Buymed and the Journey of Building a Healthcare Ecosystem
(Dân trí) – After five years of operation, Buymed has consistently achieved remarkable milestones, from establishing an e-commerce platform for pharmaceuticals to building a comprehensive healthcare ecosystem in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
With the aim of becoming the largest e-commerce platform for pharmaceuticals in Southeast Asia, Buymed is focusing on developing its supply chain, automating its warehouses, and expanding its distribution system throughout Vietnam and the region. The company has launched the platform thuocsi.vn with the tagline “Quality Medicines at Wholesale Prices, Everything You Need,” establishing a reliable source of pharmaceuticals at competitive prices.
The Journey of Transformation into a Pharmaceutical E-Commerce Platform
Initially, Buymed focused on catering to early adopters, helping them grasp the company’s operational model and facilitating smooth platform usage. This strategy allowed Buymed to build a loyal customer community.
As a result, in the early stages, Buymed successfully engaged over 12,000 pharmacies (out of more than 60,000 operating pharmacies in Vietnam), achieving a remarkable 90% retention rate among regular users of the platform.
Alongside expanding its customer base, Buymed has consistently integrated technology into all aspects of its operations to enhance service quality.
From 2020 to 2023, the company has invested in GDP and GSP-compliant warehouse systems, totaling 18,000 square meters across three major cities: Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Hanoi. Buymed has also implemented QR code identification for all products and utilized the Thermo TruScan RM handheld Raman spectrometer for drug quality testing.
This technological integration has allowed Buymed to optimize operational processes, shorten delivery times, and ensure the traceability of pharmaceuticals.
Additionally, Buymed has strengthened partnerships with major domestic and international pharmaceutical companies. Collaborating with various corporations and manufacturers has enabled thuocsi.vn to diversify its range of pharmaceuticals and health care products on the platform.
Regarding this matter, Mr. Vuong Dinh Vu, co-founder of Buymed, stated: “Buymed focuses on establishing strategic partnerships with renowned pharmaceutical manufacturers both in Vietnam and internationally, enabling us to deliver genuine products directly from the source (pharmaceutical factories and exclusive distributors) to pharmacies without intermediaries. This ensures pharmacies can access high-quality medicines with verified origin and provenance.”
To date, Buymed has over 35,000 pharmacies utilizing the platform and processes more than 6,000 orders daily. As of Q1 2022, thuocsi.vn achieved an order fulfillment rate of 91%.
Focusing on Building a Comprehensive Health Care Ecosystem
According to a company representative, in addition to the goal of helping traditional pharmacies access high-quality, well-sourced, and reasonably priced medications, Buymed envisions supporting pharmacies in integrating technology applications to enhance their modern pharmacy model. The aim is to gradually transform pharmacies into not only places for selling medications but also centers providing primary care services and related health services for the community.
To realize this ambition, Buymed is focusing on transitioning the process of drug procurement for pharmacies to an online platform. This represents the company’s first significant success.
Regarding the benefits that Buymed has provided to traditional pharmacies, Mr. Nguyễn Hữu Minh Hoàng, CEO of Buymed, stated: “Compared to traditional drug distribution methods, Buymed’s operational model can reduce costs by up to 50%. On average, pharmacies can save about 5-10% in expenses, allowing consumers to purchase medications at lower prices.”
Additionally, Buymed has supported traditional pharmacies in standardizing their operations to comply with Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) and enhancing their business activities. In 2023, the company, along with its partners, initiated several programs, including online training on pharmaceutical knowledge, the provision of Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) certificates, and various promotional campaigns to help pharmacies access competitively priced medications on the thuocsi.vn platform.
Despite being established just four years ago, Buymed has achieved significant milestones. Notably, it successfully raised $51.5 million in a Series B funding round led by UOB Venture Management.
This funding will enable Buymed to continue expanding its warehouse system and develop the Circa franchise pharmacy chain, aimed at helping traditional pharmacies enhance their brand image and create competitive advantages against retail pharmaceutical chains.
In 2023, thuocsi.vn reaffirmed the company’s commitment to investing in technology by inaugurating a pharmaceutical warehouse in Bắc Ninh.
In terms of business operations, Buymed has successfully expanded into the Southeast Asian market, with offices and warehouse systems established in countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, and Singapore.
Read the article on Dân Trí newspaper here.
