How does the pharmaceutical retail industry achieve digital transformation?

  On June 9, the first World Pharmaceutical Retail Industry Conference and the Second Primary Medical Development Conference kicked off in Changsha.

This conference is co-sponsored by the China Medical Materials Association and Yifeng Pharmacy, introducing international exchanges into the pharmaceutical retail industry forum for the first time.

Focusing on the theme of "connecting with the world and walking with AI", domestic and foreign pharmaceutical retail giants started "brainstorming."

  In recent years, the policy of the pharmaceutical industry has been continuously relaxed, the coverage of medical insurance has been expanded, and the national health awareness has been continuously improved. The development of the pharmaceutical retail industry is in a period of dividends.

How to take advantage of this east wind to gain momentum has become the topic of most concern to the participants.

  Digitalization empowers consumption upgrades, how can retail pharmacies achieve transformation?

In the new retail era, how to upgrade and restructure the supply chain of chain pharmacies?

In the "Star Dialogue" session, the guests at the meeting discussed and shared topics such as the development direction of pharmaceutical retail in the new era and the all-round transformation and upgrading of the industry.

  Digital transformation is imperative

  "In the new era, pharmaceutical retailing is not just a way of consumption, but a way of life. Pharmaceutical retailing should not just be a simple drug sales, but strive to become a provider of solutions to health problems." Honorary President of China Medical Materials Association Ruan Hongxian believes that pharmaceutical retail should pay more attention to brand effect, enhance service professionalism, and deepen the road of diversified development.

  Talking about the evolution and upgrading of the pharmaceutical retail industry in the digital age, Gao Yi, chairman of Yifeng Pharmacy, said: “In the digital age, users’ consumption patterns are also changing. The digital transformation of enterprises is imperative. We need to digitalize and professionalize through the Internet. Warm service to create a new model of the pharmaceutical retail industry."

  Gao Yi believes that in the digital age, it is necessary to reconstruct business logic with data as the core.

He said that this includes two aspects, one is to reconstruct new value and create new models at the same time.

Create new value for customers while creating new models. This new value and new model is how to get closer to consumers, how to respond to consumers more efficiently, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.

"In the future, all quantifiable, measurable, and programmable jobs will be replaced by machines."

  Yifeng Pharmacy has sorted out 67 needs through medication, testing, medical services and insurance for chronic disease users, and provided differentiated services to customers around 67 needs.

Online through mini programs, official accounts, community WeChat, Internet doctors, Internet pharmacists, offline stores, management pharmacists and chronic disease specialists, provide customers with differentiated services and provide full life cycle management.

  "Differentiated chronic disease management services have made 20 models, life cycle management has made 30 models, and there are currently 50 models in total. Through our health service assistants, we help employees accurately respond to customers, stay close to customers, and maintain customers." Gao Yi said.

  Since the establishment of the "Digital Center" in 2019, Yifeng Pharmacy has comprehensively promoted the digital transformation of enterprises, including business digitalization, process toolization, and data businessization.

As of the first quarter of 2021, Yifeng has 6,300 chain pharmacies nationwide, with more than 43 million members nationwide.

  How to accurately grasp health needs

  "Data from National University pharmacies show that physical pharmacies are growing rapidly in the four sectors of home care products, Chinese herbal medicine, nutrients, and medical beauty products. This will become the future growth of physical pharmacies." Vice President of China Medical Materials Association, Sinopharm Holdings Zhao Xiaochuan, chairman of Guoda Pharmacy Co., Ltd., believes that as long as intensive cultivation and win-win cooperation, there will be a spring in the retail market in the future.

  With the deepening of the concept of great health, the needs of customers are constantly changing.

How to accurately grasp customer needs is undoubtedly the key to restructuring the pharmaceutical retail industry.

Yang Jianguo, president of Suzhou Quanyi Health Pharmacy Chain Co., Ltd., believes that stores should be targeted at different service groups and managed by levels to meet customer needs according to their different characteristics.

  Zhao Yahui, chairman of Hunan Hengkang Pharmaceutical Retail Chain Co., Ltd., holds a similar view. He believes that digital transformation should be based on customer needs, accurately judge customer needs and industry development changes, and enable informatization to empower physical stores.

"As consumers' health needs continue to grow, there are many opportunities for prescription drugs in the future. I have great confidence in the industry."

  "Japanese pharmacies collect user information through membership cards, ID-pos, etc., analyze customer purchase patterns and purchasing potential, and change'waiting for customers to visit' to'proactively provide information to customers'." Japanese pharmaceutical retail expert Junichi Honyoshi shared.

How to transform and upgrade retail pharmacies?

Using big data to analyze purchase patterns and tap potential demand has become the consensus of the participants.

  Zhao Chao, chairman of Shaanxi Buchang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., said that the changes in consumer demand have made consumers become wise consumers, and they have entered the era of products + services. Only in this way can the stickiness of consumption be formed. We must rely on products and go To provide consumers with a patient-oriented health management system, including member's service system, treatment and health implementation plans, is a great transformation and change.

  “There are only 1.28 million professional pharmacists in the country. Judging from the more than 1.4 billion people serving the country, it is actually far from enough.” Tang Hui, chairman of By-Health Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., believes that the development of the pharmaceutical retail industry in the future will improve the learning ability of the entire pharmacist. Specialization needs are continuous. This is what pharmacies most need to solve from now to the future. Service power must be professional service power.

  Multiple initiatives to promote the development of retail pharmacies

  At the meeting, Xu Xin, the founder of Capital Today, shared his new thinking on retail.

She pointed out that new retail must rely on data management and guidance from store location to store manager talent system training to achieve precise focus.

At the same time, we must deepen the supply chain, deeply participate in product design and research and development, make truly differentiated products, reduce costs and improve cost-effectiveness.

  Liang Yiheng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group, Deputy Director, and First-Class Inspector of the Hunan Provincial Drug Administration stated at the meeting that in recent years, the Hunan Provincial Drug Administration has vigorously implemented the "three highs and four new" strategy, deepened the reform of the approval mechanism, and established wholesale drugs. Headquarters and carry out pilot work.

Strengthen the supervision during and after the event, strengthen the "100-day remediation" action, highlight the top-level design and policy guidance, and take multiple measures to promote the competitiveness of the biomedical industry in Hunan Province.

  During the meeting, the New Marketing Professional Committee of the China Medical Materials Association and the Digital Intelligence Retail Branch of the China Medical Materials Association announced the establishment.

According to reports, this conference will lead to exhibitions and open more than 20 heavyweight forums; more than 200 pharmaceutical companies have set up on-site exhibitions to build pharmaceutical retail terminals and pharmaceutical companies' production and sales docking platform.

  According to the "Annual Report on Drug Supervision and Administration Statistics (2020)" issued by the State Food and Drug Administration, as of the end of 2020, there were a total of 573,300 drug business license holders across the country.

Among them, there are 241,100 retail pharmacies, accounting for 42.03% of the number of operating companies; 319,200 retail chain companies and stores, accounting for 55.68%; and 13,100 wholesale companies.

The increase in industry concentration and chain rate in the retail pharmacy sector has become an industry development trend.

Ji Wei Wang Xin Fang Dafeng

Ji Wei Wang Xin Fang Dafeng