Supporting exponential growth in a challenging market

Challenge

In 2014, a multinational pharmaceutical company introduced a prescription drug to the Hong Kong market. This drug had proven to be of significant clinical benefit but was categorized as a self-financed item (SFI) and was not yet covered by government hospitals as a tender item.

In the first two years after the introduction of the drug, part of the sales and distribution were carried out by another party. However, sales results were not satisfying. In 2015, trade sales activities were outsourced to DKSH because of our good track record, broad reach and long-standing relationships with pharmacists.

Approach

To drive sales growth, the collaboration between DKSH and the client had to go beyond just “order taking”. An assertive approach was needed to increase trade channel penetration.

DKSH’s sales specialists used their therapeutic knowledge to convince trade pharmacists about the product’s benefits. They also closely monitored competitors, provided market intelligence to the client, proposed new trade marketing ideas and advised the client on a market penetration strategy.

For example, the DKSH trade sales team collected stock information on all customers by month and calculated the real sales quantity to patients, so that the client’s marketing team could evaluate the performance of their marketing activities.

Result

With the DKSH trade sales teams and the client’s ethical and marketing teams working as one, the company managed to beat the sales target. DKSH penetrated up to 95 percent of drugstores in Hong Kong. The partnership led to a four-fold sales increase in the first year and a two-fold increase in the second year.

Due to the strong and successful cooperation, the market share of the drug in the challenging Hong Kong market continues to increase. At the end of 2017, the client also decided to outsource distribution services for the drug to DKSH.