According to the store opening plan disclosed by the convenience store industry rookie Bianlifeng, in the next three years, Bianlifeng will use system decision-making and digital drive to achieve rapid development: the total number of stores will exceed 4000 in 2021, the "Nuggets" will sink the market, and more than half of the stores will be located In second- and third-tier cities; in 2023, the number of stores will reach 10,000, making it one of the top five convenience stores in China.
Under the background of fierce competition between online e-commerce and traditional stores, where does Bianlifeng's confidence come from? In the eyes of the founder of Bianlifeng, Zhuang Chenchao, the convenience store business is weak. In essence, the low operating efficiency causes the income to make ends meet. At the same time, the service time and scope of services are reduced in order to control costs, which leads to a vicious circle. "Bianlifeng is not a traditional convenience store. It relies on system decision-making to improve efficiency and realizes regional profitability in Beijing." Zhuang Chenchao said.
A different convenience store
For many consumers, Bianlifeng, which is open 24 hours a day, makes them feel the smoke and fire. Pick up a cup of soy milk, take a rice ball, order a few dishes, scan the code at the self-service cashier, and then leave by yourself. Occasionally encounter customers who call for manual checkout, the clerk in the store will immediately help.
The reporter saw in the Convenience Fengmen store on Haidian Middle Street in Beijing that even after lunch time, there were still people coming and going in the store. The refrigerated food in the air curtain cabinet, the hot drink in the warming cabinet, the quick lunch on the shelf, and the lined up of Internet celebrity beverages bring convenience to urban white-collar workers.
Since the first batch of five stores in Beijing on February 14, 2017, the convenience bee with orange signs has become a daily small store on the streets of Beijing. In 2020, it has achieved profitability in the Beijing area.
What is the biggest difference between Bianlifeng and traditional convenience stores? The answer is "Using cutting-edge technology to innovate retail and solve various consumer pain points." Xue Enyuan, executive director of Bianlifeng, told reporters, "Bianlifeng is not only a convenience store company, but also a technology company and digital company. An efficient'system' is the key to supporting our rapid development."
As a technologically innovative retail company, Bianlifeng has grown at an amazing speed: there were 60 stores at the end of 2017, 570 stores at the end of 2018, 1,000 stores at the end of 2019, and more than 1,800 stores at the end of 2020. Today, Bianlifeng has provided services to 20 urban life circles including Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai.
System support rapid development
Store management has always been a difficult point in the operation of convenience stores, and convenience stores often need to find a balance between the quality and quantity of stores. Bianlifeng was able to open 1,800 directly-operated stores within 3 years because of the stable operation efficiency and service quality of the stores, which was achieved through systematic decision-making. Xue Enyuan said that Bianlifeng handed over the decision-making in daily operations to the system, realizing the transition from the system assisting employees to the system leading the whole process.
It is worth mentioning that Bianlifeng's system can be changed in real time on the basis of a one-time full replacement. On the one hand, Bianlifeng has established a complete trust mechanism for the system. On the other hand, it has continuously verified, discovered and improved the problems in the system through the "sparring" of senior employees, and improved the accuracy of system decision-making. At present, Bianlifeng has opened up multiple scenarios such as factories, logistics, and stores. The system can collect data, sort and analyze data in different links of operation, and finally give a decision-making plan.
Taking the location of stores as an example, Bianlifeng focuses on systematic decision-making, and at the same time, it continuously tracks the sales status of the locations pointed out by experts or stores operated by peers, and constantly corrects the accuracy of the system's decision-making. This system can also coordinate upstream and downstream links to give the optimal path from product replacement to product display and employee adjustment.
"Behind our'system' is digital and AI-driven, and it also connects Bianlifeng’s supplier partners and consumers." Xue Enyuan said that the drive of the system has enabled Bianlifeng to maintain a stable level of store operations while developing at a high speed. Realized profit in a short period of time.
There are coups to reduce costs and increase efficiency
It's hard for outsiders to see how the system works, but it's not difficult to get a glimpse of the coup of Bianfengfeng to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
In 2017, Bianlifeng locked two consumption "rising words": health and stimulation. Behind the "health" is the growing sales of plant protein drinks; behind the "stimulation" is the hot sale of spicy and small packaged foods. These higher value-added specialty products directly improve performance.
Since the decision-making power is handed over to the system, store managers and clerks who are not responsible for business indicators such as turnover and profit only need to follow the system prompts and use more energy to meet consumer needs. The benefits of doing so are obvious-the employee training cycle has been significantly compressed. Under normal circumstances, it takes two years for a convenience store to train a store manager, but in Bianlifeng, the training cycle for store staff is about 5 days, and the store manager can get started in just one month.
The system that replaces employees' "worrying" focuses on store management around quality, service and cleanliness. For example, in terms of ensuring the safety and sanitation of the shopping environment, the Bianlibee system can recognize situations such as uncleaned tables in stores and unreasonable storage of turnover baskets, and give voice reminders to shop assistants. The clerk only needs to follow the operating process guidelines to clean the store appliances and equipment.
Xue Enyuan said that in the future, Bianlifeng will adhere to online and offline development to meet the needs of consumers. "Regardless of changes in technology and retail formats, consumer satisfaction is always the value of retail companies. It is always the direction of Bianlifeng's efforts to let more consumers experience happiness." (Source: Economic Daily, Economic Daily-China (Economic Net reporter Yang Xuecong)