Vehicle Sales vs. Route Sales: Which Is Better? Hear What the Experts Say...

Recently, a group of industry insiders engaged in a heated discussion in a WeChat group on the topic of "Which is better: route sales or vehicle sales?" The conversation was full of witty remarks and brilliant insights. Here is a compilation for our readers!

Shuanghui Internal Document Sparks Debate

Recently, an article titled "Shuanghui Internal Document Leaked: Step-by-Step Guide to Winning at the Terminal!" circulated on WeChat, comparing the advantages of order-based sales and vehicle-based sales. The article summarized four characteristics of the order-based system:

Four Characteristics of the Order-Based System

Characteristic 1: It cannot provide one-stop service to the terminal, and the merchandising cycle is long, only allowing for inventory-based merchandising.

Characteristic 2: It easily leads to duplicate work, especially when recovering slow-moving products.

Characteristic 3: Tasks such as stocking, delivery, and terminal inventory checking consume a lot of manpower, and are prone to lost or missing goods, leading to finger-pointing. Warehouse and stocking staff are busy all day unpacking and sorting goods, and loading them in order.

Characteristic 4: Service quality is poor, and customer relationships are hard to maintain. Salespeople cannot serve the terminal promptly, and delivery workers only handle delivery, unable to solve terminal issues in one go.

At the same time, the article also summarized three characteristics of the vehicle-based system:

Three Characteristics of the Vehicle-Based System

Characteristic 1: One-stop service, solving all terminal problems in one step. The vehicle-based system essentially moves the warehouse onto the truck, completing ordering, replenishment, exchange of old-date products, new product sampling, and standardized terminal display in one go.

Characteristic 2: It frees the boss and warehouse staff from manual labor, allowing all personnel to focus on market operations. After concentrated stocking in the morning or evening, the warehouse can be closed.

Characteristic 3: Salespeople and drivers are out all day, making process control difficult. Also, since salespeople handle both ordering and payment, it can lead to discrepancies between accounts and actual goods.

A Gathering of Experts Weighs In

Liu Chunxiong: This is a voice that belittles order-based sales and praises vehicle sales, and it comes from Shuanghui. Marketers, especially distributors, in the group can discuss this.

Fang Gang Marketing: In the southern market, order (copy-order) systems are more common; in the north, vehicle sales dominate.

Liu Chunxiong: @Fang Gang Marketing Why is there a north-south difference? This article also claims that order-based is traditional and vehicle-based is an upgrade.

Zhao Bo: Low-temperature, short-shelf-life, and many SKUs are not suitable for route sales.

Hu Taowei: The size of the city determines whether to use vehicle sales or order-based.

Zhao Bo: I verified this at Jinluo: ham sausages have too many SKUs, and many are low-temperature, short-shelf-life products. Route sales can't handle the maintenance.

Hu Taowei: Most county-level cities use vehicle sales.

Zhao Bo: The person from Shuanghui wrote this with certain limitations. But indeed, low-temperature yogurt, bread, and ham sausages are not suitable for route sales.

Liu Chunxiong: Some companies require agents to have dedicated personnel and vehicles, which may indicate they think vehicle sales are better.

Zhao Bo: A salesperson using vehicle sales can typically sell at most 25-45 SKUs. If using route sales, the SKU count would have to be halved. In reality, Shuanghui has over 100 SKUs in normal sales. Individual contractors are best suited for ham sausages.

Liu Chunxiong: @Zhao Bo For short-shelf-life products that require recovery of near-expiry items, vehicle sales might be better. How do you explain that large agents in Jiangsu and Zhejiang mostly use order-based, while small merchants mostly use vehicle sales?

Zhao Bo: Yes, the maintenance workload is too heavy. The average gross margin for Shuanghui ham sausages is typically 20-25% or more, but most of it is eaten up by large-date products.

Liu Chunxiong: @Zhao Bo The more SKUs, the better the order-based system should be!

Zhao Bo: I think it depends on the category. As long as it's route sales, distributors usually have to split by brand and department, but the SKUs sold are definitely not as many as with vehicle sales. It's not good because salespeople lack the ability to sell many SKUs in route sales, and later exchanges and returns are too troublesome.

Fang Gang Marketing: There is a category factor, but regional characteristics also play a significant role.

Liu Chunxiong: It's understandable that manufacturers advocate vehicle sales, especially large ones, because vehicle sales inevitably load big brands. From the agent's perspective, route sales seem more advantageous. Some places have piloted route sales, and SKU counts increased. Vehicle sales can only sell what's loaded; route sales load what's sold. The claim that route sales are inconvenient for merchandising is purely imaginary and not based on frontline experience.

