Building Next-Generation Smart Hospital Warehousing and Logistics: Insights from Yinwing Medical's IPO Prospectus

The Connotation of Smart Hospitals: According to the definition provided by Jiao Yahui, Deputy Director of the Medical Administration and Hospital Management Bureau under the National Health Commission, it primarily encompasses four aspects: smart services, smart medical care, smart nursing, and smart management. Among these, smart management refers to providing support for hospital administrators in areas such as quality control, healthcare-associated infection prevention, finance, logistics, and consumables management, thereby achieving refined hospital management.

As hospitals exhibit a strong demand for smart logistics support, the construction of next-generation warehousing and logistics systems has become a key focus for many hospital administrators.

In Chinese hospitals, traditional internal transportation and warehousing processes primarily rely on manual pushcarts, which are not only time-consuming and costly but also fail to meet clinical demands. Taking a Grade A tertiary hospital in China with approximately 3,000 beds as an example, its daily logistics volume for various supplies amounts to around 35 tons, with a total of approximately 2,100 transport trips per day. National health authorities require that complete blood count (CBC) test results be reported within 20 minutes; however, under traditional logistics and distribution methods, specimens simply cannot be delivered within this stipulated timeframe.

In 2000, Jiangsu Province People’s Hospital, a well-known Grade A tertiary hospital in China, invested heavily in procuring a foreign pneumatic tube system. According to Huang Ruchun, Director of the General Services Department at Jiangsu Province People’s Hospital, “There were certain issues with the implementation of the product at that time. First, the handover between the construction party and the end-users was inadequate. Second, the training provided was not comprehensive. Furthermore, there were internal disagreements within the hospital regarding the adoption of the system. As a result, the product, which had been highly anticipated, remained idle for an extended period.”

After many years, as the volume of outpatient and emergency visits at hospitals has risen, traditional manual logistics have become unsustainable. Improving the safety and efficiency of transportation is urgent; therefore, Huang Ruchun proposed leveraging new technologies to improve the current state of hospital logistics management.

In 2014, after extensive comparisons and repeated deliberations, the hospital determined that the solution provided by Silver Wing Medical was more suitable for its current development status.

After multiple engagements, Director Huang Ruchun, who had initially questioned the use of pneumatic tube systems for material transport, has come to re-evaluate and accept this approach. He recognized that Silver Wing, as a domestic company, has a deeper understanding of the needs of Chinese hospitals and has developed solutions better tailored to their operations. They adopted pneumatic tube products first to address the hospital’s urgent needs for transporting small items, with plans to gradually implement robotic carts and smart warehousing systems to achieve comprehensive intelligent and automated management and distribution of all hospital supplies.

“Short, flat, and fast”—this is Director Huang’s assessment of Silver Wing Medical’s pneumatic tube logistics solution. In the past, due to the high volume of hospital logistics, transportation relied heavily on manual labor. Staff primarily depended on elevators, which resulted in the occupation of passageways and elevator resources during transport. By adopting pneumatic tube systems and autonomous mobile robots, these resources can be freed up.

At the end of 2014, after undergoing multiple rounds of testing, the automation system provided by Silver Wing Intelligent Solutions Medical Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. was officially put into operation at Jiangsu Province People’s Hospital. According to Director Huang, the hospital has installed a total of 150 pneumatic tube logistics stations. The daily transport volume is approximately 7,000 trips; in other words, around 7,000 transport canisters are conveyed through the pneumatic tube system to various medical departments each day. Prior to the implementation of the automation system, the hospital had more than 80 ward units, each requiring staff to manually deliver specimens and urgent medications. With the adoption of the pneumatic tube logistics system, these personnel previously assigned to specimen and medication transport have been redeployed to undertake additional clinical duties.

To enhance the supply chain assurance for operating rooms, Silver Wing Medical has customized a world-leading intelligent warehousing and logistics system specifically for the hospital. This integrated system spans the Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD), outpatient operating rooms, the DSA suite, and major operating theaters. It provides a one-stop solution for the storage and transportation of various surgical supplies, including sterilized instruments, dressings, and high-value consumables.

By being networked with the Hospital Information System (HIS), sterilized items transported through it can be traced to each individual surgical procedure in the operating room. Once an order is generated for any given surgery, the required instrument sets are delivered to the designated location.

Compared with the previous use of passenger elevators for transport, the current vertical storage system effectively integrates storage and transportation, saving significant space, time, and labor, while enabling intelligent management and traceability of all materials. In addition, the hospital has deployed intelligent robotic carts to assist in the transportation of pharmaceuticals and high-value consumables. In terms of infection control, safety has been substantially improved compared to the past, owing to a significant reduction in manual handling processes.

