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Let me first explain an idiom: Han Xin commanding troops, the more the better. Once, Han Xin and Liu Bang discussed the art of leading troops. Han Xin said to Liu Bang, "Your Majesty, you can lead at most one hundred thousand troops." Liu Bang was a bit displeased and retorted, "What about you?" Han Xin confidently replied, "The more troops I lead, the better." This actually talks about a manager's ability to manage a team: the greater the capability, the more troops one can lead, and the larger the team one can manage.
In the current FMCG industry, companies generally require distributors to increase their delivery vehicles, which is a common industry practice. Improving delivery service capability, increasing visit frequency, and doing detailed market work will naturally boost sales—this is undoubtedly correct. However, distributors generally oppose the requirement to add vehicles. Why? I believe it's because manufacturers have not fully considered the distributors' management capability. "Han Xin"-level distributors can increase sales capability, expand business volume, and raise profits, so both the manufacturer and distributor benefit—why not? But what about "Liu Bang"-level distributors? They are already struggling to manage their current vehicles and personnel, feeling overwhelmed. How can they afford to add vehicles? And what about those even less capable than Liu Bang? Adding vehicles and personnel is not just about increasing costs by tens of thousands of yuan or adding delivery vehicles; the greater difficulty lies in the management capability to "afford the vehicles, manage them well, and make money."
Let's analyze the disadvantages of adding vehicles for distributors.
Difficulty of rising costs. Adding vehicles inevitably means adding personnel, which naturally increases costs. If the profit from the increased vehicle configuration exceeds the added cost, then adding vehicles is a success for the client. But if the increased profit over a certain period is less than the increased expenses, it's hard for clients to accept. Especially given some distributors' short-term return and short-sighted mentality, they simply dare not (and will not) attempt to add vehicles.
Difficulty of personnel management. Personnel management is currently the biggest headache for distributors (and manufacturers too, for that matter). All distributors lament: "People's hearts are scattered; the team is hard to lead." We live in a rapidly changing society where various opportunities, temptations, and information make everyone's inner world restless. Especially among grassroots staff, restlessness is more evident, and everyone has different thoughts. I've heard many distributors sigh: "In the past, I hired someone for a few hundred yuan, and they were dedicated to doing well; now I hire someone for several thousand yuan, and they think about changing jobs every day."
Whether the distributor's own management capability can meet the requirements of expanding the team. Company management is the top priority for distributors. Management brings efficiency, which is an industry consensus. Through management, enhancing efficiency and increasing profit margins is the only way for distributors to cope with rising industry costs. But can current FMCG distributors manage a company-operated team well? Recruitment, team training, vehicle safety, per-vehicle output, salary assessment, inventory management... Frankly speaking, many distributors can operate with two vehicles at low cost, achieve annual sales of 6 million yuan, and still make some profit. If they expand to four vehicles, even if they reach 12 million yuan, without proper management, they might even incur losses. Management capability is probably the biggest shortcoming for distributors when adding vehicles.
Looking at the development history of distributors, most started with one vehicle. The basic model then was: the boss as driver, the boss's wife as salesperson, and a relative helping to guard the warehouse or storefront. At that time, the distributor was essentially a salesperson—tired physically but mentally relaxed, managing oneself with no management difficulty.
Later, as business gradually grew, distributors expanded to two vehicles. Initially, with two vehicles, the distributor usually drove one vehicle themselves and hired a driver and a salesperson for the other. Once business stabilized, they would hire someone to take over the boss's original vehicle, freeing themselves to focus on managing supermarkets or large secondary wholesalers. At this stage, besides the couple, the distributor managed at most 4-5 people, which was not too difficult, but signs of increasing management complexity were emerging. Distributors began to worry about employee departures, but it wasn't a big problem because if a gap appeared, the distributor could step in themselves.
When expanding to three vehicles, the distributor basically stepped away from the market, and it became a matter of "mental exhaustion." Why mentally tired? 1. Tired for the brand. With three vehicles, there are naturally more brands, and companies have high requirements: distribution, display, inventory, terminal, plan execution... Meeting company requirements alone is already overwhelming. 2. Tired for management. At this stage, the distributor has basically stopped daily vehicle delivery work and handed over specific business to salespeople. Since they no longer sell directly, the most important task is managing how to make salespeople sell more. Holding business meetings, executing and supervising promotions, recruiting and handling departures... The distributor's own upgrade is not easy.
In summary, I've analyzed the difficulties many distributor friends face in adding vehicles, but if bosses want to grow their business and increase profits, they still need to improve service, enhance delivery and distribution capabilities. In the current business environment, it's "advance or retreat." To add vehicles, distributors must first improve their own management, upgrade from low-cost operations to management-oriented distributors, and change both their mindset and actions for the company's development. Don't keep nostalgic for the low-cost happy times of the past or complain about current difficulties. The only constant in the market is change. I wish all distributor friends can climb a management step, do well in the market, succeed in brand operations, and earn more profits.