MediLucky: Revolutionizing Medical Device Export with an Internet + Offline Partner Model to Reduce Customer Acquisition Cost to 1%

According to statistics from China Customs, the export value of China's medical device products reached USD 23.63 billion in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 8.88%. Among these, exports of medical device products to countries and regions along the "Belt and Road" amounted to USD 4.963 billion in 2018, representing a year-on-year growth of 10.89%.

In recent years, medical devices made in China have gained increasing popularity among a growing number of countries due to their high cost-performance ratio. Many domestic medical device companies have prioritized expanding into overseas markets. MedSingLong is an S2b enterprise dedicated to facilitating the global expansion of Chinese medical device manufacturers.

MedSingLong throughInternet + Offline Partnersbusiness model, dedicated to reducing intermediate distribution links and directly selling medical devices to overseas end-user hospitals. Compared with the traditional model of offline visits plus exhibition participation, the “Internet + offline partners” model can significantly reduce marketing costs and improve efficiency for enterprises. Since its establishment in 2013, MedSingLong’s products have been exported to 178 countries. Over the past six years, the company has achieved rapid growth with an annual revenue growth rate exceeding 95%, and it has maintained continuous profitability since 2017.

In 2013, China proposed the strategic initiatives of building the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.” The Belt and Road Initiative has improved mechanisms for cross-border payments, customs clearance, and cross-border logistics, thereby bridging economic exchanges between China and regions along the Belt and Road.

“The Belt and Road Initiative” revealed to Hu Xinlong, founder of MedSingLong, the vast market opportunities for Chinese enterprises expanding overseas. “Given that China’s medical device industry lagged behind Europe and the United States by more than a decade at the time, the following 10–20 years would witness rapid growth in this sector. Moreover, medical devices involve multidisciplinary integration—including electronics, mechanical engineering, and medicine—creating certain entry barriers. As Warren Buffett’s ‘snowball’ theory suggests, there is a long slope and sufficiently wet snow, making it an ideal lifelong endeavor.” Thus, in 2013, Hu Xinlong co-founded MedSingLong in Guangzhou with Chen Zhangbiao, focusing on the global expansion of Chinese medical devices.

Hu Xinlong stated that the medical device export sector faces significant pain points.

From the perspective of Chinese medical device manufacturers, expanding into overseas markets requires establishing independent foreign trade teams and developing localized marketing strategies. Furthermore, in terms of marketing models, Chinese medical device companies typically rely on offline visits and participation in trade shows, resulting in marketing costs as high as 25% and making international expansion extremely costly.

Hu Xinlong stated, “There are 18,000 domestic medical device manufacturers in China, with an average annual sales revenue of less than RMB 20 million in overseas markets.” Many well-known Chinese medical device manufacturers currently focus primarily on the domestic market and have encountered numerous challenges in expanding overseas. However, this also underscores the significant value of the sector in which MedSingLong operates and the work it is undertaking.

From the perspective of overseas end-user hospitals and clinics, these institutions face pain points such as high procurement costs, difficulties in one-stop purchasing, and challenges in customs clearance. The traditional model for medical device exports follows the chain: “Domestic medical device manufacturers → National-level distributors abroad → Regional distributors abroad → End-user hospitals.” As medical devices change hands multiple times with markups added at each layer of distribution, the final selling price diverges significantly from the ex-factory price.

Prior to founding MedSingLong, Hu Xinlong worked at Global Vision Group, where he was responsible for the overseas marketing of medical devices and accumulated extensive experience in internet marketing. Additionally, MedSingLong’s core team members all possess an international perspective, along with rich experience in overseas sales and digital marketing of medical devices.

Internet technology offers limitless possibilities for low-cost marketing. Hu Xinlong believes that the internet enables information exchange beyond temporal and spatial constraints, featuring low costs and high timeliness. It can effectively address the drawbacks of traditional marketing models—namely, high costs and low efficiency—thereby facilitating precision marketing.

Hu Xinlong stated, “MedSingLong has a strong DNA for digital marketing.” The company employs unique strategies to excel in digital marketing and enhance brand visibility.

By leveraging accumulated case studies, MedSingLong’s internal experts have curated a case library. Through features such as keyword indexing, the company swiftly and accurately delivers personalized, one-stop procurement solutions, thereby enhancing service efficiency and driving sales.Furthermore, the company’s sales team leverages customer sales data, product characteristics, and global factors such as climate change and environmental conditions to provide proactive services, including consumables repurchase reminders, equipment maintenance alerts, and product iteration recommendations.

MedSingLong has integrated the domestic medical device industry chain and built an internet platform. By leveraging online marketing to enhance product visibility, it sells Chinese-made medical devices directly to overseas end-user hospitals, thereby streamlining distribution channels, reducing product prices, and lowering procurement costs for hospitals. According to reports, the MedSingLong official websiteDaily visits amount to approximately 1,800, with an average cost per visit of only RMB 0.8.

In terms of supply chain, MedSingLong has established cooperative relationships with more than 500 medical device manufacturers in China, becoming the sole global distributor for multiple manufacturers.

In addition, MedSingLong emphasizes enhancing user stickiness by engaging in in-depth communication and continuous relationship maintenance with each customer, converting them into offline partners to expand overseas markets and better serve end-user hospitals.

“Traditional marketing methods incur costs as high as 25%. By adopting an ‘Internet + offline partners’ marketing model, MedSingLong has reduced its customer acquisition cost to 1% and lowered product prices by at least 50%.”Hu Xinlong stated.

For medical device companies expanding overseas, after-sales service remains a thorny issue. Currently, MedSingLong primarily provides online guidance to customers for maintenance and repairs.

In December 2019, MedSingLong completed a Pre-A financing round worth tens of millions of yuan. MedSingLong will use this fundingFor the development of SaaS systems, Philippine subsidiaries, and overseas warehouses, once the system is established, it is expected to double the company’s internal operational efficiency. The establishment of subsidiaries and overseas warehouses will enable delivery of core products within 48 hours in the Philippines region and resolution of after-sales issues for hospital clients within 24 hours.

According to Hu Xinlong, MedSingLong took only two years to evolve from a work-from-home setup to building a team of over 30 people and becoming an Alibaba Dream Base. Currently, MedSingLong serves more than 5,000 clients, offers over 8,000 SKUs, and sells its products to 178 countries and regions worldwide. With annual revenue growing at a rate of 95%, the company has achieved sustained profitability since 2017.

At its inception, MedSingLong established“Reduce patients’ medical expenses and make healthcare affordable for all.”mission. One thing has left a deep impression on Hu Xinlong to this day. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he noticed that a black-and-white ultrasound device priced at over $700 in China was sold for as much as $5,500, resulting in a price difference of $4,800. “$4,800 is enough to support a local family of four for four years.” Thanks to the efforts of MedSingLong, the overseas price of a black-and-white ultrasound device has now dropped to around $1,200, marking a significant reduction.

In the future, MedSingLong will continue to deepen its presence in the overseas medical device market, providing more patients with cost-effective medical devices.

Regarding the development potential of the overseas market for medical devices, Hu Xinlong expressed optimism. “The overseas market for medical devices has at least another 20 years of golden growth ahead. Looking abroad, two U.S. companies in the same sector already boast a century-long history; I believe China can also cultivate century-old enterprises in this field.”