The right provider can enhance your brand and support growth
Like many industries, the healthcare industry has changed — more sectors offering more types of products, through a wider range of channels from traditional retail to direct-to-consumer (DTC) are creating new requirements and needs for fulfillment services. For example, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and dietary and nutritional supplements require exacting order fulfillment and in many cases, specialized kitting for variety packs, samples, test kits and other specialized packaging as well as diagnostics.
From online pharmacies, to vitamin subscriptions, to a growing focus on pre- and probiotics, and devices that monitor sleep, fitness, and general health — just to name a few — consumers are more focused on their health and wellness than ever before. This trend shows no sign of letting up, and industry segments are growing quickly. People are living longer and greater attention and spending is moving to preventative care from reactive care. Younger people are embracing a new wave of health insights and the use of technology to drive care, and AI is being integrated into day-to-day medicine and promises to change healthcare in fundamental ways. Here’s the latest healthcare fulfillment services data for just a few key major healthcare market categories:
- Prescription Drugs. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global prescription drugs market size is projected to grow from $1,162.6 billion in 2023 to $1,864.2 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 8.9% — with the United States representing an astounding 49.5% of the total market. (Source)
- Over the Counter Drugs. Globally over the counter (OTC) drugs market size is projected to grow from $49.68 billion in 2023 to $73.78 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 5.8% – with North America accounting for $18.46 billion in 2022. (Source)
- Medical Devices. The global medical devices market size was valued at $512.29 billion in 2022 & is projected to grow from $536.12 billion in 2023 to $799.67 billion by 2030. In this category, North America represented $196.17 billion. (Source)
Yet, the total healthcare market goes beyond traditional categories.The size of the wellness market worldwide stood at $5.61 trillion in 2022. A report from Statista, says this figure is expected to reach 8.47 trillion U.S. dollars by 2027. Health and wellness is a large industry that includes multiple sub-categories. Some of these categories include fitness, weight loss, nutrition, immune health, sleep, mindfulness, women’s health and more. For example, two areas that are growing rapidly are:
- Nutraceuticals are products derived from food sources that provide both nutrition and medicinal benefits. These products include dietary supplements, diets, herbal products, and vitamins. Think anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, antioxidant activity, pre- and probiotics for gut health and more — already a $71.73 billion dollar market in the United States alone. (Source)
- Skincare is another booming sector forecast to reach $21.8 billion dollars in the U.S in 2024. (Source) Looking at the bigger picture, beauty & personal care market in the United States is forecast to reach 110.3 billion U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2028. (Source)
The winners in these markets have found ways to appeal to healthcare consumers’ desires for fast, easy results, authenticity and transparency. These comprise the entire experience, which extends beyond the products consumers are buying, to include the entire process of ordering, receiving them, using them, and even making it easy to return or reorder them. Ultimately, the success of your healthcare-related business depends on having the right fulfillment services provider to get it all right.
Five key requirements every healthcare company should look for in a fulfillment services provider:
1. Service
Service isn’t just about your ability to reach and engage with your fulfillment services provider, it is also about the provider’s ability to service and support YOUR customers. That’s why at Diamond, we have developed a highly-sought-after solution to address service requirements of our clients’ customers — a robust Call Center solution.
We know that remaining competitive, improving customer service and overall efficiency are your top priorities. Our call center team can support these goals in a variety of ways. We offer a number of inbound call center support services including customer service, order processing, marketing support and helpdesk troubleshooting. Our team-based framework provides reliable and consistent service to a wide variety of programs, while allowing for customization to meet the specific needs of each program. Our team becomes a true extension of your company.
It’s also important to ensure that you have a dedicated Account Manager assigned to every account, as well as access to warehouse managers — an on-the-floor, hands-on resource. They should be able to respond quickly and thoroughly to your requests, make same day shipping happen, and have fast responses to questions as your primary enabler for Fulfillment Services.
