Click to read the original article for details Since July 17, Henan has experienced persistent heavy rainfall, with most areas seeing torrential rain or extraordinary rainstorms, and the province's flood control emergency response has been raised to Level I. According to data from the Zhengzhou Meteorological Bureau, from 20:00 on the 17th to 20:00 on the 20th, the three-day cumulative rainfall was 617.1mm. Hourly and daily rainfall have both broken the 60-year historical records since the Zhengzhou station was established in 1951. Zhengzhou's average annual rainfall is 640.8mm, meaning it rained the equivalent of a year's worth in three days—a once-in-a-millennium event. The sudden natural disaster caught everyone off guard, and many distributors and stores were significantly affected. At the same time, numerous FMCG companies have been taking action to aid Henan.
Some distributor warehouses flooded, goods damaged On July 20, news reports said that in Zhengzhou, Henan, a beverage factory warehouse was flooded, with bottled drinks floating on the road, a shocking scene, and many citizens were picking up bottles with tools.
After the heavy rain in Henan, New Distribution has been monitoring the disaster and immediately got in touch with distributors in the affected areas. Distributor Wang Hua (pseudonym) told New Distribution that they had received early warnings and taken protective measures, and because the warehouse was located on higher ground, overall losses were not significant.
However, due to the heavy rain, roads were deeply flooded, hindering travel, and salespeople and warehouse operations were disrupted, temporarily affecting the supply to small shops and disrupting the overall sales rhythm. Many community supermarkets in Zhengzhou were cleared of mineral water and instant noodles, leading to supply shortages. Wang Hua added that he benefited from the terrain advantage, so his warehouse suffered little damage. But he learned that some distributors suffered heavy losses, with warehouses flooded extensively and many goods soaked and essentially scrapped. In severe cases, warehouses collapsed and large quantities of products were washed away, resulting in heavy losses.
Another distributor, Li Hua (pseudonym), told New Distribution that although the warehouse was on higher ground, the sudden and prolonged rain caused some water accumulation, and a few goods were soaked, but overall the problem was not major, and with insurance, they were protected.
But distributors in lower-lying areas fared worse; goods not moved in time were scattered by floodwaters, causing significant losses. Without insurance, they could easily be reduced to poverty overnight.
Currently, thanks to government early warnings, some distributors who prepared in advance were less affected, but others, due to terrain, suffered severe damage, which requires industry attention.
FMCG companies in action, Henan don't panic! When one place is in trouble, all sides help. The whole nation is concerned about Henan and Zhengzhou. At this difficult time, the entire FMCG industry is taking action, whether brand owners or platforms, all doing their part to aid Henan.
China Resources C'estbon activated its disaster relief emergency response mechanism yesterday, donating the first batch of 2,000 cases of water, and coordinating with local distributors to urgently allocate and prepare disaster relief drinking water. They also contacted relevant government departments and public welfare organizations overnight to actively address water needs, dispatch all available logistics, fully support the transport of relief supplies, and maximize the safety of drinking water for affected people and rescue teams.
Yili Group, through the Red Cross Society of China, urgently allocated the first batch of 10,000 boxes of products, including milk, milk powder, yogurt, and mineral water, to aid rescue personnel and affected people.
Yili Co., Ltd. also stated that it has activated emergency plans for employees, suppliers, distributors, and ranch partners.
Mengniu Group's first batch of donated supplies, two trucks of milk products, has arrived at the Zhengzhou Municipal Party School. Its subsidiaries Miaokelanduo, Yashily, and Bellamy have also joined the donation efforts, providing infant formula and children's cheese for 600 affected children at the Zhengzhou Welfare Institute.
Wahaha is also taking action. Chairman Zong Qinghou specially approved: Wahaha immediately donated 240,000 bottles of purified water and 60,000 cans of eight-treasure porridge to Henan, doing its best to support the disaster area.
At the same time, Wahaha is monitoring local needs in real time to provide support for post-disaster water use in Henan, ensuring water safety with Wahaha's resources.
Baixiang Instant Noodles also organized 4,488 boxes of instant noodles in the morning, with the first batch totaling 50,000 cups, delivered by two donation vehicles to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and the front lines of rescue.
Jinmailang also responded immediately, opening 11 warehouses in Zhengzhou as rest and shelter sites, and coordinating with flood control command departments and disaster relief organizations to provide free drinking water to rescue personnel and affected people.
Moreover, Jinmailang opened all its distribution points, providing free packaged drinking water (Liangbai Kai) to the public. They also said that if any military units or resettlement sites need emergency supplies, they are very willing to deliver them promptly.
Muyuan Foods announced that it immediately established an emergency command center and plans to donate 100 million yuan for flood control, disaster relief, public assistance, sanitation, and post-disaster reconstruction in severely affected areas like Zhengzhou.
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Not only brand owners are taking action; at critical moments, internet platforms also demonstrate corporate responsibility in social events.
More than 20 JD Logistics rescue vehicles carrying the first batch of JD's donated relief supplies arrived in Zhongmu County, Henan. They urgently dispatched large quantities of shovels, life jackets, raincoats, rubber boots, and other flood control supplies, as well as mineral water, instant noodles, ham sausages, and other daily necessities from the nearest Zhengzhou Asia One smart warehouse, with JD Logistics rushing to aid the affected areas.
Alibaba's Hema Market will coordinate with flood control command departments and disaster relief organizations to provide water, rice, noodles, packaged food, and other emergency supplies free of charge to rescue personnel and affected people. At the same time, it will transport the first batch of 450,000 food and daily necessities to 21,000 service points in 7,000 communities in Zhengzhou, providing them free to citizens.
Pinduoduo made an initial emergency donation of 100 million yuan for disaster relief. Meanwhile, its Zhengzhou Duoduo Maicai warehouse urgently inventoried all grid warehouses for food, medicine, and disaster relief supplies, and urgently coordinated with suppliers inside and outside Henan to purchase necessary supplies to replenish the warehouses, providing them free through nearly 20,000 outlets across the city to meet the disaster relief and daily needs of surrounding residents.
Meituan Charitable Foundation donated 100 million yuan, in conjunction with the Red Cross Society of China, to provide services for the resettlement of affected people and post-disaster sanitation.
Meituan Youxuan also opened its retail storage supplies in the Zhengzhou area for free, with the first batch of donations including water, rice, flour, oil, fruits, and vegetables, totaling 630,000 items, covering 12 administrative districts in Zhengzhou. Under the guidance of flood control command departments, they are ensuring emergency supplies and fully guaranteeing the daily supply in Zhengzhou.
At the same time, Meituan Youxuan has coordinated more than 20,000 community group points to join the rescue effort. Residents in need of supplies or looking for people can use the Meituan app or Meituan Youxuan app to find nearby community group points and contact group leaders for help.
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Distributors, hold on! Call for manufacturers to provide timely support Under natural disasters, business impacts are inevitable. Some distributors said that they survived the pandemic, so they are confident they can get through this heavy rain. They are already holding online meetings and formulating self-rescue plans, and will take action immediately after the rain stops.
Of course, some distributors with severe losses, whose goods were extensively soaked, hope that manufacturers will pay attention, help handle the damaged goods, or provide subsidies to reduce losses.
While the whole country is concerned about the disaster in Henan, we also call on manufacturers to see the situation of distributors and help them tide over the difficulties together.
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