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 72 of 193
Does the Old Playbook of FMCG Still Have a Future?
Marketers, planners, and SME owners—the backbone of traditional enterprises—are mostly in a state of confusion and anxiety. This article explores whether the old, low-level operational tactics in the FMCG industry still have a future amid new consumption environments, and how traditional players can adapt.
冯云飞Annual Sales of 3.8 Billion, Over 100 Million SKUs Sold: What's the Secret to This Distributor's Success?
Amid the wave of digital transformation in FMCG channels, the industry has reached a consensus: distributors may disappear, but intermediaries will remain. Traditional distributors' functions are replaceable, and most lack digital service capabilities. The future intermediary will not simply provide financing, logistics, and sales visits. With nearly 30 years of history, distributors have benefited from demographic and market dividends, but in a saturated market, their promotion and operation capabilities will be tested.
袁来The Product Remains the Same, but the Channel Is No Longer What It Used to Be
The current marketing landscape for traditional FMCG companies can be summarized in three sentences: First, the product is what most needs to change, but it remains unchanged; second, the channel is what least needs to change, but it has quietly changed; third, the internet's greatest impact on traditional business is in communication, yet traditional companies are clearly at a loss. Today, I focus on the quiet changes in the channel. Why is the channel the least likely to need change? Because since the era of deep distribution, the channel has contributed greatly to growth. However, the channel is quietly changing, with the most significant changes being the resurgence of provincial distributors and second-tier wholesalers, and the impact of internet tools on channel efficiency.
刘春雄How to Help Distributors Sell More?
In a slow-growth, competitive market, distributors face sales pressure, and declining sales can lead to reduced profits and lost share. This article analyzes distributor Lao Liu's six-step method, which boosted test store sales by over 150% and overall sales by 50% in three months, to help distributors sell more while maintaining profits.
刘华明Distributor Bosses Afraid to Manage Employees for Fear They'll Quit—What to Do?
Distributors often fear managing employees because they worry about losing them, especially during peak seasons or when talent is scarce. The key is to improve the business model to generate more profit, offer competitive compensation, and establish clear career paths and management systems to reduce turnover and maintain market stability.
魏庆Distributors: Refine Warehouse and Distribution Functions to Be Ready for Both Attack and Defense!
FMCG urban distribution emerged around 2016, following the digital transformation of FMCG channels, and has been widely discussed. However, in the past six months, information about it has dwindled. Despite being a trillion-yuan market, its momentum has slowed. Why is urban distribution difficult? Wang Jianjiang, founder of Hailian Tianxia, told New Distribution that the overall B2B delivery system in China lacks standardization, and data silos lead to inefficiencies. He believes that because it is difficult, it offers opportunities for small and medium enterprises, including regional distributors, to refine their warehouse and distribution capabilities, and even turn them into independent business units.
袁来Why Would Distributors Refuse Money?
A distributor named Lao Liu refuses to implement a generous coverage policy due to perceived risks in capital, reimbursement, sell-through, and profit. The article advises manufacturers to address these concerns through business acumen, responsible communication, and detailed planning to ensure effective execution.
刘华明Hot at Retail, Booming Production and Sales: What Product Has Won the Attention of Hundreds of Millions-Level Distributors?
In recent years, the consumption of soda water has surged. Globally, European countries account for 54.1% of soda water production, while China only accounts for 7.2%, indicating huge growth potential. According to Nielsen, from 2017 to 2018, the soda water market grew by 36.9% in sales, far exceeding the overall beverage growth of 3.1%. The industry is still in a rapid growth phase, with the market expected to reach 20 billion yuan by 2020.
New DistributionPushing More Inventory Would Be a Sin!
The deep distribution work that has long supported sales growth has, in the past two years, seemingly been reduced to just one task: pushing inventory. Whether it's the manufacturer's sales reps or the distributor's sales reps, their basic work revolves around pushing inventory. Push, push, and push again—the channel is on the verge of collapse, yet they keep pushing. If pushing inventory made some sense over a decade ago, now I must loudly declare: pushing inventory is a sin. The big companies that once thought their brand strength gave them the right to push inventory now have the biggest problems, because big brands push the hardest. Pushing inventory has three major sins: it erodes manufacturer and distributor profits; it deforms the channel; and it deforms sales work. If we don't break free from pushing inventory, manufacturers will eventually be crushed by it.
