The war of fresh agricultural products is more than just a weapon to attract customers.

In the past year, physical retail and e-commerce have taken freshness as the core area of development, and recently they have acted more frequently. Upstream: Wal-Mart established a central distribution center; No.1 store launched "specialty China" to create a unique supply chain through direct sales model; Yonghui introduced Milk International with the intention of strengthening procurement channels. Mid-stream: China Resources Wanjia launched the "fresh partner" system to optimize internal management. Downstream, Carrefour and Metro open convenience stores; Shunfeng Express promotes "Hey customers", and community "street battles" are in full swing.

"for physical supermarkets, this is the 'last bastion' against e-commerce, and logistics and packaging are its natural advantages. As for the latter, they have more experience in the promotion of high value-added products. " Zhu Zhenjia, editor-in-chief of Lianshang Network, told Nandu reporter that the current fresh channel war is good for both sides. "the low degree of product coincidence will make the market more professional and branded in the future."

Products: high-end fruit VS popular fresh

"Shunfeng platform currently focuses on high-end products, mainly selecting products with channel scarcity, such as imported fruits accounting for more than 40 per cent of total SK U, and frozen and fruits accounting for more than 40 per cent of sales." Chen Xu, vice president of Shunfeng Optimization, told reporters that at present, fresh e-commerce has just sprung up, consumer awareness is not enough, high-end food has enough gross profit margin to cover logistics costs, is a better starting point.

According to its introduction, SF preferably hopes to grab market share with lower prices, but still has a gross profit margin of more than 10%. By contrast, the gross profit margin of the fresh department of the supermarket hovers around 10%. Zhu Zhenjia, editor-in-chief of Lianshang Network, added: "Fruit is relatively standardized and low in loss, so it is more suitable for e-commerce."

Coincidentally, the No.1 store and the original life have entered the field of fresh food, which is also the main category of fruit. This year, the No.1 store has set up a separate fresh business department, and specialty China, which was established in May, is its key strategic project. "there are a total of 3000 SK U specialties in China, of which fresh fruit accounts for about 10 per cent, but sales account for more than 50 per cent." Tao Yi, director of China Operations of No.1 store, who once worked in Costco, told reporters, "unlike the daily and popular sales of Shang Chao, e-commerce is considering relying on promotional activities to promote the products with the largest sales."

The No.1 store adopts the pre-sale mode of order agriculture, in addition to avoiding the loss of logistics costs, the other is to ensure the freshness of fruit. "for example, Xinjiang grapes are picked in the traditional channel when they are 9% ripe, while we are 7. 5 ripe. Coupled with the transportation time, the grapes are still fresh in the hands of consumers."

Compared with e-commerce people choose standardized fruit as the entrance, non-standardized leafy vegetable meat is the core competitiveness of supermarkets. The biggest sales of Wal-Mart and Changdachang supermarkets come from consumer goods such as leafy vegetables and meat. "our food sales now account for 50% of all supermarket sales, 60% from raw vegetables and meat, and only 10% from fruits." Zhen Yuefei, general manager of Changdachang supermarket, said: "at present, e-commerce may have profit margins for high gross profit products such as imported fruits, but it is impossible for e-commerce to enter popular and low-value products."

Zhang Qinglin, director of human resources in China Resources Wanjia South District, added: "popular products require timeliness and interaction, and a sense of trust is very important. Shopping in the supermarket to buy fresh is a 'way of life', e-commerce can not replace this level. "

Logistics: the last kilometer V / S central distribution center

Comparatively speaking, logistics cost is the biggest pain point for every fresh e-commerce company at present. According to Tao Yi, the No. 1 store fresh business is mainly open mall joint venture, the proportion of self-management is very low. "with a cost of more than 35 yuan per unit, it is difficult to cover." For specialty China, No.1 store is mainly responsible for marketing and monitoring background data, while specific logistics and after-sales are responsible for local partners. "but in the three key areas of No.1 store in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, we also cooperate with third parties to establish a cold chain team. If the order size is more than 10,000 yuan, self-built logistics may be reduced to 10 yuan per piece, which is cheaper than 15 yuan per piece of third-party logistics. "

SF, which relies on SF Express, is preferred by 80% of its sales from its own B-2C projects, but the last kilometer is equally difficult. "Cold chain is one of our core competitiveness. we currently achieve fresh distribution in 55 cities, mainly because there are local cold stores and cold chain teams with Shunfeng Express. The upfront investment in this part is 10 million, and the threshold is very high." Chen Xu said that on the way of distribution, except for cold storage truck distribution, other cities have adopted the simple mode of foam dry ice. Last year, this reporter interviewed du Fei, general manager of Tuotuo Industrial Co., Ltd. at that time, Tuotuo Industrial Co., Ltd. had a total of 4 cold stores and 15 distribution stations with a total of 4000 square meters, with a total logistics cost of 10 million, accounting for more than 50% of the total cost, and it has been developed for more than 5 years. At present, the scope of distribution is only within the sixth Ring Road of Beijing.

