PGF S.A. is a modern, professionally managed enterprise engaged in the distribution of drugs to pharmacies and providing services to pharmacists and pharmaceutical producers.
The company’s mission is to meet the expectations of the evolving pharmaceutical market and set new standards of cooperation with pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The company is among three largest pharmaceutical distributors in Poland, currently holding about 20% of the market of wholesale to pharmacies.
Using an optimised network of centrally-managed modern warehouses and its own vehicle fleet, PGF supplies products to more than 9 thousand pharmacies. Its country-wide network of 13 local wholesalers enables efficient drug delivery to any given place in Poland within just several hours. The parent company PGF S.A. centralises all core business functions, from the procurement policy, through supplies to local companies, to marketing and sales. With more than 25,000 items in the portfolio, the Company currently offers the broadest product mix on the market.
In addition to sales of all drug groups, accounting for more than 90% of the company's revenue, PGF S.A. also distributes medical and rehabilitation equipment, herbs, dietary supplements, and cosmetics. Every day, the company handles 20,000 orders and sells more than 1 million drug packages. A modern logistics structure and automated distribution system (which includes five fully automatic local warehouses) not only improve efficiency, but also reduce the risk of error and significantly accelerate the delivery of drugs to pharmacies. First, supplies of pharmaceutical products arrive from the manufacturers to the central warehouse in Łódź. Next, the products are apportioned between regional warehouses and dispatched. In the regional branches, orders from pharmacies and other retail points of sale are received into the sales system via telephone (telemarketing) or electronically (a vast majority of orders are now forwarded to wholesalers via the Internet). Ultimately, ordered products are dispatched in accordance with the route schedules. The entire process is conducted with the use of bar codes, that is labels which can be found on the packaging of each product. With its increasing reliance on innovative logistics solutions, PGF is able to cut operating costs and protect the environment, also by reducing the amount of paper used.
PGF has a quality management system in place, which is in line with the Good Distribution Practice and covers all distribution processes. The system guarantees that products delivered to customers meet the applicable quality standards and come from a legal source. All legal developments and current requirements applying to wholesale trade in pharmaceutical products, including new guidelines of the European Commission on Good Distribution Practice of November 5th 2013, are monitored on an on-going basis.
PGF is continually launching innovative solutions and offers a package of modern marketing tools to its customers. The Company delivers comprehensive services to pharmacists, manufacturers and patients, and develops the e-commerce business concept, including, for example, a website for pharmaceutical professionals – pharmbook.pl, which not only provides latest industry updates, but also serves as an electronic sales platform in the segment of fastest-moving pharmaceuticals and promotional products. In addition, with the new 'settlements' function pharmacists can analyse invoice payments in more detail against the trade credit terms, and make online payments directly from the pharmacy bank accounts through the website.
In 2014, PGF formulated its strategy for 2014−2017. Its cornerstone and starting point is building reliable and far-ranging cooperation with partners in the pharmaceutical distribution business. Under the adopted strategy, PGF is:
no. 1 partner for family pharmacies and small pharmacy chains: the Company develops tools to support their growth and does not build (and has no intention of building) its own pharmacy chain,
no. 1 partner for pharmaceutical manufacturers: the Company actively supports sales of their products and does not develop (and has no intention of developing) proprietary brands of pharmaceuticals.
Despite the growing presence of medium-sized and large pharmacy networks noticeable in recent years, Poland still remains dominated by individual pharmacies and small chains (including up to 5 pharmacies). However, since the beginning of 2012 when the new drug reimbursement law (referred to as the Reimbursement Act) came into force, their market position has deteriorated due to a number of unfavourable effects of the new legislation. Therefore, in an effort to address the needs of family pharmacies and small pharmacy chains, PGF offers a number of tools which would otherwise not be available to a vast majority of smaller market players. The partnership with PGF means access to the broadest product range currently offered on the market and to the full offering of state-of-the art services, as well as an option to implement a modern enterprise management model.
The partnership concept is best exemplified by the far-reaching 'Healthy Choice' programme, which was launched in 2014 with a goal to enhance the economic condition of pharmacies through a package of innovative solutions aimed at reducing distribution costs and maximising profit margins. Among other services, the project offers category management, designed to adjust the pharmacy product mix to the current market reality, prevailing trends, and the purchasing habits of its customers, as well as the warehouse optimisation service which improves the efficiency of working capital management. With those tools in place, every pharmacy can be effectively managed as a modern enterprise. The programme also includes the 'Healthy Choice' Academy, serving as a source of knowledge for pharmacy owners and pharmacists on how to manage a pharmacy business and develop sales and customer service skills.
