Introduction Most distributors currently have limited understanding of B2B e-commerce and lack reliable information channels, leading to misconceptions about platforms. The author plans to organize a salon to address these doubts, with over 30 B2B platform CEOs/COOs already in the WeChat community. Distributors interested in B2B can join to learn and ask questions. You can also leave comments at the end of the article, and the author will try to find platform representatives to answer.

1. Incremental Coverage of Channel Outlets Traditionally, a distributor's outlet coverage relied on salespeople and secondary wholesalers, meaning outlet numbers grew linearly with costs. If a distributor wants to expand coverage and penetrate the local market, they find that hiring more staff is too costly and heavy; most first-tier brand agents cannot afford the resource allocation of 6-8 people per vehicle. If they delegate to secondary wholesalers, they don't make money and cross-region dumping occurs; also, the market isn't developed deeply or finely—they only sell fast-moving items, and manufacturers don't want distributors to act as secondary wholesalers. The benefit of distributors joining a platform is that the efficiency of product information dissemination is not affected by cost. When four or five first-tier brand distributors from different categories come together on a platform, they can cover over 95% of outlets in the local market. Many special channels (hotels, restaurants, internet cafes, fast food, highway service stations, etc.) that were previously unreachable can now be reached through the platform. For distributors, this means information can reach places they couldn't serve before, indirectly increasing the breadth and depth of product dissemination, achieving low-cost outlet expansion. Theoretically, this cost is negligible, making it truly possible to bypass secondary wholesalers and directly serve end outlets.

2. Efficiency Gains and Cost Reduction from Centralized Distribution Previously, distributor vehicle sales typically involved 1-2 people per vehicle. Distributors with route management were better off, but for most, sales were affected by weather, products, promotions, personnel, and other factors, making it impossible to quantify the relationship between cost and benefit. On the platform, distributors have multiple delivery options: self-delivery or outsourcing. Based on cost calculations, for example, scattered orders can be outsourced. If the sales team is well-managed, logistics can even be fully outsourced. The ton-cost of centralized distribution can be reduced by half compared to current self-delivery costs.

3. Transforming Business Functions: Shifting from "Selling" to "Making Consumers Buy" Distributors must first understand a key principle: before consumers buy the product at the end outlet, the goods are still yours. You have to carry them to the warehouse, adjust displays, manage slow-moving stock, handle expiries, and deal with quality issues. So, your team must recognize that all efforts by manufacturers and distributors are aimed at getting consumers to buy your product. The true value of the sales team lies in "doing terminal merchandising actions around consumer purchases." Anything unrelated to "doing terminal merchandising actions around consumer purchases" is operational cost. For example, loading/unloading, accounting, etc., consume a lot of work time. These costs can be saved or outsourced. So, after outsourcing, what do our salespeople do? Actually, there are many things they should do: new product listing, key item stocking, high-margin product promotion, frozen display, standard display, end-cap displays, negotiation for stocking at key times, blocking competitor products at the terminal, handling near-expiry/quality exchanges, and maintaining terminal relationships. These are the fundamental factors that drive fast sell-through at the terminal. Some distributors with advanced management are already making this functional shift, but most still have primitive management and need to quickly adjust their thinking to improve sales efficiency.

4. True Data-Driven Management of Terminal Information Some distributors with vehicle sales have already used POS machines, but data fraud at the terminal is still common: salespeople intercept promotions/gifts, combine orders, split orders, use policies from store A at store B, etc. This is essentially a process design issue. Unless order and delivery are separated, it cannot be completely eliminated. However, online transactions originate from terminal requests, and all transactions occur online, fundamentally preventing the above problems. This also enables scientific data-driven management of terminals. Transaction frequency, transaction amounts, number of SKUs in-store, distribution rate of each item, KA store and TOP store management—all become truly data-driven, bringing a qualitative improvement to distributor terminal management.

