NEW DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH TOPIC
How can distributors keep growing across fragmented channels?
Front-line analysis of product selection, organization, channel strategy, profit models, and business transformation for FMCG distributors.
Related research and analysis
4620 articles · Page 49 of 193
Zihaiguo Ignites Chengdu Spring Sugar Fair, Convenience Food Market Set for Reshuffle!
As a major event in the sugar and wine food industry, the Sugar and Wine Fair attracts distributors from all over the country every year to select products and exchange ideas. Last year, due to the impact of the epidemic, the Spring Sugar and Wine Fair was canceled, making this year's fair exceptionally noteworthy for distributors. During a visit to Chengdu, reporters found that various hotel exhibitions were extremely lively, with many innovative consumer brand exhibition areas. As the hottest brand of 2020, Zihaiguo made its debut at the Spring Sugar Fair, attracting offline distributors to stop, linger, and discuss cooperation. In 2020, when counting which brands were hot in the consumer goods sector, I think...
New DistributionBrand Channel Digitalization: Start from B-end or C-end?
The endgame determines the direction, and the current state determines the starting point. The distance between the current state and the endgame is the path for future work. The current state of channel digitalization is: 1. Leading FMCG companies have basically connected B2B, i.e., F2B or F2B2b, with the last link being b2C. During research, I found that some leading companies have even connected township second-tier distributors. Of course, this process has not been without resistance from distributors and sales staff. Companies that first connected B2B generally focus on direct-operated terminals. When...
刘春雄From Terminal Interception in the Deep Distribution Era to User Interception in the Digital Era
Terminal interception aims at sales; user interception, besides sales, primarily aims at getting users online. Terminal interception has touchpoints but no connection; user interception means touch equals connection.
刘春雄Let Professionals Do What They Do Best: How Anneng's 'One Inventory' Helps FMCG Companies Strengthen Channel Power?
In the FMCG industry, traditional marketing relies on brand power and channel power. With media decentralization, channel power, especially deep distribution, has become crucial. Anneng Zhilian's 'One Inventory' solution integrates online and offline inventory to streamline supply chains, reduce costs, and enhance efficiency, enabling BC channel integration and helping companies adapt to diversified channels.
New DistributionSecond-generation distributor for Unilever, Darlie, Colgate and other daily chemical brands enters e-commerce, doubles growth in 3 years!
Du Xiaoying, a second-generation distributor, leveraged her audit background and a full organizational structure to grow her family's daily chemical distribution business online from 8 million RMB in 2018 to 48.5 million RMB in 2020. She shares her strategies for profitability, product selection, and the importance of systems and execution, offering insights for traditional distributors considering e-commerce.
袁来Distributors Entering Community Group Buying: Learn to Come Armed to the Feast
As community group buying becomes a major channel innovation, distributors must face this 'Hongmen Banquet' by partnering with brands, securing exclusive products, and building strong fulfillment capabilities to negotiate from a position of strength.
陈思廷2020 China Resources Snow Breweries Performance Review | Strengthening Brand Premiumization and Empowering Distributors to Grow Stronger!
On March 22, 2021, China Resources Snow Breweries released its 2020 performance report. The report showed that in 2020, the company's revenue was RMB 31.448 billion, a slight decrease of 5.2% year-on-year, mainly due to the impact of the pandemic. However, in terms of profit, the company's profit attributable to shareholders and earnings before interest and taxes increased by 59.6% and 42.3% respectively compared to 2019. In response, CEO Hou Xiaohai stated at the media conference held that day that domestic pandemic prevention and control has basically been brought under control, and it is expected that the beer market consumption will return to normal levels in 2021.
澄韵After Warehousing and Distribution Are Stripped Away, What Else Can Distributors Do?
As national warehousing and distribution platforms grow rapidly, distributors' warehousing and distribution functions are being stripped away. Distributors must transform into operators, whose core value lies in BC-integrated operations and user reach, which cannot be replaced by large platforms.
刘春雄The Truth About Channel Flattening and Disintermediation
To understand China's market and channels, one must first understand China's geography. With 1.4 billion people and nearly 39,000 township-level administrative divisions, China has the world's largest number of retail outlets. Channel flattening and deep distribution have been the two major transformations, but the total number of channel levels (internal and external) remains constant at six, as flattening merely shifts levels from external distributors to internal management. In the digital era, the total levels increase to seven because the endpoint shifts from retail outlets to end consumers.
刘春雄A Good Product in the Eyes of Distributors
This year, I've been handling Unified's Laotan Sauerkraut Sauce, Shiitake Mushroom Sauce, and Liangpi, and recently I've been assisting the team in recruiting distributors. After visiting dozens of distributors, I've concluded that the definition of a 'good product' differs between brand owners and distributors. If you insist on talking about your product's excellence from the brand's perspective, you may fail to understand distributors' needs and miss cooperation opportunities. Today, I'll discuss what factors determine whether distributors consider a product 'good'.
高级研究员 海游Frontline Teams Resist, Distributors Don't Take It Seriously—How to Actually Pull Off Digital Transformation?
The tide of digitalization in the FMCG industry has reached the doorsteps of terminal stores, with the wreckage of companies that can't swim floating around, and boats full of system vendors. Distributor bosses are anxious, asking where to start and how to do it, having installed multiple terminal systems without success. This article offers advice for manufacturers and distributors on digital transformation, emphasizing the importance of data collection, distributor engagement, and a phased, people-first approach.
高级研究员 海游New Marketing 2.0 Guide: Three-Dimensional Space, Three-Dimensional Connection, Dual-Line Deep Distribution, Traffic Interconnection
The environment has changed, and marketing must change accordingly. This article introduces the core concepts of New Marketing 2.0, including three-dimensional space, three-dimensional connection, dual-line deep distribution, and traffic interconnection, providing a framework for brands to integrate offline, community, and online spaces to achieve BC integration and traffic flow.
