Mover, a term familiar to FMCG practitioners, colloquially refers to the downstream distributors of brand owners who distribute and move goods to retail stores. The movement of goods is tangible. But there is another thing that is also 'moved' along with it, yet invisible and intangible—that is 'data.' These data are extremely important to enterprises, because they represent real business transactions and operational changes. Through data, companies can assess their performance. However, we must know that every time a product is transferred or traded, the characteristics of the data change, because enterprises, distributors, and wholesalers use different software systems. For example, a company defines a product as ABC****; in the distributor's system, it becomes abc****; and at the wholesaler's, it is 121212. When goods are transferred, data changes. How can we accurately and truly understand actual sales and inventory? This is where 'data movers' are needed. △ Yang Hongtao, CTO of Welink Information Shanghai Welink Information Technology Co., Ltd. is a typical representative of the invisible 'data movers' in China. Founded in 2007, Welink is a leading provider of EDI electronic data interchange, supply chain data, and supply chain financial services. In the FMCG sector, it serves clients such as P&G, Pepsi, Mengniu, and others. Recently, New Distribution exclusively interviewed Welink's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Mr. Yang Hongtao, to hear how Welink excels as an 'excellent data mover' in the FMCG field, how it provides data services to brand owners, and how it offers supply chain financial services to distributors. 01 Brand owners need to constantly monitor distributors' inventory and sales Yang Hongtao told New Distribution that Welink's core founding team comes from an EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) background, which simply means translating and transmitting data between enterprises A and B. In its early days, Welink discovered that FMCG clients, especially upstream brand owners, were very concerned about downstream distributors' sales and inventory information. Gradually, Welink began providing brand owners with related data management services for downstream channels. How is channel data management done? Generally, there are two methods: First, typical representatives like P&G, Unilever, and Nice Group output a channel management system (DMS) based on their own sales, management, and operational logic for distributors to use, making it relatively easy for brand owners to obtain corresponding channel data. Second, brand owners do not provide a system (unless they are strong brands; even if they give a system, distributors may not use it). Most distributors use third-party financial software like Yonyou, Kingdee, or GJP. In this case, brand owners still want to know downstream distributors' sales and inventory data—what to do? Yang Hongtao told New Distribution, for such situations, Welink can provide a corresponding solution (DIS) for brands, using EDI technology to collect inventory and sales data from each distributor's business system, then clean, summarize, organize, encode, and analyze it, allowing brand owners to stay informed about downstream distributors. According to Yang Hongtao, to date, Welink's clients include well-known domestic and international FMCG giants such as L'Oréal, Colgate, Nice, PepsiCo Foods, Fonterra, Darlie Toothpaste, and Mead Johnson. Moreover, on the retail KA side of FMCG, Welink serves Beijing Hualian, Lotus, Liqun Group, Auchan, Suguo, Wumart, and Lianhua Supermarket. 02 Transformation and upgrading making sales and inventory data more valuable After nearly 10 years of development, Welink has served more than 50 leading brand owners, providing them with omni-channel data collection, data quality management (data accuracy), and daily data monitoring services. But the value of these data goes far beyond that. Starting in 2014, Welink decided to amplify the value of data, making channel data more financially valuable. At that time, the domestic supply chain finance market was also gradually rising. Yang Hongtao told New Distribution that Welink's original core advantage was collecting and analyzing business documents, channel inventory, and sales data between enterprises. Now it's just a matter of 'swapping data'—from enterprise-to-enterprise to enterprise-to-bank. Here, 'enterprise' does not refer to brand owners but to downstream distributors. Looking at the FMCG supply chain cooperation, capital pressure is the biggest difficulty distributors face. Upstream brand owners require payment before delivery, while downstream retail requires goods before payment, often with delayed payments—distributors are 'caught in the middle.' Yang Hongtao told New Distribution, Welink has served many brand owners, who recommend distributors to Welink. If a distributor has financing needs, Welink will evaluate and review based on brand and data, and recommend the most suitable financial institution or provide it to the distributor. To date, Welink has established deep cooperation with dozens of domestic banks and financial institutions, including China Merchants Bank, Bank of Communications, Ping An Bank, Evergrowing Bank, Minsheng Bank, and many other well-known financial institutions. 03 Comprehensive upgrade launching 'Red Packet Bill' to empower distributor finance But these are still far from effectively solving the problem of distributors' capital efficiency. Recently, Welink launched the 'Enterprise Red Packet Bill' based on supply chain finance to solve the difficulty of distributors asking for payment. In fact, at the end of each month, chasing payments is almost the core work of distributor business. Many distributors or salespeople send a red packet to the store owner as a 'polite' reminder to pay. Welink's 'Enterprise Red Packet Bill' provides distributors with a good management tool for chasing payments. Yang Hongtao told New Distribution, the most common scenario for red packet bills is overdue accounts. In the current distribution environment, small stores often delay payments, and there is a long-standing 'take advantage' mentality. Many small stores don't pay distributors not because they lack money, but because they want to take advantage, or use your payment to pay others. At this time, if a distributor can 'stand out' among many distributors and offer benefits to small stores—through instant discounts, cash rebates, WeChat red packets, etc.—they can often collect payments earlier than other distributors. Using red packet bills is like 'cutting in line,' telling the store owner: 'You take advantage of others, but don't take advantage of me; I can give you a repayment discount.' Yang Hongtao told New Distribution, the Enterprise Red Packet Bill is an intelligent collection solution that matches payment data with ERP business documents, completing the entire automated process from reconciliation, collection, and verification, reducing human errors and greatly improving supply chain efficiency, helping enterprises achieve 'early collection.' Welink hopes that through the standardized management tool of the 'Enterprise Red Packet Bill,' it can help distributors operate in batches and quickly, solving the difficulty of asking for payment. Yang Hongtao revealed to New Distribution, 'Red Packet Bill' is just an entry point; next, we will further help distributors optimize their capital efficiency. In empowering distributors, Welink focuses on two things: First, if you don't have money, we help you find money. In the past, banks and other financial institutions considered distributors small-scale, with insufficient collateral and difficult-to-monitor operations, and judged them high-risk, refusing to lend. Now, Welink analyzes your data and helps you borrow from formal banks and financial institutions. Second, enterprise-level order-based collection helps distributors solve the matching of information flow and capital flow, solving the 'last mile' problem in collection, helping distributors collect early. Maximize the turnover of limited funds, represent more products, get the best policies from manufacturers, and expand business scale. Editor's note: It is said that this month, new users registering for Enterprise System can participate in the 'Register with Gifts' activity, receiving a 100-yuan account bonus plus additional WeChat red packets. Follow the Enterprise System official account or click 'Read Original' for details.