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.
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4621 articles · Page 70 of 193
When You Can't Be the Leader or Break Through 10 Million, How Should Small Distributors Survive?
Chinese FMCG distributors often struggle to scale up into regional supply chain companies, especially those handling categories requiring deep distribution. Geographic limitations, capital intensity, and category dynamics cap their growth, with few exceeding 10-15 million in annual sales. This article analyzes the common traits of mainstream distributors and offers strategies on market positioning, category selection, channel expansion, and talent management to break through growth ceilings.
赵波In the Era of Concentrated Rise of Channel Brands, Where Are the Crises and Opportunities for Distributors?
This article discusses two trends in the marketing industry: the rise of distributor alliances and the emergence of new brands that excel in channel management rather than manufacturing. It argues that we are still in the stage of channel transformation, where channel brands are booming, and analyzes the crises and opportunities for distributors in this context.
黄润霖Exclusive | Food Industry Inventory Losses Reach 100 Billion Yuan a Year, He Helps Manufacturers Reduce Losses by 100 Million Yuan Daily
Product nearing expiration is a pain point for all food companies and distributors. The handling of such products typically involves discount sales in KA stores or special channels like factories, canteens, and prisons. Despite these efforts, not all near-expiry products can be sold, leading to destruction. An industry insider reveals that a 1% loss rate for top FMCG companies like Want Want, Uni-President, and Master Kong translates to billions in losses, with total industry losses exceeding 100 billion yuan annually. In response, the app 'Hao Shi Qi' was launched in 2016 to help brands, distributors, and importers sell near-expiry products quickly through countdown pricing, aiming to reduce losses. Founder Lei Yong aims to halve the 100 billion yuan loss, with a slogan of reducing losses by 100 million yuan daily for Chinese food companies.
袁来Who Wants to Break the Backbone of China's Red Bull?
This article discusses the legal and commercial battle between Yan Bin, the operator of China Red Bull, and Thailand's TCP Group over trademark and equity disputes, highlighting the impact on the brand's operations and the broader market.
财经无忌Case Study | The Road of a Regional Distributor: From Joining Eternal Asia and Cooperating with Lingshoutong to Building Its Own Platform!
Hunan Jinzhinuo Supply Chain Platform, located in Yiyang City, is a local supply chain service platform with the largest logistics park area and 100% occupancy by major distributors. We interviewed Lu Jurong, one of its founders. Below is the interview transcript.
尚普贺Two Indicators to Test Whether a Distributor Can Survive Long-Term: Cost and Efficiency!
Any business model transformation cannot escape the two validation standards of 'cost and efficiency.' Testing whether each distributor can survive longer, sustain, and remain competitive comes down to cost and efficiency. This article mainly discusses the differences between traditional warehousing and distribution and digital warehousing and distribution for distributors.
徐永刚The Dealer's Playbook: 3 Trucks, 5 People, 10 Million in Annual Sales!
As rural consumption rises and brand awareness grows, liquor companies are fiercely competing for the township market. Based on research of weak county and township markets and successful development cases, the author proposes a four-step approach: build a team, set standards, create model stores, and ensure implementation.
郭子涵Bold FMCG Distributors Dare to Act Without Understanding New Retail!
The history of FMCG distributors is a business history of daring. Some say FMCG distributors are typical businessmen, and if you add a qualifier, they are 'typical small businessmen'! In the context of the recent buzzword 'entrepreneurship', they are a group of persistent entrepreneurs who started early. Their original motivation was the simple dream of 'making money', and as long as they could make money, anything goes! Thus, when we visit distributors, we often hear older distributors recall: back then, I started by selling cigarettes, firecrackers, agricultural products...
迈克This 618, JD New Channel's B2B2C Strategy in Action: Capability Upgrade!
The annual 618 promotion battle has begun. This festival, originally created by online e-commerce platforms, has evolved from pure online to a promotion festival involving all commercial entities both online and offline. In the past, 618 was mostly a C-end "price cut" promotion, with B-end businesses rarely heard from. But in the past two days, it's evident in the author's social feed that some regional B2B platforms transformed from distributors have joined in, targeting small B-end store owners with waves of promotional campaigns leveraging the 618 momentum. This has drawn the author's attention to FMCG B2B platforms, especially JD's FMCG B2B business, the New Channel division, under the 618 initiator JD.com.
袁来Why Have Chinese Distributors Become Appendages of Brand Owners?
This article explores why American distributors evolved into supply chain companies while Chinese distributors became appendages of brand owners, attributing the divergence to China's rapid economic growth and the adoption of deep distribution models that prioritize brand control over distributor scale.
赵波The Vicious Cycle of Inventory Pressure That Distributors Can't Escape
Distributors are trapped in a vicious cycle of inventory pressure, forced to stock up by manufacturers, leading to financial strain and operational challenges. The article urges distributors to say no to excessive stocking and credit sales to break free from this cycle.
New Distribution“No Middleman to Earn the Difference” Is Indeed a Lie, but the Good Old Days for Distributors Are Gone Forever!
The transformation of traditional distributors is not a new topic, having been explored for over a decade. With the rise of B2B platforms since 2014, the internet has injected new vitality into this old issue. The article analyzes the characteristics of FMCG distribution channels, what disintermediation removes and retains, and proposes strategies for traditional distributors to adapt.
New DistributionYunnan Baiyao, the 'Second Place', Aims for the Top Spot in the Toothpaste Market in 2019?
