History does not simply repeat itself, but it often rhymes. On January 23, 2020, Wuhan was locked down. On December 23, 2021, Xi'an was locked down. However, through their perspectives, I felt not only their vulnerability, but also saw the flowers of resilience that history has planted in them. So, at this moment, I want to record their anti-epidemic stories, hoping to give you some inspiration if you are in the same situation. This time, I interviewed three Xi'an distributor representatives with different company sizes, product categories, and business models. Among them are: Mr. Nie, a big distributor with business over 100 million yuan, dealing in paper hygiene products; Mr. Liu, a veteran turned businessman, dealing in beer; and Mr. Yang, a manager who transitioned from a platform business to offline agency, dealing in wholesale of all categories including beverages, instant noodles, and dairy products. (To respect the privacy of the interviewees, all names used are pseudonyms.) Logistics capacity is the primary productive force Distributors must never ignore it For distributors, a city lockdown is nothing, but what is anxiety-inducing is the closure of roads, villages, stores, and doors. Xi'an's lockdown began at 0:00 on December 22. Before that, the news was not entirely certain, so most people were not alert and went home to rest as usual, only to find they couldn't leave afterward. On December 25, Xi'an implemented stricter bans. Except for designated units that could remain open, small supermarkets and community stores were all closed. Non-designated vehicles and personnel were not allowed on the roads. Subsequently, community group buying and home delivery services were also suspended. As a result, goods could not move. Without movement, there is no sales. So, if you have over 3 million yuan worth of goods in a warehouse watching them expire, how desperate would that be! For distributor Mr. Yang, "Whether we can survive after the epidemic ends is still unknown." Mr. Yang and his over 700 clients could not transact. His warehouse is in a village within the city, where controls are strict. The warehouse was sealed, and no pass was effective. He tried many ways but still couldn't get in or out, only watching the goods unable to move, anxious. In comparison, Mr. Nie is luckier. As early as 10 years ago, Mr. Nie's company chose to cooperate with a third-party logistics company. With a professional logistics company as a partner, Mr. Nie said he can sleep soundly every day. Because of insurance, he doesn't worry about shortages or theft, or the warehouse being burned or robbed, even with tens of millions of yuan in goods. Over the years, they have empowered each other. He helps the logistics company understand the industry better, and the professional logistics service has also improved his business. I asked Mr. Nie, don't most distributors realize this? Why are they still willing to do it themselves? Mr. Nie told me that every boss has their own business philosophy. Some bosses have tried cooperating with third-party logistics but couldn't get along. Some bosses really feel more at ease managing it themselves. If I were to give any advice, at least distributors in provincial markets must pay attention to logistics. The larger the market, the more risk awareness is needed. Just like after the Xi'an epidemic outbreak, the logistics company Mr. Nie cooperates with is a guaranteed supply enterprise during the epidemic. He doesn't need to worry about any procedures, and delivery is normal. Thanks to strong transport capacity, daily shipments of some categories even increased compared to usual. The longer the management chain and the wider the span, the greater the difficulty of management. Instead of spending time and energy managing drivers, it's better to focus on your own business. Distributors should focus their core capabilities on marketing and hand over distribution to professional companies. This is also a survival strategy to preserve core competitiveness. When the body cannot move, let the mind move Facing sudden crises like the epidemic, do distributors have emergency mechanisms? Perhaps only a few distributors can do this to prevent problems before they occur. For example, starting from the 19th, Mr. Nie noticed that performance did not meet expectations and the warehouse still had many goods, so he personally led the business team to visit the market and aggressively push inventory. In the first few days before the official lockdown announcement, he also heard rumors. The first rumor of a lockdown did not materialize, but he did not slack off. Instead, he became highly alert and immediately convened the entire company to activate the emergency work plan. This emergency mechanism was also an experience he learned from last year's epidemic. Another example: Mr. Liu, another distributor, organized a meeting for all employees on the evening of the 22nd. He let employees who needed to care for family members go home and kept a few veteran employees who had been with him for years. If any employees volunteered to stay, they could also stay. In the end, 10 people stayed to guard the warehouse. Fortunately, these 10 people were there; otherwise, subsequent work could not have been carried out. Mr. Liu also reflected on his emergency shortcomings. For example, on the day before the lockdown, they still had vehicles delivering outside, which meant that after the lockdown, the vehicles could not return. It is evident that a boss's risk awareness needs deliberate practice. It would be even better if they also have the ability to predict and grasp the situation. This can help them make optimal decisions based on their own conditions before risks arrive. If it's really not possible and they haven't avoided some risks in advance, what else can distributors do from a business perspective? When the body cannot move, the mind must move. With rare leisure time, distributors have many things to think about. 