2. Location
Many healthcare companies are adopting a localized and regionalized strategy for fulfillment services to enable speed to market. Contrary to the well-worn idea of “centralizing everything” for cost savings and synergies, a modern, market-driven approach involves choosing the best fulfillment services provider in key geographies or markets that allow you to reach your buyers and consumers as fast and as efficiently as possible. It speeds up transit times and returns — and allows smaller batch, more customized orders to go out at higher frequency.
Diamond Fulfillment offers a premier Fulfillment Center in Chicago for healthcare companies to not only store their products close to local consumers, but also provides comprehensive kitting and assembly for all types of pharmaceutical, medical and over-the-counter products. As but one example, a leading pharmaceutical company uses our Fulfillment Center in Chicago to assemble test kits (also known as rep samples) for both drugs and medical devices. The test kits are then sent out directly to the company’s sales representatives ‘on-demand’ for the exact quantity and types they need each week based on their medical office visits they have on their schedule in the Chicagoland area.
3. Specialized Certifications for ISO 9001 and HIPPA and Specialized Services such as Temp-Controlled Storage, Kitting and Assembly
Unlike other industries that have bulk materials with simple, basic warehousing and storage requirements, the healthcare industry has highly-specific sectors and complex — often regulated — warehousing and storage requirements. These requirements include temperature-controlled storage, as well as process and facility certifications and exacting standards are documented and adhered to. That’s why Diamond Fulfillment has made it a priority to achieve ISO 9001 Certification as well as compliance with HIPPA certifications to operate successfully on behalf of our pharmaceutical and healthcare industry clients.
For the healthcare industry, there is also a high level of product customization and other specialized handling needs. An example of a product customization is kitting and shipping the exact quantity, dosage and/or assembly based on a specific patient’s needs, all while complying with the privacy standards for contact/mailing information mandated by HIPPA.
To ensure the highest levels of quality and compliance with your fulfillment process, it’s important to assess your fulfillment services provider for their ability to handle these types of special requirements, both on a regular but also project-basis as your needs evolve and change.
4. Partnership
Your business is not simply transactional, your brand and your experience are at stake. That’s why you need a fulfillment services provider that takes the partnership seriously. No matter how much you’ve invested in your product development, your brand, your advertising and marketing… if your products aren’t handled carefully, stored securely or get in your customers hands on time, it can ruin customer perception. And word of mouth about bad experiences can go viral and be deadly for a growing brand.
When looking for a fulfillment services provider, there are a few key signs of a company with a partnership focus. Do you have unfettered access to the management team and resources? Will they give you their mobile numbers? Do they return calls promptly and actively seek answers when you have a request or a problem? Are they willing to be flexible to meet your unique needs? They should also offer to have quarterly business reviews to go over key metrics and plan for the coming months. We all know what good customer service feels like – and if they can’t provide that level of service to you, how can you trust them to provide it to your customers?
5. T-squared (T2) = Talent + Technology
There’s been a hyperfocus over the last decade on the critical role technology plays in the execution of fullment services, warehousing and the supply chain in general. Perhaps ironically, there’s also been a hyperfocus on the tremendous talent shortage nearly all industries face as generational shifts (such as the Baby Boomers retiring) continue to unfold. At Diamond, we don’t consider these trends mutually exclusive. In fact, we think that the success of any fulfillment services operation depends on having first the talent to execute it and then second, the talent and skills to effectively implement and manage technology as a key strategic enabler. We’re investing both in our talent and top-tier technology so that we can stay ahead of trends on behalf of our customers. Technology empowers everyone on our teams to be more proactive, more productive, and move more quickly – all in service of our valued customers.
Conclusion
Contrary to popular belief that a warehouse is a warehouse is a warehouse, having the right fulfillment services partner and the right fulfillment warehouses are deeply strategic advantages for growing healthcare companies. They can enhance your brand experience, which is the all-important factor that companies are striving for in a competitive marketplace. Diamond Fulfillment Solutions ticks all five of these key areas that are so vital in fulfillment services. To find out how we can help support your brand, your business, and your growth, call us today a 847-856-7700.