By leveraging the comprehensive solutions provided by Silver Wing Medical, Jiangsu Province People's Hospital has achieved process transformation, workforce reallocation, and resource optimization, thereby enhancing patient care experience and safety while making hospital management more efficient.

Director Huang stated, “For hospitals to deliver high-quality services and adopt new technologies, financial costs are inevitable. However, hospitals should not be overly concerned with return on investment. Necessary investments must be made; supported by cross-subsidization from other business lines, hospitals should actively promote the adoption of Silver Wing’s new technologies, such as pneumatic tube systems and intelligent warehousing.”

From his perspective, although pneumatic tube systems and smart warehousing entail high initial construction costs, they help hospitals save substantial space and operational and maintenance expenses over the system’s full lifecycle. In particular, from an infection prevention and control standpoint, they reduce the incidence of healthcare-associated infections. In other words, smart warehousing and logistics systems enhance hospitals’ medical service capabilities and improve public satisfaction, representing an intangible value.

Regarding the choice of Silver Wing Medical, Director Huang stated: “The core reason lies in Silver Wing’s profound understanding of hospital needs. Their forward-looking approach ensures that their solutions not only meet current demands but also provide long-term lean logistics management. Furthermore, their after-sales service is exceptionally thorough; Silver Wing provides hospital administrators with monthly usage analysis reports covering both positive and negative aspects, and resolves issues in real time.”

Since 2007, Silver Wing Medical has been providing intelligent material management solutions for hospitals. It is one of the earliest companies in China to enter this industry. Jiangsu Province People's Hospital is just one of many cases for Silver Wing Medical. Currently, Silver Wing Medical’s solutions have been implemented in numerous Grade A tertiary hospitals across China, such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, the 940th Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (formerly the General Hospital of Lanzhou Military Region), the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, and the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.

According to Ding Yuan, Sales Director of the Key Accounts Department at Silver Wing Medical, the company initially started by addressing the need for automated delivery of emergency supplies in hospitals. Later, in response to market demands, Silver Wing Medical began providing integrated and personalized solutions.

Categorized by type, Silver Wing Medical’s product portfolio includes pneumatic tube systems, rail-guided vehicles, automated guided robots, and intelligent warehousing solutions. Leveraging its continuously expanding range of product lines, Silver Wing Medical can address diverse transportation needs within hospitals.

In the case of Jiangsu Province People's Hospital, the hospital procured a series of products including pneumatic tube systems, warehouse logistics solutions, and intelligent robots.

“There is no such thing as the best product, only the most suitable solution.” Ding Yuan believes that Silver Wing Medical plays the role of planning the most appropriate solutions for hospitals.

According to her perspective, the combination of different product types is primarily determined by a hospital’s specific clinical needs and its ultimate service system, such as outpatient volume, surgical volume, and disciplinary development. Regardless of the type of hospital, patient safety and operational efficiency remain the core considerations. Silver Wing Intelligent Solutions Medical Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. provides the most suitable solutions based on these needs, thereby assisting hospitals in improving their operational systems to meet the requirements for intelligent and smart development.

Everything goes through the process of going from zero to one, and Silver Wing Medical is no exception.

When Silver Wing initially promoted pneumatic tube systems in hospitals across the Yangtze River Delta, many institutions hesitated upon learning the product pricing. Moreover, a significant number of hospitals considered such systems obsolete and unsuitable for the Chinese market. In response, Silver Wing persisted in market education, introducing the world’s most advanced standards to domestic hospitals. Time has proven the value of this approach: after years of educational efforts by Silver Wing, these hospitals later recognized that pneumatic tube systems were not outdated but rather addressed their most urgent needs.

“We will never be just a company that sells equipment,” Ding Yuan told VCBeat.

Prior to developing the design proposal, Silver Wing Intelligent Solutions Medical Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. conducts a comprehensive collection of all baseline information and data related to hospital logistics and distribution. Throughout this process, staff members carry out continuous research and surveys, formulating specific plans tailored to the hospital’s unique circumstances, thereby devising the most targeted solutions.

Many foreign products struggle to adapt to the Chinese market. In response, Silver Wing Medical leverages its advantages as a local enterprise to design product solutions that are better suited for domestic hospitals than those offered by foreign companies.

Ding Yuan stated, “Even the best products and solutions will struggle to achieve their full potential without a supportive environment that integrates seamlessly with hospital workflows and management. As the development of smart hospitals deepens, Silver Wing Intelligent Solutions Medical Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. aims to implement more outstanding solutions in top-tier hospitals across China.”