"E-commerce must rebuild the logistics center, but every single store in the supermarket is a distribution point. As long as the relationship between sales and inventory is well controlled, there is no need to overlay too much cost in logistics." Retail expert Ding Liguo told reporters that he is not optimistic that the supply chain investment in fresh e-commerce is much higher than in other areas, which is the core of Shangchao.

Zhen Yuefei also told reporters that Changdachang is mainly distributed from four self-operated bases, with long-distance distribution twice a day, and each store will become a distribution center for surrounding characteristic agricultural products, with products in and out on the way to avoid unloaded and falsely high costs. "at the same time, compared with e-commerce shipments of dozens of jin at a time, we have a loading capacity of 5 tons per vehicle, and this transport scale is incomparable." According to its introduction, the logistics cost of Changdachang fresh food accounts for about 5% of the sales price.

Wal-Mart has also set up fresh distribution centers, but its aim is to streamline suppliers and reduce wholesale distribution. Zhang Weilin, media manager of Wal-Mart in South China, revealed that Wal-Mart currently has 10 fresh distribution centers, and the 11th will be put into use by the end of this year, thus achieving national coverage. Buri, senior vice president of Wal-Mart, once told the media that a center invested more than $10 million, but through the fresh distribution center, Wal-Mart reduced the loss of most of the intermediate links and management costs. In the past year, the number of Wal-Mart's full-range suppliers and pork suppliers were 8000 and 80 respectively, both of which were 1 and 3 of last year's figure.

It's not just a suction weapon.

Whether it is e-commerce or supermarkets, the greatest value of freshness has always been the means of attracting customers. "fresh accounts for less than 1% of the total e-commerce sales, but every e-commerce is involved because the customer stickiness value is much higher than the product itself." Tao Yi told reporters that the No. 1 store has a strict selection of specialty museum partners, first of all, it is the only dealer authorized by the local government, and then sign every year, and there are grading requirements. Two months ago, five pavilions were closed because of low scores. According to its introduction, specialty China does not sell K PI assessment, fresh products only charge 2% service charge and 150 yuan monthly fee from sales, which is far from being able to cover the cost.

For supermarkets, fresh sales account for 40 per cent, but profits account for about 10 per cent. However, in the current market is increasingly depressed, continue to try to expand the traditional e-commerce clothing sales, it is better to find ways to increase fresh gross profit margin. " Ding Liguo said so.

Zhen Yuefei told reporters that the flexibility of fresh food is the most effective place for supermarkets. "for example, Zhanjiang store may have more seafood, Baiyun store may have more migrant workers, and its taste may be a little spicy, while the price may be on a par with the wholesale market around the store." Although some fresh products, such as necessities such as eggs, are sold at a loss, Changdachang still maintains a 10% fresh gross profit through flexible management. "although the gross margin is not as good as other categories, fresh is the most stable cash flow in the supermarket."

China Resources Wanjia also saw this. "fresh is the category with the greatest degree of control for front-line employees, such as processing and production planning, which can affect gross profit margin, while pricing and promotion have a great impact on sales." Zhang Qinglin, director of human resources in China Resources Wanjia Southern District, told reporters that unlike the pricing power and promotional activities in non-fresh areas, which are arranged or reported by the headquarters, front-line employees in the fresh field have the right to make pricing decisions. pricing and promotion through factors such as product grade, time period of the day and surrounding competitors within the quotation range set by the headquarters.

In July this year, China Resources Wanjia introduced the "fresh partner" mechanism, and the excess profits in the fresh department of the store were shared by fresh staff. as a result, many employees were paid almost half a year more, and higher enthusiasm also brought obvious benefit changes. "We expect this performance mechanism to reflect the increase in gross profit margin, which has increased by 1% after the first quarter of operation." Zhang Qinglin believes that the freshness of the future is not only the suction tool of the supermarket, but also a profit tool.