Li Qinghua: Small cities are suitable for vehicle sales because ordering, unloading, payment, and display are done in one go, improving timeliness and closing rates while reducing staffing and labor costs. Large cities are suitable for route sales because traffic restrictions like license plate limits, one-way streets, and time-based vehicle bans make vehicle sales very costly. Implementing separation of sales and delivery with specialized division of labor can reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Zhang Yueguo: Personally, I think the number of SKUs determines whether to use route sales or vehicle sales.

Hebei Tangshan - Zhang Lei: Our company uses vehicle sales (one-person vehicle sales) in county markets and route sales (with delivery by distributors) in urban markets. Each has pros and cons. Generally, large distributors are in provincial capitals or large prefecture-level cities, so they use route sales.

Zhang Shuaifeng: Based on my six years at Shuanghui, mainly responsible for the Jiangsu and Zhejiang markets, let me explain the sales models of Shuanghui distributors (non-KA channels):

Proactive vehicle sales: Distributors handle many brands, especially second- and third-tier brands, with intense competition and remote, scattered terminals.
Passive vehicle sales: Due to sluggish growth, Shuanghui requires distributors to have dedicated personnel and vehicles. Although this improves terminal service, distributors often resist due to low return on investment.
Route sales: Distributors mostly handle strong brands, or competition is not fierce, distributor reputation is good, and terminals are relatively concentrated.

FMCG Marketing - Zhu Chaoyang: Personally, I think vehicle sales vs. route sales is not only related to SKU count but also to product maturity and brand strength. Mature products are easier for route sales, followed by centralized delivery to reduce logistics costs. New products and weak brands are suitable for route sales because it facilitates opportunistic selling and increases closing rates.

Fang Gang Marketing: Adapt to local conditions.

Su Dan: I agree. There's no good or bad, only suitable or not.

Fang Gang Marketing: Vehicle sales management is often result-oriented, while route sales focuses on process orientation.

Liu Chunxiong: Vehicle sales are inefficient and now rely on second-tier distributors, leading to declining sales. A county has about 2,000 stores. A vehicle can close 5-6 orders a day. The best cycle for vehicle sales is one week, usually half a month, and the worst is a month. Salespeople like vehicle sales because it's simple and doesn't require coordination, and they can profit from policies. Agents are often constrained by salespeople, and implementing route sales faces resistance, so it often fails.

Rong Chen Shusheng: Now it's popular to use electric scooters (with a range of 80km) for route sales with a platform! They're convenient for buses and subways, and you can carry a box of samples.

Zhang Shuaifeng: This is related to management, not the pros and cons of vehicle sales.

Liu Chunxiong: @Fang Gang Marketing Route sales have a backend system with data support, knowing where problems are. This value is infinite. The process management of route sales systems differs from past detail and process management. Past process management easily became a formality, requiring strong management capabilities. Route sales systems are process management based on average data.

Wang Xiaoping @ Zhong Hao Di: @Liu Chunxiong Teacher Liu, what do you think of the route sales model for agricultural supplies?

Liu Chunxiong: 1. Conventional agricultural products are suitable for route sales; unconventional products with few outlets may have issues. 2. In large field crop areas, seasonality is strong, so stocking up is the main approach; in economic crop areas, year-round sales may suit route sales.

...

Liu Chunxiong: In the discussion, most agree that low-temperature products suit vehicle sales. In the comments, someone said "low-temperature actually suits order-based." My reply: That's correct. Abnormal stocking leads to abnormal returns, making it seem like low-temperature isn't suitable for order-based. Low-temperature suits small, frequent orders, which is an advantage of order-based because it's efficient, has short cycles, and avoids overstocking. But this advantage is suppressed by the stocking system.

Many agree that many SKUs suit vehicle sales, but I think they suit order-based. With hundreds of SKUs, a vehicle can only load dozens. How do you sell the rest?

Pei Ni Kua Jie: The judgment that low-temperature suits order-based is spot-on and clearly explains both models!

Zhao Bo: @Liu Chunxiong Teacher, it's not about how many are loaded on the truck, but the salesperson's ability to remember and sell how many SKUs. For a single brand in food and beverages, whether vehicle or route sales, few salespeople can get all SKUs into a store at once, and it's not necessary. I think this is a matter of management and the salesperson's capability boundary. This is universal.

