I've been visiting distributors across various regions recently, helping them implement B2b transformation. During these exchanges, one clear observation emerged: many companies face obstacles in transformation not because they lack capability, but because they've chosen the wrong direction or have cognitive biases. The most common situation is labeling oneself from the start:
"I'm a distributor for a certain brand."
"I run a B2b platform."
"I'm a convenience store channel supplier." Seemingly clear, but in reality, these labels box them in more and more. Some companies focus on hypermarkets, others on small shops, some on convenience store chains, others on special channels like group buying, and some even open their own retail stores... The forms differ, but the essence is using "one inventory" to explore infinite business possibilities. This article will center on "one inventory" and clarify three key questions:
- What exactly is "one inventory"? What business models can it support?
- To manage this "one inventory" well, how should the procurement and sales system be structured?
- How can this "one inventory" resolve the contradiction between scale expansion and declining profit margins? There's No Such Thing as a 'Distributor' The Essence of Business Is 'One Inventory' The term "distributor" is inherently a label from the manufacturer's perspective. Whether it's B2b platform, supply chain service provider, franchise chain operator... ultimately, these are roles defined from others' viewpoints. From the company's own perspective, what you truly operate is not a brand or an identity, but "one inventory." So-called "one inventory" refers to having a team, a system, and a product portfolio within a regional market that can efficiently serve a group of customers. This isn't about a specific brand, a few SKUs, or the implementation of a system; it's about the organization's comprehensive operational capability over products, channels, customers, inventory, and pricing. Different types of enterprises can form diverse business paths based on their inventory capabilities. Distributors typically evolve into several business models based on their inventory capabilities:
Pure trading: Traditional distribution system, mainly based on brand pressure stocking.
Pure B2b: Building product systems, delivery capabilities, and self-ordering systems on a platform logic.
Franchise chain: Store conversion model, unifying the front end through supply + operational standard output.
Trading + B2b: This is the current mainstream, like Luoyang Hecai, which started from brand agency and gradually developed an online platform and self-operated system.
B2b + chain stores: For example, Nanning Yijia Zhixing and Tangshan Yihe, after successfully running B2b, added direct-operated stores or franchise systems, gradually moving toward omni-channel operations. These models have no absolute advantages or disadvantages; they are choices based on enterprise resource capabilities and regional structures. The key isn't what you call yourself, but whether you can organize this inventory clearly, supply it stably, and sell it effectively. Behind 'One Inventory' Is the Restructuring of Procurement and Sales Systems Many companies pile up SKUs and have a large customer base, but when they calculate the accounts, they don't make money. The problem often lies in "procurement and sales not running on the same track." For "one inventory" to move, there must be a procurement and sales system that supports its stable operation. Procurement Divided by Category, Responsible for Omni-Channel Product Operations The old procurement logic was basically divided by channel: hypermarket goods, B2b goods, convenience store goods, each purchased separately. This method was efficient early on, but as business expands, it easily leads to duplicate SKUs, chaotic inventory, and fragmented control. A more scientific approach is: procurement divided by category, responsible for all channels. For example, if one person is dedicated to the beverage category, they must understand the differentiated needs of this category across hypermarkets, CVS, small shops, group buying, and other channels, and optimize it to the extreme. Some procurement staff even handle only a secondary category, like "peanuts," but must be very clear about brand choices and specification preferences across different channels and regions. How can one category of products cover an entire city? This is the professional capability procurement must possess. Sales Grouped by Channel, with the Ability to Push the Entire Inventory Traditional sales follow "brands follow people" and "customers divided by region." A handles beverages, B handles paper products; Jia is responsible for the southern district, Yi for the northern district... This approach means one person has to run various types of channels, which is inefficient and results in poor customer experience. Based on the "one inventory" logic, sales are grouped by channel, pushing all categories. Whoever is responsible for the convenience store channel must be able to carry the entire inventory—beverages, snacks, paper products, condiments—when visiting customers; whoever handles group buying customers must know how to package, combine, and set pricing