MedznMore: Digital pharmaceutical supply chain

THE CHALLENGE

Overcoming market challenges to meet users’ needs

MedznMore is committed to tackling two major problems in the retail pharmacy market: difficulties in acquiring medicine and counterfeit drugs. Considering the problem of counterfeit medicine in pharmacies across Pakistan, they realized that the only way to tackle this endemic is to acquire directly from the source – pharmaceutical companies.

They wanted to go a step further and digitize the entire process through an online platform that will streamline the process of acquiring over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medication, with medicine delivered right to customers’ doorsteps.

With an aim to transform the user experience of buying medicines and make it utterly hassle-free, they wanted to operate as an e-pharmacy, providing customers with a simple and convenient answer for all their medicinal and wellness needs.

After they learned about our endeavors with Careem, MedznMore selected VentureDive as their technology partner to help breathe life into their ideas.

THE SOLUTION

Growing their business smartly

From the beginning, MedznMore was very clear about what they wanted to achieve with their idea; they had also acquired the funding for it. 

They started out with the B2C market to assess the demand for on-demand delivery of drugs and medical supplies across the country. They had their pharmaceuticals in place, but what they didn’t have was accessible retailers for people from all social classes. Initially, they focused on Karachi, where there was an abundance of medical stores with great geographical distances between them. 

MedznMore wanted to build a space where they could rapidly increase their footprint and venture into the B2B space as well to supply original medical supplies and drugs to pharmacies. The issue lay with the wholesalers or distributors who were not using online platforms to supply medicines to pharmacies. So MedznMore became a supplier themselves and wanted to use digitization to enable pharmacies and customers to be able to access their pharma products through the medicine delivery app.

Together, we built an online B2B platform (TezMedz) where MedznMore acts as a supplier and connects with pharmacies, and a B2C platform (Tabiyat.pk) to connect MedznMore with end customers. MedznMore also constructed and set up its own warehouses so it can stock up on drugs and medical supplies, and offer products to pharmacies (through the B2B platform), as well as consumers (through the B2C platform). 

Becoming an app-based business in pharmaceuticals was the most feasible way to accommodate all these players and achieve their business goals. 

Building an online B2B platform to connect with pharmacies

VentureDive’s engineering team worked side by side with the major stakeholders at MedznMore to develop a native suite of apps using the Android platform, for suppliers, retailers, and delivery agents. 

Today, MedznMore sources medicines and wellness products from big manufacturers and acts as a supplier for pharmacies.  VentureDive provided the client with a systematic way to manage their own inventory that they order from large-scale suppliers and maybe even manufacturers. 

Retailers or pharmacy businesses place online orders through the app, requesting supplies directly from MedznMore. They easily search, browse and order the required medical supplies and drugs, which are delivered to them the very next day. 

Making drugs and medical supplies accessible for consumers

To cater to the needs of the end-consumers, VentureDive built a web portal – an online medicine delivery system, that allows them to choose from hundreds of medicines, wellness products, and medical devices listed on the website. 

The users can simply upload a photo of their prescriptions and consult certified pharmacists through the web application. MedznMore wanted to boost user engagement in the apps since their idea was a fairly unique one in the region. 

To make that happen, we added a feature of offering in-app promotions and discounts on products. This not only boosted customer loyalty but also had them coming back to the portal to order medicines. In addition, we enabled the users to schedule deliveries of medicines as per their convenience or place ad hoc orders so they have the essentials on their doorsteps as and when required. 

MedznMore offers same-day delivery for end-customers, taking them a step closer to their goal of making genuine medical products and drugs readily available to people. VentureDive resolved a major challenge for the client, i.e. logistics, by taking delivery, fleets, riders, admin, and operations under our wing, enabling customers to track drivers during the journey.

THE RESULTS

The road to growth and business success

MedznMore has extensive future plans with respect to the growth of its business, products, and services. As they foresee entering new markets and making pharmaceuticals accessible to the new set of consumers, they have chosen to do so with VentureDive as their technology partner. 

We plan to include financial and profit reports within the web and mobile apps customized for pharmacy managers/owners and warehouse and wholesale business owners. In the pharma space, it is essential to control the volume of orders/products rather than the prices, which are govt-subsidized. Volume can be controlled by monitoring market demand and enabling faster delivery of services. As part of our future roadmap, we plan to include this feature within the admin dashboard, so users have access to all business information in a single view. 

As they scale, both TezMedz and Tabiyat.pk aim to improve the quality aspects of the availability of medicines. To realize that VentureDive plans to have system checks in place that will ensure quality maintenance when medicines are being stored, taken out to storage, taken to suppliers/retailers, and delivered to end-customers. 

We also plan to offer impeccable customer services to facilitate users in the best possible way, and boost loyalty and customer retention.