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Distribution: Key growth areas and level of development of the Uzbekistan market

Recently, Nikolay Doroshchuk held a series of trainings for representatives of Uzbek businesses, where he shared his experience of working in Europe and market development trends in different countries.

We managed to meet Nikolay Doroshchuk and record an interesting interview with him, in which he told why it is important to develop quality and what rules should be followed to build a successful business!
Nikolay Doroshchuk is a practicing trainer, a member of the European Distributors Association (ESMA). Today, Nikolay Doroshchuk is one of the best practitioners in the development and implementation of technologies for the High-Quality Construction of Distribution of companies, technologies for "cloning" sales representatives and supervisors. The author of a number of books and video tutorials on distribution.
- Nikolay, hello. Please tell us what key areas of growth for distributors do you see in the next 5 years and how does automation contribute to this?

There is a frequently asked question: What is the future of distribution in general?

I also work in the European market. I watch them, what is happening there. And recently a man who was over 75 years old passed away, he is the oldest distributor in Europe. He said the following: "I have been selling fish for 40 years, and I still do!" Distribution is still there.

If we talk about the market of Uzbekistan, it seems to me that the greatest potential for development here is quality. Because distribution is, first of all, a service. And this is like us now sitting in the Hall, in the hotel. Before that, we checked into another hotel, they told us that it was new, arguing the choice in this way: "We thought that it was new, so it is good!" But the quality of service is 10 times lower than in this hotel, which appeared later.

- How is it determined, how is the quality of distribution expressed?

In distribution, there is such a rule: 3 times 100! 100 points, 100% of the assortment, 100% of the time - this is quality. And these three 100 are made in a comfortable environment for the distributor and the customer. We call it a system. A system that does not burden people, that frees them, in which there is no unnecessary work and emotions. Therefore, quality is about when we change our attitude to working with a retail outlet so that our processes are easier for it. So that our sales representatives do not burden the retail outlet with sales volume, but they are truly managers for the retail outlet. A manager is like a manager, but not like a “merchant” who only stuffs sales volume into a retail outlet. Therefore, the future of distribution development for the next 5 years is associated with quality.

Since the market in Uzbekistan is very growing, now they do not pay much attention to quality. Because volumes are already coming. But sooner or later, fear appears in every economy - that's when quality appears.

A simple question: If growth stopped now, would we win in working with another company? This is the quality network!

- Now, if we compare it with Europe, how do you assess the level of the market in Uzbekistan and Europe?

I would say this - there is more potential here than in Europe. Why? Because there are countries where retail accounts for 98% of turnover. Distribution will remain where there is category B and C, as well as traditional retail (small stores). Here it is, and I think that it will remain for a long time, because after all, the new generation is guided by mentality and always changes trends. The new generation, which will change the standards of purchase in retail or small retail, still needs time. It will be enough for our lifetime. Because the formats will still change.

If, for example, small retail dies out, then small business will not die out, it will transform into a dental business or another. For example, dental distribution. The market is just developing here. While the market is bubbling around FMCG, other industries have not yet been touched.

- Why is it important to implement automation today? How important is it and what role will automation play given the dynamics of the market movement in the direction you just mentioned?

Just yesterday I met with representatives of a company who asked to evaluate their business. They have 3 businesses: production, distribution and their own retail.

About 5 years ago I started to conduct diagnostics of companies' finances in Uzbekistan and when we started to conduct the analysis, the company could not provide the data! Because there is none! You can upload something manually, but somewhere there is none at all! And this is the first sign that the company does not have automation - if you do not have an accounting system, you do not have reports. Automation is primarily data collection! Through data collection, we must obtain reports on the basis of which we make a decision!

When the company I was talking about managed to make this reporting for a period of more than six months, we see that the profitability of the business is at a very low level. The turnover is high, but the return on capital is very low! The company does not see this, the owner does not see this. Business suffers and therefore automation is needed first of all, at least to assess the current health of the body of your business.

That is why when I am asked what is going on in the industry - I say, first look at your analysis, at your business. For these purposes, automation is needed. It is also very necessary for scaling the business. If we do not build automation right away, then there will be no future scaling of the business. That is why automation is needed.

- There is such a thesis that companies that do not live on numbers and analysis most often lag behind those who work with data and make adequate decisions.

At the training, I gave an example of a company that operates in Tajikistan, it has been on the market for more than 5 years. We approached the accuracy of data collection for 4 years, although there was automation, but there was no data collection. Now I understand that it was necessary to rebuild the automation from the beginning. And after 4 years, we learned that the direction they are developing is UNPROFITABLE! You will not see this without numbers.

When you analyze, you know where to develop. And literally within the next 2 months, this campaign went into the black. Because thanks to the numbers, they knew where to click. And without numbers and analytics, everything is blind.

Thank you for an interesting and in-depth interview! Your experience and practical examples clearly show that distribution is not just sales, but a clearly structured system where quality and automation play key roles. We are sure that the advice and insights you shared will help our readers take a fresh look at their business processes.

Watch out for the next part of the interview, where we will continue the conversation about distribution trends and reveal even more practical tools for successful development!

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2025-02-24 07:45 Interview