After addressing human resources issues, Yang moved on to distribution. Due to China's large territory, large population, varying degrees of economic development, and widely different local regulations, Lenovo was having difficulty operating nationwide. While Lenovo had been using direct sales and a network of distributors, Yang gave up on direct sales in favor of exclusively using independent agents to avoid the costs of administering a complex sales network. This action resulted in Lenovo cutting its sales staff from over 100 to just 18 in 1994. To gain confidence among distributors, Lenovo provided a wide range of products, offered reasonable prices, and closely supervised the marketing of its products to look out for the interests of distributors. In contrast to Lenovo, foreign firms often tried to squeeze distributors' margins. Yang ensured proper training of distributors and brought in Microsoft and Intel to help with these efforts. Yang also set up a system to monitor the sales, inventory, cash flow, compliance, and pricing of distributors. Many analysts cite Lenovo's distribution system and after sales Service as the key to its expansion.