Yunnan Baiyao toothpaste has differentiated itself from other brands, breaking the low-price market deadlock and proving the potential of high-end functional toothpaste. By moving beyond pharmacy channels and adopting a deep distribution strategy, it has achieved top rankings across multiple channels. Now holding the No.2 market share in China's toothpaste market, will it overtake Darlie, the current leader?
张明Deep Distribution Loses Growth Momentum: How FMCG Brands Plan Growth for the Next Decade
Deep distribution efficiency has failed. With 5.2 million mom-and-pop stores in China, the market is highly fragmented and multi-tiered. The essence of the deep distribution system that supported FMCG growth for decades was mass production, mass communication, and mass distribution, driven by efficiency. However, this model is now failing due to high costs, single-channel coverage, and the rise of new retail. Brands like P&G have seen revenue declines, and the traditional HBG theory (big brand, big media, big channel) is no longer effective. The article discusses the need to restructure distribution models, focusing on digitalization, integrated online-offline supply chains, and organizational changes to adapt to future growth.
赵波Distributors: Several Mental Hurdles Factory Owners Can't Get Over!
Almost everyone is subjective, habitually viewing others from their own perspective, with 'I think' being paramount, and personal values often replacing worldview. Empathy is theoretically possible but practically difficult, and mutual understanding is even more unlikely. This applies to manufacturer-distributor relations: manufacturers don't understand distributors, and vice versa. The root of many conflicts is asymmetric understanding and the belief that one's own view is correct. However, manufacturers often dominate, with factory owners viewing distributors as subordinates needing to follow orders, showing little interest in understanding them. This article outlines several mental hurdles factory owners struggle to overcome, including controlling distributors, insisting on delayed benefits, prioritizing sales growth over cost increases, focusing only on their own product sales, expecting quick distributor recruitment, and believing distributor profits come from the manufacturer.
潘文富The Times Have Changed: Where Exactly Are Distributors Losing?
Many distributors ask me about transformation, often seeking software recommendations or advice. I don't answer directly because there's no standard model; instead, I ask about their sales, brands, and regions. After analyzing cases, I've identified three core traits: efficiency, opportunity, and partnership.
袁来Under Economic Downturn Pressure, Which Distributors Are Hard to Replace?
During a recent training session for distributors of a French company in Ningbo, Zhejiang, a student asked which distributors are hard to replace under economic downturn pressure, especially with channel flattening and new retail becoming more prevalent. This article explores six types of distributors that are less likely to be replaced, including technical, brand, system, OEM, new-type, and category buyout distributors.
清风明月夜Is it that distributors and offices have lost the ability to launch new products, or is headquarters turning a blind eye?
The root of execution problems often lies with management, but blaming the team and its managers entirely is unfair. A case study of a leading FMCG company reveals that new product launches fail because regional offices and distributors lack the manpower and headquarters lacks oversight, compounded by a results-driven culture that prioritizes sales targets over new product initiatives.
李政权Yuan Renguo Expelled from Party and Public Office: Is He Really the Sinner of Moutai?
According to the Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, Yuan Renguo, former deputy secretary of the Party Committee and chairman of China Kweichow Moutai Distillery (Group) Co., Ltd., and former chairman of Kweichow Moutai Co., Ltd., has been investigated for serious disciplinary and legal violations. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervisory Commission stated that Yuan seriously violated political discipline and rules, using Moutai's distribution rights as a tool for personal gain and political advancement, and engaged in power-for-money deals, severely damaging Moutai's marketing environment.
New DistributionHow Can Distributors Build an Internal Employee Entrepreneurship Platform?
Assuming that internal entrepreneurship projects are good, the most critical factor is the people. No matter how favorable the timing and location are, without good people and teams to operate, it won't work. All things in the world are done by people, and people with different abilities and responsibilities achieve different results, so everyone values the human factor in business operations. The concept of internal entrepreneurship platforms has been prevalent in the corporate world in recent years, and we are familiar with successful cases like Wangpin Group's Lion King Plan, Handu Yishe's small group system, and Haier's internal entrepreneurship incubation model, as well as unsuccessful ones like Huawei's 'Harbor Bay' incident.
马方Internal and External Troubles: Distributors Having a Hard Time!
Everyone knows the saying 'A rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its own burrow,' but there's a second half: 'A rabbit always returns by the same path.' From this perspective, wild rabbits die from experience. Pressure from manufacturers: 'Half joy, half sorrow.' Task pressure: manufacturers set sales targets for distributors. For example, one company requires distributors to achieve at least 30% annual sales growth; otherwise, they are dropped. Many distributors are unwilling but must comply, which is the way of strong companies.
戈军珍Unified Warehousing and Distribution: A Good Business or a Bad One?
Distributors are struggling, a consensus across the industry. With sales plateauing and external growth constrained, internal cost reduction becomes key: 800,000 distributors/wholesalers correspond to 800,000 warehouses and millions of delivery vehicles, which is economically unreasonable. Many local governments are encouraging unified warehousing and distribution (统仓统配) through logistics parks, but is it a good business? This article explores the debate, highlighting that while it can be a winner-take-all opportunity, poor management often turns it into a bad business.
袁来Why Can't You Outperform Other Distributors?
This article explores why some distributors thrive while others struggle, outlining six critical stages in a distributor's growth and the key mindsets and skills needed at each step, from product selection to channel management and beyond.
黄润霖Why Is Channel Digitalization So Difficult for FMCG Companies?
Cao Jun, CEO of Molihutong, argues that the core of channel digitalization is not implementing systems or collecting data, but enabling salespeople and distributors to earn more money. He emphasizes that true digitalization requires transforming business models, not just adding technology.
曹峻