Distribution

> Since Bao Zheng and Shi Wei proposed deep distribution around 2000, it has become the 'best Chinese marketing practice' and the standard for channel-driven FMCG over more than a decade. Since 2003, deep distribution has undergone multiple evolutions, up to its current integration with the internet. 1. Deep Distribution 1.0: The 'Eight-Step Method' version. The early eight-step visit method included: preparation, greeting, checking, sampling, inventory check, replenishment, POP posting, and farewell. Basic characteristics: customer relations equal distribution, and distribution equals sell-through. The eight-step method includes...

**Since Bao Zheng and Shi Wei proposed deep distribution around 2000, it has become the 'best Chinese marketing practice' and the standard for channel-driven FMCG over more than a decade. Since 2003, deep distribution has undergone multiple evolutions, up to its current integration with the internet.**
**1. Deep Distribution 1.0: The 'Eight-Step Method' Version**
The early eight-step visit method included: preparation, greeting, checking, sampling, inventory check, replenishment, POP posting, and farewell.
Basic characteristics: **customer relations equal distribution, and distribution equals sell-through**.
The eight-step method includes three basic actions:
> **1) Greeting-based customer relations;**
>
> **2) Distribution, replenishment, and display;**
>
> **3) Later, promotions were added (encouraging terminals to stock up and occupy warehouse space, which later evolved into channel stuffing).**
**2. Deep Distribution 2.0: The 'Terminal Promotion' Version**
When distribution failed to drive sell-through, some excellent companies (such as Arawana and Uni-President) carried out terminal promotions (note: not KA promotions or in-store demonstrations).
Basic characteristics: **Deep distribution shifted from 2B behavior to include 2C elements (consumer-oriented promotions)**. The basic purpose was to 'activate terminals'. Uni-President's Lao Tan Sauerkraut Noodles widely used this method in its channel promotions, activating a store through three rounds of terminal promotions.
**3. Deep Distribution 3.0: The 'Strong Squeeze' Version**
Through strict route and action management of salespeople, ensuring distribution rate, and executing deep distribution actions to the extreme, thereby squeezing competitors. Typical cases include Jing Brand, Lao Cunzhang, and Yinmai Beer.
Basic characteristics: Using tools like digital cameras to strictly record salespeople's routes and terminal performance, **taking simple deep distribution work to the extreme, forming a strong squeeze on competitors**, creating a competitive advantage that is extremely difficult to imitate.
**4. Deep Distribution 4.0: The 'Visit-Sales' Version**
Early deep distribution was basically a 'big caravan', integrating people and vehicles, where vehicle efficiency determined personnel efficiency. At the same time, due to the lack of strict assignment of personnel, routes, and visit cycles, efficiency was low.
After 2013, industry sales peaked, channel stuffing was severe, terminal restocking cycles lengthened, and restocking cycles became out of sync with ordering cycles. Consequently, some large distributors began to adopt **visit-order systems, where visit-order staff handle customer relations, restocking, and orders, separating visit-order from delivery.**
**5. Deep Distribution 5.0: The 'Channel Digitalization' Version**
The bottleneck of deep distribution is its heavy reliance on individual self-discipline and judgment. Deep distribution typically involves salespeople covering specific areas or routes, working alone. They identify problems themselves and solve them themselves. If they cannot solve them, they can seek help from superiors. However, the individual capabilities of salespeople are limited, and the biggest problem is often the problems that are not discovered.
**SaaS as a technical means**, through dataization and visualization, allows the backend (or middle office) and management to identify some problems that salespeople have not discovered, even without being on-site.
As the company that best applies SaaS systems, Jinmailang also activates the enthusiasm of 'small workers' (salespeople) by turning employees into independent profit centers. The combination of the two yields better results.
Now AI technology has matured in deep distribution applications, capable of quickly capturing terminal data and providing data support for deep distribution decisions.
**6. Deep Distribution 6.0: The 'B-C Integration' Version**
Deep distribution is essentially manufacturer-distributor integration. The evolution of deep distribution is mainly the evolution of methods; manufacturer-distributor integration has not changed and will not change in the future.
In manufacturer-distributor integration, the terminal is the terminal. In the internet era, when other channels are connecting to the C-end, traditional channels must also reach the C-end. Therefore, **achieving B-C integration through the 'terminal + community + cloud store' model is the inevitable path.**
Although B-C integration is not part of deep distribution, B-C integration must be built on a solid foundation of deep distribution fundamentals. At the same time, doing the C-end well can in turn drive the B-end, making deep distribution work easier.
Source: Teacher Liu's New Marketing (ID: liuchunxiong1964)


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