刘春雄FMCG Salesperson's Reality: Our Dream Is '996'
The '996' work schedule has sparked widespread debate, but FMCG practitioners remain unfazed, even joking that their dream is '996'. A 28-year-old salesperson, Fan Peng, describes the demanding routine: starting at 8 AM year-round, with penalties for leaving after 8 PM during certain months, and a daily grind of visiting 30 stores, all for a modest salary of 70,000-80,000 yuan a year.
比月皎Trend: Become a Category Operator, Not a Product Portfolio Distributor!
The transformation of distributors involves not only changes in business models but also in product portfolio strategies. Traditional product portfolios fall into three types: all well-known brands, well-known brands plus second- and third-tier brands, and mainly non-well-known brands. However, these classic approaches are now being challenged by new factors such as the difficulties of major brands, price transparency, bottom-line safety, category integration, and increased product innovation.
刘春雄What's Next After the Eight Steps of Terminal Visits? Community!
Channel community management is bound to be the primary means of channel management for brands and distributors in the future. Currently, some forward-thinking brands and distributors have already begun such attempts. 1 What is channel community management? Simply put, it means using social tools like WeChat groups to effectively connect with your customers and consumers, using these connections to activate and effectively manage your customers and target consumers. Marketing, in plain terms, is about getting your customers to sell more of your products, keeping your users using your products, and getting your target consumers to buy more and keep consuming your products.
鲍跃忠The Long-Awaited Mid-to-Long-Term, High-Margin Product for Distributors Has Arrived!
In 2019, China's bottled water market is set for a new round of growth. Distributors must seize the opportunity to boost sales. The market has shifted toward premium products, with prices rising from 1 yuan to 2-3 yuan and above. Since 2017, high-end water has become a trend, with bottles priced at 5, 8, or 10 yuan. As consumer spending and health awareness rise, demand for healthy, high-quality drinking water grows. Natural mineral water, especially functional varieties rich in trace elements, aligns with the trend toward 'natural, nutritious, pollution-free, and green' products. The market for mineral water is expanding at nearly 20% annually, reaching 254.7 billion yuan by 2020. Many distributors are entering the mid-to-high-end mineral water segment.
New DistributionReappearance of 'Big Store Bullying': State Cuts Taxes, Stores Demand Distributors Cut Prices!
With the reduction of VAT rates, supermarket suppliers are complaining. A regional KA channel manager at a well-known FMCG listed company received notices from multiple large supermarkets to lower supply prices by 3%, while retail prices remained unchanged, sparking controversy over who benefits from the tax cuts.
New DistributionSF Express's Dream of New Retail Shattered
The failure of SF Best is not an isolated case, offering a glimpse into the starting point and endgame of logistics companies venturing into new retail. Since the concept of new retail was introduced, various enterprises have begun attempts. As a leading logistics company, SF Express is no exception. Recently, media reported that SF Best, dubbed the 'project that cannot fail,' is closing stores on a large scale nationwide. Despite backing from SF Express, a large base of high-net-worth users, and an efficient logistics network, SF Best still cannot escape mass closures...
新经销刘少德How Should Distributors Select Products? "Potential" Equals "Opportunity"
More than half a month has passed since the 100th Sugar and Wine Fair in Chengdu in 2019. After a week of hard work in Chengdu, did many distributors find the products they wanted? Do they expect to determine the whole year's sales and profits through newly introduced products? Today, let's share what the core competitiveness of distributors is. In fact, as a distributor, in the current complex and ever-changing channels, and in an era where products are being replaced faster, I have three core points for planning the profitability of your business...
赵正强The First Step to Self-Controlled Distribution: Help Distributors Manage Goods, Money, and People!
Distributors are the sales force of brand owners, who expect them to conquer markets, secure shelf space in small stores, and push out competitors. Brand owners also rely on distributors to promote new products, maintain pricing, and execute promotional strategies. A self-controlled distribution network is the lifeline of any brand, and achieving it requires an efficient Distributor Management System (DMS). However, many brand owners struggle to get distributors to adopt their DMS because these systems often only serve the brand's management needs, not the distributor's own. Distributors want to manage their goods (assets), money (business), and people (efficiency). This article explains how to choose a DMS that both manages and empowers distributors, ensuring a self-controlled distribution network.