刘春雄Customer Onlineization: A New Step in Business Reach for the FMCG Industry
Field Service 365 proposes that digitalization in the FMCG industry mainly consists of five onlineizations: personnel, customer, market activity, channel order, and channel inventory. Among them, customer onlineization is the foundation for business reach. In the past, FMCG companies mostly adopted multi-level distribution strategies, ignoring stores and not controlling them. Companies pushed goods to distributors, who were responsible for developing stores and stocking them, making it difficult for companies to know which terminals their products reached. A typical FMCG company has thousands of customers (terminal stores), and large ones have hundreds of types and hundreds of thousands of terminals, such as KA, BC, CVS, and special channels like hotels, internet cafes, restaurants, and schools. To obtain their locations, delivery frequencies, and complaint situations, companies had to invest heavily in manpower and verify information accuracy. Now, "those who win terminals win the world," and controlling terminals is core to competition. The first step is customer onlineization, which differs from traditional informatization by enabling real-time, two-way business interaction.
实现客户在线化的Digitalization Completely Transforms Channel Power
A review of several cases of BC integrated operations reveals that even unknown new brands can move through channels much faster than with deep distribution. The reason is that digitalization reaches C-end consumers, activating B-end channels through C-end resources, creating channel pull. When push and pull are combined in the same channel, the impact far exceeds traditional brand-driven or channel-driven approaches.
刘春雄Community Group Buying Is Here, Distributors Don't Be Afraid!
Scan the QR code in the image to register. Recently, I talked with a distributor named Wang Hua (pseudonym) who supplies to community group buying platforms. I thought he was doing well by catching the trend, but he complained bitterly about being scolded by a 90s buyer and facing fines and freezes. The article advises distributors to stay calm, focus on core competencies like product selection and promotion, and not fear the new model.
秦淮Intermediaries Will Always Exist, but Distributors Will Disappear
The article argues that while intermediaries will always exist, the traditional role of distributors is evolving. It outlines how digital transformation is leading to the emergence of four specialized service platforms that will replace the comprehensive functions of traditional distributors.
刘春雄First-Tier City Manager: First Check the Market, Then Diagnose the Distributor, One Upgrade Lasts Three Years
After the Chinese New Year, city managers face increasing pressure as community group buying platforms disrupt the market. This article advises city managers to conduct a comprehensive market check and distributor diagnosis, then upgrade the distributor network strategically—an upgrade that should last three years.
许翔 Ryan Xu8 Suggestions for Distributors: Business Is Difficult Every Year, but the 'Difficulty' Differs Each Year!
Scan the QR code in the image to register. In 2020, many distributors had a hard time. If you survived the past year without falling or being crushed, you should feel fortunate; in fact, you have outperformed many distributors around you. 2021 has officially begun, and although the shadow of the pandemic has almost dissipated, it is estimated that 2021 will not be easy for distributors either. Of course, every year is difficult, but the 'difficulty' faced each year is different. Therefore, this article offers 8 pertinent suggestions from the perspective of distributors.
高级研究员 海游Goodbye, Salesmen!
2020 marks the beginning of the digital marketing era, accelerated by the pandemic. As traditional channels and the internet fully integrate, the role of salesmen will be replaced by digital systems, turning them into 'human components' within these systems.
方刚Give the Function of Market Distribution Back to Distributors!
Scan the QR code in the image to register. Recently, visiting distributors in Shandong with sales of 10-30 million RMB, which is the main body of China's FMCG distributors. These distributors typically have years of business and some accumulation; they operate single categories with multiple brands; brand owners support sales staff and market expenses; they bear capital, warehousing, and logistics functions, as well as some wholesale sales. From an operational data perspective, gross margins are basically 7-8% to 12-13%, with some good categories reaching 15-16%. At the same time, operating costs are also around 7%-8%. Many distributors are at the break-even line; once there is any change in the external environment or brand owners, it's not uncommon to work for a month for nothing. This may be the general status of gross profit for distributors with 10-30 million in sales in China!
New DistributionBehind the 2020 Surge in Baijiu Stocks, Frontline Distributors See a Different Picture
While baijiu stocks soared in 2020, frontline distributors faced declining sales and increasing costs. This article shares insights from a Shanghai distributor, Chen Hua, on the challenges of urbanization, brand dominance, and the difficulty of scaling a relationship-based business, offering four strategies for survival and growth.
陈峰The Future of Sales Representatives: Trapped in Algorithms Like 'Riders', or Squad Leaders 'Calling for Fire Support'?
This article explores the dual nature of the internet for sales representatives in the FMCG industry, using the analogy of food delivery riders constrained by algorithms and the concept of 'squad leader warfare' from Huawei and Feng Lun. It argues that digital marketing transforms the traditional push-based channel model into a pull-based one, empowering frontline salespeople to make decisions and call on backend resources, thus changing their role from mere executors to strategic leaders.
刘春雄Distributors, Be Willing to 'Throw a Stone' to Test the Waters
This article discusses the importance of opportunity thinking for distributors, using a story about throwing a stone at a bird to illustrate that taking small actions to test opportunities is better than inaction. It argues that opportunity is not luck, and that distributors should stay curious, engage in external communication, and be willing to try new things to achieve sustained success.
陈思廷Distributors: Why Can't You Grow Your Business?
Many distributors face a common question: why, after years of hard work, is my business still not growing? This article analyzes the possible reasons, including product issues, business model problems, management coordination, and resistance to new operational models, and offers practical advice for overcoming these bottlenecks.
高级研究员 海游