JD Daojia Partners with Time-Honored Tongrentang to Launch Innovative O2O Healthcare Solution

Recently, JD Daojia has entered into a deep partnership with Beijing Tongrentang, a time-honored brand in traditional Chinese medicine. As part of the collaboration, JD Daojia launched a Brand Day event featuring Tongrentang products, including over 200 medicines and health supplements such as Autumn Pear Lung-Moistening Paste. Food items like Tongrentang Ejiao Cake and Ejiao Honey Paste were also included. Customers in urban areas can enjoy discounts on purchases above a certain amount plus two-hour home delivery of medications, bringing new vitality to this historic brand.

Average Daily Order Growth3times , TongrentangO2ONew Approaches Yield Results

From February 26 to March 6, JD Daojia APP partnered with Beijing Tongrentang to launch a Brand Day campaign across 217 stores in nine cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Tianjin, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Hangzhou. The event featured over 200 pharmaceuticals and health supplements, such as Autumn Pear Lung-Moistening Paste, as well as food products like Tongrentang Ejiao Cake and Ejiao Honey Paste. Urban customers enjoyed two-hour home delivery services and a special discount of RMB 30 off every RMB 100 spent. Since the campaign’s launch, the Haoyishi store in Beijing reported that its average daily online orders for Tongrentang products during the promotional period tripled compared to the average daily offline orders before joining the JD Daojia APP.



JD Daojia’s O2O services not only provide Tongrentang with a new online channel to reach consumers, but more importantly, they have shaped an entirely new business service model through “process reengineering.” This has enhanced the consumer experience and helped rejuvenate Tongrentang’s brand image in the minds of consumers.

Pharmaceutical and Healthcare"Internet+": Current Status, Trends, and the Future

The partnership between Tongrentang and JD Daojia is merely a microcosm of the millions of pharmaceutical and healthcare enterprises embracing the “Internet Plus” model. On February 14, 2016, Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council presided over an executive meeting of the State Council to deploy measures for promoting innovation and upgrading in the pharmaceutical industry, thereby better serving the goals of improving people’s livelihoods and maintaining steady economic growth. The meeting pointed out that the pharmaceutical industry, which is vital to the health of the entire population and boasts substantial market demand, is a key sector in countries around the world. It is essential to establish a modern pharmaceutical distribution network covering both urban and rural areas and to promote the integration of internet technologies with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) medical services.

Guided by national policies, an increasing number of pharmaceutical companies are accelerating their adoption of the “Internet Plus” strategy. According to media reports, among the more than 2,900 pharmaceutical enterprises exhibiting at the Spring 2016 Pharmaceutical and Health Products Fair, over 60% had begun to establish an online presence. Deloitte China’s report, “Internet Plus in China’s Pharmaceutical Industry: Storm Clouds Gather as Momentum Builds,” points out that the integration and iterative development of mobile internet technology with the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries are inevitable, with an estimated RMB 150 billion worth of hospital and retail terminal market space expected to shift online.

However, due to the unique characteristics of the pharmaceutical industry and the differing interpretations of e-commerce among traditional pharmaceutical retail enterprises, efforts by pharmaceutical companies to establish their own online channels and explore O2O (Online-to-Offline) models have yielded less-than-ideal results. Whether through regional trials of time-bound medicine delivery via pharmaceutical e-commerce platforms or collaborations between established pharmacy chains and manufacturers to build online channels, most initiatives have ultimately failed due to multifaceted challenges such as resource allocation, cultural differences, and divergent operational philosophies. This situation presents a significant challenge for the development of new distribution channels in the pharmaceutical industry.

The collaboration between JD Daojia and Tongrentang represents a valuable attempt by traditional enterprises to explore online channels. As a time-honored pharmaceutical manufacturing and retail brand, Tongrentang enjoys strong public recognition and possesses inherent brand advantages among consumers with high purchasing power and strong brand awareness. In the era of rapid mobile internet development, establishing emerging channels beyond traditional distribution networks is a critical step in Tongrentang’s future growth. As a high-quality O2O lifestyle platform, JD Daojia offers significant advantages in brand influence, service quality, and delivery capabilities, making it an attractive partner for Tongrentang in exploring new channels. This Brand Day campaign exemplifies the strategic direction for the pharmaceutical industry and traditional sectors to undergo transformation and upgrading through the “Internet Plus” initiative.

(Article reprinted from "First Pharmacy Financial Intelligence")