In addition to partnering with pharmacies under the 'Healthy Choice' programme, PGF has also teamed with manufacturers, ensuring continued development of its value-added services, including product range management, promotional support, business analysis, and sales optimisation.
PGF's business is driven by passion and the cooperation with its trading partners is built on reliability, respect and the spirit of partnership.
As part of the CSR efforts, the company's staff are involved in various charity and environmental protection projects to the benefit of the local community; for example, PGF's running team participated in the 'Łódź Business Run' charity event and business run, and the employees worked as volunteers of the 'Dbam o Zdrowie' Foundation at the Łódź marathon.
The company is committed to achieving and offering a transparent organisational culture, good working conditions and welfare facilities, strong incentive systems, and attractive employee plans. It also offers traineeship and internship schemes for students, with a number of trainees and interns becoming PGF's new hires.
As a token of recognition of those efforts, PGF S.A. received the 'Reliable Employer 2014' title, thereby joining the elite group of employers offering the most reliable HR policy, which drives their competitive advantage. This award confirms the company's exemplary approach to its staff and the commitment to respecting the principles of equal treatment of all employees. Bearing in mind that its human resources are the key to ensuring the highest quality of services in the demanding pharmaceutical market, the company supports the development of its people by organising skill-building programmes tailored to its current training needs.
In the short-term horizon, PGF plans to continue the initiatives launched in 2014, including implementation of the transparent drug distribution partnership strategy, based on the 'Healthy Choice' programme and other projects, as well as scaling up the activities designed to support manufacturers in their drug sales efforts (including guaranteed distribution of products to pharmacies). The company is also committed to maintaining top quality of its services, offering the broadest product mix and competitive prices, as well as achieving above-average revenue growth rates. 2015 will see the launch of recepta.pl – a modern Internet platform offering the complete database of pharmaceutical products available on the market. Through the new website, patients will be able to order drugs and pick them up at a pharmacy of their choice from a list of cooperating points of sale. As a result, they will spend less time searching for pharmaceutical products, especially those not readily available on the market. As such, recepta.pl will offer support to patients facing problems caused by the deteriorated numeric distribution of drugs (that is, unavailability of a product at a first visit) caused by the overall reduction of stock levels due to shrinking retail margins.
Pharmapoint was established in 2011 within the wholesale business line, as a company specialising in distribution of drugs to other wholesalers.
The company keeps extending its pharmaceutical customer base, currently providing end-to-end services to more than 100 customers. It operates modern logistics facilities, ensuring proper storage of pharmaceutical products in various temperature ranges under 24/7 monitoring. In addition to distribution and logistics services, including distribution on an exclusive basis, the company offers a whole range of sales and marketing services, which makes it a strategic partner for many manufacturers of pharmaceuticals. The company's central warehouse and most of its business units are currently located in Łódź, with the pre-wholesale department based in Katowice and the local wholesale unit and importer's warehouse in Poznań.
Pharmapoint's core values include responsibility, openness and innovation. By engaging in various activities, the company builds trust in relations with its suppliers and customers, and supports their business objectives, acting in a manner that brings benefits to all parties involved. Pharmapoint is a socially responsible company committed to initiatives fostering environmental protection and enhancing the safety and security of its employees, trading partners, customers and other stakeholders. It also supports health promotion and charity projects, with a special focus on the activities of the 'Dbam o Zdrowie' Foundation.
By meeting the customers' needs halfway and enhancing the service portfolio, Pharmapoint successfully continued its growth in 2014. In particular, the regional warehouse project launched in 2013 attracted considerable interest among drug manufacturers.
Pursuant to Art. 4 of the Pharmaceutical Law, the company imported life-saving drugs temporarily not available in Poland, and offered clinical trial support services with regard to product procurement and distribution process. At the same time, Pharmapoint developed its distribution services offered to drug manufacturers on an exclusive basis, especially by supplementing its standard logistics and distribution offer with end-to-end marketing solutions. In 2014, the company also opened an importer's warehouse offering customs-warehousing options.
In 2015, Pharmapoint will work to maintain the current momentum and look for new business opportunities to further enhance its offering. One of the major challenges will be to find new ways for promoting pharmaceutical products and secure contracts with new manufacturers.
