Grows in the gap between pharmaceutical giants

“The capital market has come a long way.” At various O2O summits, both investors and entrepreneurs have come to this conclusion through personal experience. With the continuous turbulence in the world's major stock markets, domestic venture capitalism has become more cautious, pouring cold water into the current hot business climate. Over the past few months, the frequency of O2O corporate financing has been greatly reduced. The once-heroic financing declaration has become a dead letter, and only giants are not affected. Against this backdrop, the emerging O2O companies face the test of life and death. How to grasp the life-saving straw in the surging tide, O2O companies have their own opinions.

The drug O2O that is attached to pharmacies to survive has always been difficult to use its own strength to turn the situation. Even though drug leaders and drug delivery leaders have explored a viable business model, there is still some distance from profitability. According to a survey conducted by Beijing Commercial Daily reporters, O2Os are currently being deployed by major chain pharmacies, and pharmaceutical e-commerce companies also hope to land on O2O. Drug delivery as part of the entire pharmaceutical O2O, the limitations of profitability make it difficult to escape the fate of being acquired.

Caught in a "pseudo-demand" cycle

Although in the same field as medicine, the situation of drug delivery O2O and medical O2O is very different. At the onset of the cold wave of capital, companies such as registered nets and medical doctors have obtained financing in succession. In contrast, the drug O2O appeared to be shabby, and only quickly delivered drugs to get 200 million yuan in round B financing. In addition to the fast delivery of drugs and medicine to force A round of financing in June, most companies are still circling the angels.

The characteristics of the industry make capital reluctant to get involved. Drug co-founder Nie Fangning stated that drugs belong to commodities that are just in demand, and that they are less affected by prices. Consumers pay attention to efficacy, and they usually do not buy products with poor efficacy because they are cheap, nor do they want to buy more and eat more. The common methods of subsidy and giving money in the O2O field do not apply. In the eyes of investors, the rapid opening of the market is a prerequisite for development, but this condition is difficult to meet.

In addition, the demand for drugs is also lower than other products. According to Nie Fangning, there are reserves in commonly used pharmacies and there is no need for distribution. The demand for special drugs is low, and it is difficult to maintain high orders. It is understood that the quickest delivery of drugs in Beijing's most popular day-time orders can reach 7,000, which is a good performance for drug delivery O2O. However, compared with the hungry market, the US group and other take-out platforms, there is still a long way to go. Investors regard order quantity as one of the measurement standards of O2O companies. For this reason, O2O drug delivery increases the order quantity through cooperation with take-out platforms and sales of daily necessities. However, this not only fails to solve consumer demand for emergency drugs, but also causes companies to fall into the trap. The "pseudo-demand" circle. In the cold winter of capital, the capital market returns to calm, and it is more difficult to obtain financing through deception.

Giant leader leads enterprises

Drug O2O companies have no room for easing from the beginning. Backed by the Renhe Group’s Jingdang Express drug, it was the industry leader. When other companies set an hour’s delivery, Dingdang’s drug shortened the time to 28 minutes. In terms of distribution, not only is the delivery fee waived, but the price of drugs is also about 10%-15% lower than the market price. Prior to this, Renhe Group has acquired Yanshou People Pharmacy and Jingwei University Pharmacy. According to Yang Wenlong, Chairman of Renhe Pharmaceutical (000650) Board of Directors, the final “Internet+” medicine model may be the convergence of B2C and O2O.

Although Dangdang Express Medicine did not receive any financing, relying on the Renhe Group to make other drug O2O hopeless, but due to the rigid requirements of the industry and the lead set in advance by the leader, the company had to bite the bullet. Nie Fangning frankly stated that the basic wages of night-shift delivery personnel are all over 6,000 yuan, and there are considerable commissions, which are 1,500 yuan higher than that of ordinary delivery staff. However, it is necessary to send drugs at night, which is a sum of money that cannot be saved. Many companies want to collect delivery fees, but the giants do not charge, and forcibly reducing costs will only lead to the loss of users.

At present, most companies are looking for a balance between survival and expansion. Where drugs go, and drugs to force pharmacies to increase bargaining power to earn the difference; fast drug self-built warehouse pharmacies to improve distribution capabilities.

Become a part of the health of medicine

The drug O2O was developed through the fiery capital market. However, it is difficult to influence the environment and policies. After the round of elimination, only a handful of O2Os were sent. A senior expert in the industry believes that despite the current frugality of winterization, the industry still has the opportunity to recover from the general direction of the policy and the time will not be long.

According to the person in charge of a chain pharmacy giant, the company will use the O2O store as one of the development strategies for the “Internet+” pharmacy. However, due to the shortage of regional stores, the cost of independently deploying the O2O team is too high, and it hopes to cooperate with O2O. In fact, including listed companies, pharmacy chain companies have not yet spread out across the country, and they only have advantages in key areas.

According to the relevant provisions of the "GSP" and "Drug Administration Law", drugs as cross-regional retail sales are not permitted. Renhe Group's acquisition of pharmacy network is based on the pharmacy network's "online orders, store delivery" model, in line with relevant regulations and can help O2O. The Tmall Medical Museum and major pharmacies’ self-operated e-commerce companies that are also affected by the policy also need O2O to land. According to industry experts, most drug O2Os will be shed by the giants and become a part of the health of medicine.