5. Reducing Losses from Blind Distribution Previously, when launching new products, distribution at the terminal relied on salespeople's "silver tongues" to convince stores. Once the goods were sold, they didn't care about terminal sell-through. Distributors had no idea which stores the products went to, how much was sold in a month, or how well they performed. Blind distribution leading to slow-moving and near-expiry stock is a headache for every distributor. After products are sold on the platform, backend data analysis can accurately reveal the purchase time, frequency, and quantity of items at the terminal. Some B2B platforms have fully integrated the inventory systems of retail stores, allowing distributors to view their inventory at the terminal in real time, manage transfers promptly, and avoid near-expiry and slow-moving stock.

6. Opportunities for Horizontal Growth Through Multi-Brand Operations Traditional distributors operating multiple brands is like raising children—resources (vehicles/personnel) are limited, so they often focus on big brands and neglect small ones. Whoever gives more resources gets better task completion. A salesperson with multiple SKUs in one vehicle can only sell easy-to-sell or promoted products; small brands, high-margin products, and key new products cannot be sold well. Some distributors use separate teams for separate brands, but adding brands means adding personnel and vehicles, and the pressure of linear cost growth is unbearable. Moreover, the complexity of horizontal management (personnel/products/capital/vehicles) is a huge challenge. With platform-based operations, distributors don't need to invest linearly in delivery vehicles. They can list dozens or even hundreds of SKUs on the platform, requiring only two or three clerks. As long as salespeople secure the first listing of a SKU in a store, their main job is no longer pushing stock but helping small and medium stores place suggested orders and solving terminal SKU merchandising issues. For distributors in regions with small populations and limited growth space for individual products, multi-brand operation is an opportunity to grow quickly.

The above are just some of the benefits B2B platforms bring to distributors. But to do well, scientific understanding alone is not enough; there are many operational techniques. In the future, the author will discuss in depth the problems encountered during platform operation and solutions.

Aside: The transformation of traditional industries by the internet has never stopped, but it has only become particularly hot this year. As Pan Shiyi says in the video below, the internet is not just a tool; it fundamentally changes our business logic and order. The internet brings us a framework for a new world order. Any future business will be built on the internet. It will bring us true fairness and reasonableness. Any unfairness or unreasonableness will be changed and influenced by the internet in its unique way. This change may be very painful for distributors, but it is also very rapid and undeniable. At the same time, the internet brings unity, cooperation, high efficiency, and low-cost business environment to our supply and marketing industry. Learning the internet is learning the future; seizing the internet is seizing the future. So, what are you waiting for?

Recent Salon Topics in Our WeChat Community:

  1. How many types of platforms are there? Which type suits us distributors?
  2. After cooperating with us for a while, will they bypass us and directly serve terminals?
  3. After we join a platform, terminal stores order online; do we still need our delivery team or even sales team?
  4. Should I build my own platform or join someone else's?
  5. Online orders conflict with offline; how should I handle it?
  6. Is the money on the platform safe? Will they run away with the funds?
  7. After joining a platform, can we increase our sales and profits?
  8. With so many platforms, which one should we choose to cooperate with? If you want to know the answers to the above questions, you can press and hold the QR code below to add the editor and learn about platforms and exchange operational insights.

-END-

The best learning platform for FMCG distributors in China Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for enterprises and distributors, committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly.

The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry Reply with the red numbers below to get corresponding content. Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base. | 001 Excellent Articles | 002 Distributor Market Operations | 003 Terminal Visit Management | 004 Sales Supervisor Skills | 005 Sales Improvement Techniques | 006 Channel Expansion | 007 Managing Distributors | 008 Distributor Development | 009 Distributor Internal Operations Management | 010 Team Management | 011 Efficient Distribution Techniques | 012 Sales Manager's 18 Skills | 013 KA Operation Methods and Strategies | 014 First Lesson for New Salespeople | 015 Internet, Brands | [Long press QR code to follow] To join QQ/WeChat groups, click: Read Original