365商学院How Can Distributors Cultivate a Wolf-like Team by Replicating 'Caring Leaders'?
Beyond market-aligned marketing strategies, a distributor's rapid performance growth hinges on a dedicated sales team. A cohesive, wolf-like team amplifies strategy execution, while a disunited group renders any plan worthless. Understanding your team's traits and needs, setting grounded visions, and implementing balanced assessments are key to fostering such a team.
邢仁宝How to Make Sales Staff Complete Sales Tasks Like Playing Games and Leveling Up!
Recruiting, retaining, and managing staff are almost daily headaches for every distributor. However, one trading company abolished the salesperson role and replaced it with a merchandiser role, solving these problems. How did they do it? What are the staffing and management logics behind this simple change in job title and responsibilities? Recently, I saw Qiang Huitao, founder of Dunjie Supply Chain, posting on his Moments: recruiting merchandisers. At first I didn't pay much attention, but after seeing it repeatedly, I clicked in: 'High salary for merchandisers, monthly salary 3000-5000 yuan, work location arranged nearby.' This piqued my curiosity.
袁来Dealers' New Business Model: Private Domain Traffic E-commerce
Dealers can leverage their existing resources to convert public traffic from three spaces into their own private domain traffic. The three spaces are offline, online, and social, each with distinct characteristics. By aggregating scattered traffic through promotions and building private traffic pools, dealers can enhance user engagement and drive e-commerce sales.
赵波How Can Once-Glorious Distributors Step Out of Their Comfort Zone Before a Crisis?
Any industry transformation is both a cruel elimination and an opportunity for metamorphosis. It is precisely because times are tough that companies are forced to think about transformation and change. Those with the ability and courage to change can be reborn. Even better is to be prepared for danger in times of peace, proactively stepping out of the comfort zone before a crisis hits and laying out plans in advance, which makes survival in the big waves more likely. In this era of endless new models, a host of new ideas emerge daily, all aimed at altering or even subverting traditional industry structures and models, with the core goal being to control resources, seize customers, and reduce intermediate links.
富小丽Mengniu's WeChat-based product 'Manran' changes distributor amid pyramid scheme allegations
On the afternoon of April 2, Beijing Youxuan Qiantong Technology Co., Ltd. (Youxuan Qiantong), the former exclusive WeChat distributor of Mengniu's Manran fiber milkshake milk, issued a statement alleging that some contracted distributors and team leaders had spread rumors and used coercive tactics to transfer agent data from its official account. This follows Mengniu's subsidiary Shanghai Xianyu's announcement on March 21 that it would not renew its contract with Youxuan Qiantong and would appoint a new distributor, amid investigations into suspected pyramid scheme activities.
New DistributionGuanjiapo COO Zhou Bin: There Are Many Roads, but Supply Chain Comes First
The following is the speech delivered by Mr. Zhou Bin, co-founder and COO of Renwoxing Technology, at the 5th FMCG + Internet Conference hosted by New Distribution, organized and published for readers. Borrowing the catchy line from the sci-fi movie The Wandering Earth, "There are many roads, but supply chain comes first," he discusses the importance of supply chain in enterprise transformation and upgrading, sharing insights and cases on how to empower traditional brands and distributors with SCM new business technology.
周斌Tang Guangliang, Founder of Kaola Select: The Impact of Community New Retail on Distributors
The following is the speech delivered by Mr. Tang Guangliang, founder of Kaola Select, at the 5th FMCG + Internet Conference hosted by New Distribution, organized and released for readers. Today, my topic is 'The Impact of Community New Retail on Distributors.' Regarding distributors entering the community group buying track, I still suggest thinking twice. Many people have different interpretations of the community new retail market, such as community e-commerce, community group buying, community new retail, community group buying, community fresh food, and a bunch of other concepts. Kaola Select is positioned as an online community fresh food supermarket. In the initial stage, online grocery shopping is more precise. Fresh food is a super high-frequency category that has not yet been fully digitalized, and community-based customer acquisition and fulfillment is currently the most efficient way to reach users with fresh food. Whether it's community groups, social commerce, or community e-commerce, if the platform does not have a fresh food category, I personally think it has little value.
唐光亮