strategies... This also means the business team needs to understand and have the ability to sell all categories based on the channel they are responsible for, transforming from "brand representatives" to "channel consultants." Single Category × All Channels + Single Channel × All Categories = The Underlying System for 'One Inventory' to Move Whether "one inventory" can run isn't about having enough SKUs or channels, but whether the organizational logic is smooth and system capabilities match. Procurement, based on categories, horizontally understands needs across different channels and optimizes structure; sales, based on channels, vertically connects product structures to complete customer transactions. When these two systems operate in a closed loop, the enterprise's inventory truly has the ability to "move, profit, and roll." How to Use 'One Inventory' to Solve Scale and Profit Problems? A common dilemma in platform operations is: more SKUs, more customers, more models, but thinner profits. Previously, in trading, the focus was on "every order profitable, every product with margin"; now, with complex structures, it's easy to fall into the trap of "big but not profitable." At this point, bosses need to shift their operational perspective—calculate the total account using the "one inventory" approach. 1. Operating Costs Cannot Be Reduced, Only Spread Many distributors instinctively retreat when mentioning "scaling up": fearing high costs, team inadequacy, or poor ROI. But the fact is, apart from delivery, most functional costs in platform operations—like systems, graphic design, customer service—are relatively fixed. Whether you do 30 million or 200 million a year, you might still have one graphic designer and a few customer service reps; warehouse rent, sorting labor, backend systems, financial accounting—these costs don't increase proportionally with volume. Only delivery is "per order," but it can also reduce unit costs through route optimization and full truckload rates. So costs aren't saved; they're driven by structure, raised by efficiency, and diluted by scale. 2. 'One Inventory' Looks at Total Account Benefits, Not Single-Point Margins Traditional trading models pursue "every truck profitable, every order profitable." But "one inventory" looks at the overall comprehensive margin and calculates the structural total account, rather than focusing on the profit or loss of a specific salesperson, brand, or SKU. Some people, products, or categories may appear loss-making individually, but when placed in the entire inventory, they bring traffic, retain customers, and support the structure. If a single SKU in a brand loses money but the brand overall makes money, do it; if a brand in a category isn't profitable but the category overall is profitable, do it; even if a category itself isn't profitable, but the entire inventory is profitable, do it because terminals and consumers need it. 3. Distinguish Who Does Scale and Who Does Profit In "one inventory," different categories, brands, and SKUs each have their own tasks. Some products solve scale issues, like fast-moving goods, big brands, beverages, and alcohol. They have low margins and may even incur slight losses, but they support the company's volume and shipment. Others solve profit issues, like sugar, condiments, bulk items, sugar toys, and daily chemicals. They have small volumes but high margins, serving as the fulcrum of the profit structure. Similarly, procurement roles are divided: beverage procurement leans toward solving scale issues, while snack food procurement focuses more on generating profit. There are many other tasks: activities, promotions, and sales pushes solve scale; fine negotiations, structure optimization, and high-margin SKUs solve profit. Scale and profit are not opposites; the key is whether you can find a structural combination in this inventory that both pulls scale and protects profit. The worst thing is to make those responsible for scale bear profit targets, or force profit-type categories to chase large volumes. When enterprises return to the essence of inventory management, crossing cycles and achieving sustained growth becomes not luck, but inevitability. Due to space limitations, I can't elaborate on everything. At the 7th China FMCG Conference [New Demand · New Supply] on August 19-21, 2025, the author, Yunchuan, founder of Shengyihao Consulting and B2b supply chain expert, will deliver a keynote titled "Trading + B2b: Solving Scale and Profit Problems with One Inventory" at the "Regional B2b Platform & Key Brand Cooperation Seminar." Additionally, the "Regional B2b Platform & Key Brand Cooperation Seminar" will feature:
- Exploring Incremental Opportunities in Downstream Markets
40+ regional B2b platform owners gather, covering 200,000 small shops, analyzing growth potential in downstream markets, and precisely targeting incremental opportunities.
- Release of the "Regional B2b Platform & Key Brand Cooperation Guide"
Exclusive report interpreted on-site, revealing new opportunities and challenges for brand-platform cooperation.
- In-depth Dialogue and One-Click Connection
Face-to-face exchanges between B2b platforms and brand representatives to quickly arrange cooperation opportunities! Interested friends, don't miss it! **********🔺