1. Communicate with manufacturers In such sudden situations, distributors can contact manufacturers immediately for help. If the shelf life is not good and there is a risk of expiration, they can coordinate with the manufacturer to transfer goods. If existing goods cannot leave the warehouse and distributors don't want business to stop, they can ask the brand for credit on a batch of goods, cooperate with large logistics companies, and first supply customer needs. Of course, if they are second-tier distributors, it may be more troublesome because they cannot get direct support from manufacturers and need to find other ways. 2. Look for opportunities Looking for opportunities here is not simply opportunistic. Distributors are indeed businessmen, but most successful distributors actually understand the way of business and will not do short-sighted things like raising prices. Opportunities often do not fall from the sky but are reserved for those who are prepared. For example, Mr. Nie started preparing during last year's epidemic. Some of his product categories increased rather than decreased during this epidemic. Previously, products had to be sold through supermarkets. Now, because the company started operating enterprise WeChat, mini-programs, Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and other platforms since last year's epidemic, they have accumulated many private domain customer groups. Currently, many orders come from these private domain traffic, and from ordering to point-to-point delivery, business personnel and customers can communicate one-on-one. Not only have customers not decreased, but a single diaper product's daily shipment volume can be 2-3 times the previous amount. They also save the fees that would have been paid to supermarkets, and overall profit margins have increased. 3. Internal team training With this rare opportunity to calm down, you can brainstorm with your team, think about plans for 2022, and see if there are new opportunities. You can also take this opportunity to conduct business operation training, product knowledge training, new employee training, etc. 4. Sales plan after the lockdown is lifted This is also particularly important. At this time, distributors can work with team members to formulate policies for after the lockdown is lifted in advance. For example, communicate promotional plans with customers in advance, collect demand, and quickly ship goods after the lockdown is lifted to reduce losses and avoid being beaten to the punch by competitors. In addition, after the lockdown is lifted, the capacity of logistics carriers, ordering and stocking from manufacturers, and the recovery of team morale all need to be prepared in advance. Do not be an indifferent bystander; do something and refrain from doing other things Mr. Liu, who deals in beer, has a warehouse that is not a modern standard warehouse but an old one. Moreover, on the way to the warehouse, you have to pass through a road in a village, and currently, that village road has been sealed. This situation is actually similar to Mr. Yang's. His warehouse was also sealed for 2 days, but in the end, he found a way. As a soldier, a party member, and a native of Shaanxi, his first thought was to contribute his modest strength. So he immediately contacted the local police station, street office, epidemic prevention and control center, and other departments, expressing his willingness to donate. Mr. Liu took instant noodles, mineral water, and beverages from his warehouse, and also purchased some ham sausages as love products to give to medical staff, police on duty, and epidemic prevention workers. But at the same time, he needed assistance to open the warehouse and let him pass. He successfully opened the warehouse. There are a total of ten donation points, each with 100-200 boxes of products. Mr. Liu plans to donate 2,000 boxes of water, beverages, and food, which is gradually being realized. Having the privilege of vehicle passage, on the one hand, temporarily solved the crisis of some customers needing goods but unable to deliver. On the other hand, he played the role of a social purchaser. Whatever customers need, he helps purchase, without adding a penny. For those around him who need help, as long as it is within his ability, he and his team members will help, and many supplies are given free of charge. In addition, besides the 10 people who stayed to guard the warehouse, the others who are on leave at home are also paid full salaries. A rough calculation shows that their average daily loss is currently around 2,000-3,000 yuan. What else has he done? Because his main business is beer, the channels are mainly in restaurants, and restaurants are the most affected by the epidemic. During this period, some colleagues working from home are responsible for contacting these restaurant owners one-on-one, counting their store inventory, and reassuring them that after business resumes, if they cannot sell, they can exchange all products for new date products. If they are still worried, they support full online refunds, doing excellent customer relationship management. This is also what they did during last year's epidemic. Such customer relationship maintenance is very effective for building mutual trust and lays a good foundation for future cooperation. What advice does he have for distributors? While people and vehicles can still move, distributors can contribute their modest strength to society as much as possible. First, prices must remain absolutely unchanged; this is the bottom line that must be adhered to. Second, when the date is not good, take the initiative to bear some price losses, and even sell on credit when customers need it. It may seem like losing some of your own interests, but often there are unexpected gains. The author found that because of the donation, he got the opportunity to open the warehouse. Because of the unconditional support to restaurant owners, some restaurant owners are willing to give the keys to the business personnel to move goods from the store, helping to solve the need for product transfers due to increased demand from other customers. These are all gains. Final words: The story of Xi'an distributors is over. I don't know if you are in Xi'an now, or if you are a distributor reader who has experienced the epidemic before. At the beginning of the epidemic, people across the country stayed at home. Distributors had a large amount of New Year goods in their warehouses that could not be sold. The anxiety of watching them expire day by day may still be vivid. At that time, it was more of an uncertainty that tormented the heart. Now, what the author felt from the three interviewed distributors is not resentment, but more of a normal heart, a sense of responsibility, and some expectations. Perhaps what history can give us is to constantly find the right answers in repetition and grow through experience. Let us also look forward to the early arrival of spring and blooming flowers in Xi'an. Here, I call on more distributor friends to leave your thoughts and suggestions at the end of the article. After all, the distributors in Xi'an need your support at this moment. Are you "watching" me?