Zhang Shuaifeng: I think we must distinguish channel types. For chain supermarkets (including chain convenience stores), there are usually payment terms and various constraints on distributors. Distributors have few restrictions on stocking, so this channel is definitely route sales. For traditional channels like wholesale departments, non-chain supermarkets, and shops, distributors deliver with cash on delivery, and returns and exchanges rely on mutual trust. So how many items and how much of each are determined by the terminal's operating condition and the "game" between the salesperson and the store owner. Moreover, most such terminals lack conditions for selling low-temperature products.

Liu Chunxiong: @Zhao Bo Good point.

Liu Chunxiong: @Zhang Shuaifeng Indeed, some agents have poor negotiation skills, and retailers refuse to accept orders after placing them. If this problem is widespread for an agent, they are no longer our focus.

Zhang Shuaifeng: @Liu Chunxiong Teacher, I think the fundamental difference lies in payment methods and return/exchange services. This is crucial for new product promotion. In fact, considering vehicle vs. route sales is mostly for new or not-so-popular products.

Jiao Tou Wu Bing: For relatively mature brands, vehicle sales are more suitable because terminal acceptance is high, cross-selling and up-selling are easier, uncertainties are fewer, and sales efficiency is higher. For new products or brands entering the market, route sales are better because market development is difficult, acceptance is low, and professional sales promotion is needed. Route sales separate market development from delivery, reducing blindness and uncertainty, and improving work effectiveness.

Zhao Bo: @Jiao Tou Wu Bing In fact, vehicle sales are most effective for new products, and route sales are most efficient for old products.

Jiao Tou Wu Bing: @Zhao Bo That depends on the manufacturer's (brand's) scale and channel development model. For new products, the first step is to gain a foothold. Vehicle sales are most effective but not economical and quickly hit bottlenecks. For old products, route sales are a reuse of marketing resources, but efficiency may not be ideal.

Liu Chunxiong: Behind vehicle and route sales is a complete replanning of all sales work. Route sales are efficient with short cycles, so time should be spent on new product promotion and terminal sell-through.

Jiao Tou Wu Bing: @Liu Chunxiong Agreed! Whether vehicle or route sales, they belong to management. Management should follow business needs, lagging behind business by a small step, not leading it.

Liu Chunxiong: Agents' current work is to maintain existing volume and improve efficiency, while also creating incremental volume, promoting new products, and driving sell-through. I advocate route sales because it improves efficiency, frees salespeople from delivery, and allows more time for promotion and sell-through.

Fang Gang: Vehicle Sales: The Lazy "Mercenaries"

These are my summaries from a few years ago on the drawbacks of vehicle sales:

1. Playing hide-and-seek at work. In the morning, after loading and leaving with the truck, several vehicles gather to chat and play cards. Morning work is done in the afternoon, and half a day's work takes all day!

2. Skipping small stores for big ones. Large stores have high demand and concentrated volume. Salespeople don't sweep streets one by one but head straight to target stores based on experience or phone orders, ignoring potential outlets or those that suddenly ran out of stock.

3. Fast-moving stores get priority. Stores with fast turnover have higher closing rates and stable relationships, so salespeople love to visit them. Slow-moving stores have low demand, low closing rates, and infrequent deliveries, so salespeople often skip them.

4. Missing stores. Missing stores is common in vehicle sales. The salesperson rides along, but the driver controls the wheel. If the driver speeds up or the salesperson is distracted, the target store is passed by, and turning a big truck around is troublesome, so many sales opportunities are missed.

5. Low efficiency, high cost. Delivering in the east, a store in the west calls for goods, so they drive dozens of kilometers, deliver, then drive back to the west, wasting time and fuel. The delivery truck becomes a sightseeing bus.

6. Wide sowing, thin harvest. During new product distribution, with manufacturer support and salesperson commissions, they successfully distribute to hundreds of stores. Two months later, only dozens remain with effective turnover. Visiting stores, the initial products are either sold out with complaints from owners, or sitting dusty in warehouses.

7. Dependence on old products. Distributors hold grand meetings for new product distribution, with earnest words and vows, but results are often poor. Why? Because old products are easy to deliver and collect payment, no persuasion needed, and no need to go door-to-door hoping for luck.

8. Doing private work, padding expenses, and intercepting promotions. Salespeople have endless tricks. Even if distributors discover them, they often dare not speak up because they are the main sales force.

Liu Chunxiong: From Vehicle Sales to Route Sales Is Progress

Let me first talk about the debate between sitting merchants and traveling merchants fifteen years ago. At that time, sitting merchants dominated, traveling merchants were few, and the debate was fierce. Many distributors found various reasons to prove sitting merchants were fine. There was also a saying: "What's suitable is best." But we all know the outcome: sitting merchants either became traveling merchants or exited the market. In the face of trends, there is no such thing as "what's suitable is best," or rather, it's an excuse for not progressing.

