Tongke Pharmaceutical: Empowering Pharma Enterprises to Build a New E-commerce Ecosystem and Serving as Infrastructure Enabler for New Healthcare Development

On October 13, 2022, at 11:50 AM, the grand opening ceremony of Tongke Medicine—Guangdong Tongke Digital Health Industry Co., Ltd. was successfully held at Xiangxiang Factory in Guangzhou. Partners from various pharmaceutical sectors and all employees of Guangdong Tongke Digital Technology attended together to witness this significant moment.

The wave of digitalization constitutes the pulsating heartbeat of the new world. Amidst the broader transformation of the pharmaceutical industry, Tongke Medicine has actively embraced change and continuously deepened its innovation efforts. In 2016, under the leadership of General Manager Ms. Song Linzhen, the company innovatively expanded and transformed from a traditional pharmaceutical business model into the realm of internet-based pharmaceutical e-commerce.Ms. Song Linzhen possesses unique insights into industry development, along with forward-looking strategic thinking and an innovative mindset for corporate growth. She has effectively led her team in integrating pharmaceutical distribution operations with cutting-edge digital management, gradually establishing Tongke Medicine as a full-chain service provider within the industry, equipped with capabilities in digital operations, supply chain management, and professional warehousing and logistics.Jinan Tongke Medicine has evolved from an early-stage traditional pharmaceutical distributor into a one-stop solution provider for comprehensive digital branding services in the pharmaceutical sector. Centered on pharmaceutical brand digitalization and anchored by its Digital Operations Center, the company offers three core services: pharmaceutical e-commerce, pharmaceutical marketing, and pharmaceutical logistics. During this transformation, the company’s annual revenue has grown from tens of millions to over RMB 1 billion, and it has sequentially obtained Qualification Certificates A, B, and C for internet transaction services.

A nationwide layout has been established, with Shandong Tongke serving as the digital operations center, the Beijing office as the frontline investment promotion base, and the Guangdong office as the hub for innovation-driven development. The establishment of the Guangdong office marks a critical step forward in Tongke’s efforts to help pharmaceutical manufacturing enterprises build a new e-commerce landscape, ushering in a new chapter of growth.

 Pharmaceutical e-commerce is the core business of Tongke Medicine.Jinan Tongke Medicine Logistics Co., Ltd. has built an omnichannel supply chain and digital operational capabilities across B2B, B2C, and new media platforms, enabling industrial brands to establish their online presence.One-Stop Full-Service Solution for Pharmaceutical E-commerce.

This proprietary Tongke Medicine“Pharmaceutical E-commerce Supply Chain + Digital Operations”Service model, capable of providing industrial brands with end-to-end solutions fromFrom supply chain to e-commerce distribution, operational services, and online price maintenanceend-to-end solutions. This solution hasTwo Major Advantages: First, Flexible Cooperation Models, brands can either choose to collaborate on a single business segment based on their specific needs, or combine multiple services to quickly launch a comprehensive market strategy; secondly, as Jinan Tongke Medicine Logistics Co., Ltd.’s services cover the entire service cycle, from initial planning to final implementation, the service’sGreater integrity, better outcomes, and more efficient collaboration.Matters that previously required coordination among multiple institutions can now be fully handled by Tongke Medicine alone, resulting in greater coherence and smoother implementation.

Wang Jing, Vice President of Business at Tongke Medicine, stated that under the impetus of the pandemic, both pharmaceutical e-commerce and pharmaceutical distribution sectors have exhibited distinct development trends, complementing each other as indispensable components. Possessing both capabilities, augmented by digitalization, can unleash greater industry potential, which constitutes the core competency of Tongke Medicine as an infrastructure service provider for the new pharmaceutical development.

Tongke can effectively address the following five major pain points for pharmaceutical companies:

As one of the first entrants in the pharmaceutical e-commerce sector, Tongke Medicine boasts seven years of experience in comprehensively expanding online operations for industrial brands. It effectively assists pharmaceutical manufacturers in streamlining their business systems, formulating tailored online operational strategies based on specific brand needs, and enhancing the online influence of industrial brands.

With years of practical experience, Tongke Medicine can tailor strategic solutions based on the online and offline product portfolios of industrial brands and their specific needs. By formulating more effective product specifications and implementing rigorous, granular channel management, the company assists manufacturers in comprehensive price maintenance and other managerial tasks, thereby preventing issues such as cross-regional selling (“gray market diversion”).

Lacking experience on traditional e-commerce platforms and facing the emergence of content-driven new media platforms, pharmaceutical manufacturers find that most e-commerce talent is concentrated in cities with well-developed e-commerce ecosystems. As a result, when industrial brands enter the pharmaceutical e-commerce sector, they struggle to build operational teams tailored to mainstream online platforms and media channels.

By strategically establishing a presence in Beijing, Guangdong, and Shandong, Tongke has spent four years building a professional talent system for omni-channel e-commerce operations. With nearly 80 specialized operational staff, the company is well-equipped to support comprehensive development across mainstream e-commerce platforms and media channels, helping industrial brands avoid pitfalls in supply chain management, operations, and communication.

Since launching its pharmaceutical e-commerce business in 2016, Jinan Tongke Medicine Logistics Co., Ltd. has strengthened its internal capabilities, established multi-warehouse collaborative links with JD.com and Alibaba, and undertaken distribution services for over one hundred brands. Leveraging its proprietary Tongda logistics network, the company ensures more efficient product supply and inventory turnover.