The prototype of vehicle sales is actually the practice of traveling merchants, an instinctive approach, just as sitting merchants were instinctive then.

Route sales evolved from vehicle sales, a step forward. But why are some people proving vehicle sales are superior, and others proving each has its own conditions? From Shuanghui's proof, I can see that order-based systems pose a huge management challenge, while vehicle sales are like "household responsibility system," extremely simple to manage. If order-based systems are mismanaged, big problems can occur. The many problems Shuanghui listed are all management issues.

Just as the shift from sitting to traveling merchants eliminated a batch of distributors, the shift from vehicle to route sales will eliminate another batch.

I am surprised by Shuanghui's stance. Perhaps it resonates with some manufacturers, especially strong brands that require agents to have "dedicated personnel and vehicles." Order-based systems make this difficult, while vehicle sales make it easy to demand.

As for factors like near-expiry and slow-moving product exchanges that affect order-based systems, I think these are precisely the consequences of vehicle sales. It's ridiculous that these consequences are then used to justify vehicle sales as necessary.

Because vehicle sales are inefficient, completing distribution requires relying on "second-tier distributors," so under vehicle sales, pushing stock to second-tier distributors becomes routine. Overstocking leads to excess slow-moving and near-expiry products, making their handling another "important task," more urgent than normal work (especially near-expiry handling). These tasks crowd out normal work, further reducing vehicle sales efficiency and increasing reliance on second-tier distributors. This is a vicious cycle.

I believe the normal logic is: implement route sales, improve efficiency, and abandon overstocking. Because route sales are efficient with short cycles, timely replenishment without overstocking is possible, so near-expiry and slow-moving products are fewer, and less time is spent on legacy issues, leading to higher efficiency.

Most large distributors use route sales, indicating it has barriers. Since there are barriers and higher efficiency, a new round of elimination will occur.

I don't expect to convince everyone; I can only convince those who understand. The debate from sitting to traveling merchants seems to echo in my ears. Even if I record this, what use is it? Because those who insisted on sitting merchants can no longer hear it; they have exited the market.

Wang Huanzhi: The Best Model Is Neither Vehicle Sales Nor Route Sales

I've been in short-shelf-life products for 6 years. Based on years of practical experience, vehicle and route sales each have pros and cons, but I differ from the above views. Let me share my thoughts:

First, on the impact of SKU count: I agree with Teacher Liu that the more SKUs, the more route sales are needed; the fewer, the more vehicle sales suit. The reason is simple: if you don't know what customers need or in what quantities, what do you load first?

Second, on the impact of outlet density and delivery radius: The denser the outlets, the more route sales are needed; conversely, vehicle sales suit sparse outlets. Township markets have sparse outlets and large delivery radii, so vehicle sales are more common.

Third, on product shelf life: The shorter the shelf life, the more route sales are needed; longer shelf life suits vehicle sales. The reason is that shorter shelf life requires shorter visit cycles and higher frequency to ensure normal shelf life and achieve small batches with multiple deliveries. For merchandising, route sales personnel need to dynamically adjust stock.

Fourth, on new vs. old products: Old products suit vehicle sales; new products suit route sales. Many companies' new product failures are due to vehicle sales. Vehicle sales are inefficient with few visits, and while they can quickly distribute new products, the cycle is too long.

Fifth, on employee factors: Employees prefer vehicle sales over route sales. Teacher Fang Gang has already explained why, so I won't elaborate.

Additionally, to improve efficiency and reduce costs in route sales, the key is to optimize delivery routes, achieving points, lines, and a grid-based delivery network. A distributor who doesn't know how to build a delivery network cannot succeed in route sales.

Personal Views:

Neither vehicle nor route sales is the best model. The future market will be "e-commerce platform collecting orders + centralized vehicle delivery," which offers the highest efficiency and lowest cost.
Improving distribution coverage and promoting new products will be the model of "internet + ground promotion personnel."
Although B2B e-commerce is currently in a downturn due to capital market influences, truly capable platforms with solid models will inevitably replace existing distribution models.
B2B e-commerce should follow Teacher Liu Chunxiong's suggestion of not burning money or subsidizing; otherwise, it won't succeed.
If e-commerce platforms are self-operated or self-operated + platform, and avoid being aggressive, they can quickly reach breakeven without much risk.

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