Years of hands-on e-commerce experience have enabled Jinan Tongke Medicine Logistics Co., Ltd. to master the detailed rules, online promotion strategies, and promotional tactics of major platforms. Furthermore, its operation team, backed by pharmaceutical expertise, allows the company to sensitively detect subtle market shifts and professionally tackle complex e-commerce challenges one after another. Consequently, whether it involves online operations for prescription drugs or OTC products, or user engagement within private domains or on-platform ecosystems, the company employs unique, professional, and mature strategies. It effectively provides specialized online operational services to industrial brands, jointly building a new digital paradigm for brand development.

High-quality service is inseparable from a team capable of fighting tough battles. Tongke Medicine has established a professional, tiered workforce. Its core management team comprises mature and steady professionals born in the 1980s, independent and competent individuals born in the 1990s, and rising stars born in the 2000s. The core e-commerce operations staff possess at least 5–10 years of experience in managing pharmaceutical e-commerce operations. The company is also equipped with a team of licensed pharmacists, a specialized customer service design team, and a professional paid traffic acquisition team. The entire team demonstrates both the resilience to overcome challenges and the drive to strive and surge forward.

“Our team’s core competitiveness is reflected inOn the professional capabilities of pharmaceutical e-commerce with multi-dimensional integration.“Wang Jing, Vice President of Business at Tongke Medicine, introduced that as one of the earliest enterprises in the pharmaceutical industry to venture into pharmaceutical e-commerce, in addition to possessing the marketing and connectivity capabilities essential for traditional e-commerce, Tongke Medicine has leveraged its accumulated strengths in cargo flow, logistics, capital flow, information flow, and commercial flow derived from traditional pharmaceutical distribution. Combined with its precise grasp of digital operations and digital marketing in pharmaceutical e-commerce, as well as practical experience refined through collaborations with over 200 industrial brands, Tongke Medicine has developed a comprehensive strategic framework to guide industrial brands from ‘creation to optimization.’ This approach enables the rapid customization of suitable and feasible implementation plans tailored to the specific characteristics of each industrial brand.”

To date, Tongke Medicine has successively servedHarbin Pharmaceutical Group, Xiuzheng Pharmaceutical, Kanion, Yunnan Baiyao, Dong-E-E-Jiao, Biostime, Jiuzhitang, Conbaincluding over 200 well-known brands, with online business covering all major channels across the internet.

Among them, in 2020, Tongke andHarbin Pharmaceutical GroupThe strategic partnership marked a significant turning point in Tongke’s long development journey. In 2020, Harbin Pharmaceutical Group authorized Tongke as the exclusive operator for its online pharmaceutical channels. Tongke tailored solutions for Harbin Pharmaceutical by leveraging a new omnichannel marketing model integrating “B2B + B2C + Internet Hospital,” which significantly accelerated Harbin Pharmaceutical’s entry into the online market with remarkable results. That year, Harbin Pharmaceutical achieved nearly RMB 100 million in sales through online channels, while its brand ranking on e-commerce platforms rose, securing the top position in the liquid calcium category. In 2022, Harbin Pharmaceutical and Tongke further deepened their collaboration, with Tongke fully taking over and smoothly operating Harbin Pharmaceutical’s leading warehouse project in Northern China.

Pharmaceutical logistics is the core business of Tongke Medicine.At the recently concluded “2022 Forum on Planning and Construction of Pharmaceutical Logistics Centers and Lean Operations Management,”Jinan Tongke Medicine Logistics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Tongke Medicine”)Awarded the honorary titles of “Outstanding Enterprise in Pharmaceutical Logistics Distribution for 2022” and “Pilot Base (Center) for Modern Pharmaceutical Logistics Technology for 2022.”

The company has established a warehouse with a footprint of110 mua modern pharmaceutical logistics center, with Warehouse No. 115,884 square meters, Area of Warehouse No. 26,288 square meters, Cold Chain Warehousing840 cubic meters, Chinese Herbal Medicine Slices Warehouse752 square meters- Full-case storage600,000 units, Zero Goods7,000 unitsLocation, with an average daily peak throughput reaching40,000 cases, Warehouses 1 and 2 support a total ofRMB 10 billion/year warehousing and distribution capacity. Furthermore, Tongke Medicine has established a nationwide warehousing and logistics network, enabling multi-warehouse coordination to achieve last-mile delivery services across the province and throughout China. Currently, deliveries are completed within 24 hours to prefecture-level cities across the province, as well as to county-level cities48 HoursDelivery to cities in the Yangtze River Delta (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai), the Pearl River Delta, and North China takes 3–5 days. In 2020, Tongke assumed full operational responsibility for JD.com’s North China warehouse, earning comprehensive recognition from the platform for its overall operational capabilities and handling proficiency. In 2022, Harbin Pharmaceutical Group deepened its strategic collaboration with Tongke, which subsequently took over and successfully operates Harbin Pharmaceutical’s flagship northern regional warehouse.

“One who fails to plan for the whole cannot effectively manage a part.” Amid the capital winter, Tongke Medicine has long completed its strategic planning and layout. Wang Jing, Vice President of Business at Tongke Medicine, stated that the company maintains a sufficient and stable capital supply chain, having set aside ample “reserves” to weather the downturn; meanwhile, it is tightening its operational focus.Focus efforts on the development and conversion of high-net-worth business,Sustain the momentum and vitality of business growth.

In the future, as Tongke Medicine establishes and refines its comprehensive online marketing framework, it will unleash greater potential to help industrial enterprises prevail in the new battlefield of pharmaceutical e-commerce.