Healthcare distribution refers to the entire distribution practices in the healthcare industry for accomplishing the tasks including purchasing medical, laboratory and pharmacy supplies, Customer relationship management (CRM), Enterprise resource planning (ERP) support and Information Management. It incorporates varied activities including medicines wholesaling, distribution and associated services.  The Healthcare distribution industry is going through various trends, which primarily include prime vendors, customer focus and true distribution partnerships. The prime vendors are supporting end-users from streamlining orders, providing easy access to products and product alternatives during back orders, and reducing supply chain costs among others. Customer focus is an emerging trend in the industry that revolves around the business growth and success for both the customer and the distributor. Additionally, true distribution partnerships where healthcare professionals are looking for trusted advisors who respect and collaborate in the hard work that professional are doing for the communities, patients, and team.

Market Dynamics

The high incidence and large economic burden of chronic diseases are primarily driving the market growth. Favorable Investment in R&D activities and increasing launch of new drugs in the healthcare market is supporting the growth of the distribution market. The technological advancements along with the subsequent growth in track & trace solutions in the healthcare distribution industry are further contributing to the growth of the market. The market is also gaining pace owing to the increasing usage of generics in the healthcare sector. In addition to these, the growing medical devices industry is further boosting the demand in the market.

On the flip side, continuously increasing pricing pressure on major players in the healthcare industry is a major factor likely to hamper the growth over the forecast period. Whereas, the growing biosimilars markets in emerging economies is likely to create potential demand over the forecast period. Increasing specialty drug dispensing and uptake of biopharmaceuticals in the healthcare sector is further projected to create potential demand over the forecast period.

By type, the pharmaceutical product distribution services segment dominated the healthcare distribution market in the year 2018

The pharmaceutical product distribution services segment held the highest market share in the year 2018 due to the establishment of new manufacturing facilitates by global pharmaceutical players in new geographies. The pharmaceutical product distribution services sub-segmented into OTC drugs, generic drugs, and brand-name. In addition, rising expenditure on pharmaceutical R&D activities, increasing production of pharmaceutical formulations, and outsourcing of pharmaceutical manufacturing to Asian countries is further supporting the segment growth.

On the basis of end-user, retail pharmacies accounted for the largest market share in the year 2018

In 2018, retail pharmacies dominated the global healthcare distribution market owing to the implementation of programs to guarantee accessible health care for people in the US and other developed countries which subsequently increases the quantity of prescription. The retail pharmacies deal with the large volume of prescriptions on a daily basis, which is a major factor supporting the growth of the segment.

The market research study on “Healthcare Distribution Market– Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Opportunities and Forecast, 2019 – 2026”, offers a detailed insight on the global Healthcare Distribution market entailing insights on its different market segments. Market dynamics with drivers, restraints, and opportunities with their impact are provided in the report. The report provides insights into the global Healthcare Distribution market, its product type, application, and major geographic regions. The report covers basic development policies and layouts of technology development processes. Secondly, the report covers the global Healthcare Distribution market size and volume, and segment markets by type, end-user, and geography along with the information on companies operating in the market. The Healthcare Distribution market analysis is provided for major regional markets including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. For each region, the market size and volume for different segments have been covered under the scope of the report.

In 2018, North America dominated the regional healthcare distribution market owing to its strong foothold in healthcare sector and rapid adoption of new and advance technologies in the market. The market is also expected to maintain its dominance over the forecast period due to its continuous involvement and development in healthcare sector. Apart from these, Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing sector over the forecast period. The region is likely to experience substantial growth owing to growing regulatory requirements in the healthcare industries of various economies of the region for maintaining compliance with good manufacturing and distribution practices. The expanding pharmaceutical industry along with the implementation of stringent regulations to enhance the quality and reliability of pharmaceutical drugs is the emerging economies of the region including China and India is further accelerating the regional market growth. 

The players profiled in the report include McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Owens & Minor, Inc., Morris and Dickson Co., LLC, Curascript Specialty Distribution, FFF Enterprises, Inc., Medline Industries, Attain Med, Inc., and Dakota Drug among others. The major players involve in strategic partnerships for acquiring supplies, managing inventory, reducing costs and saving time for the expansion of the market share. 

Market Segmentation

Market By Type

• Pharmaceutical Product Distribution Services
  • OTC Drugs
  • Generic Drugs
  • Brand-name
• Biopharmaceutical Product Distribution Services
  • Monoclonal Antibodies
  • Vaccines
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Blood and Blood Products
  • Other Products
• Medical Device Distribution Services

Market By End-User

• Retail Pharmacies
• Hospital Pharmacies
• Other

Market By Geography

• North America
  • US
  • Canada
• Europe
  • UK
  • Germany
  • France
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia-Pacific
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • Australia
  • South Korea
  • Rest of Asia-Pacific
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Rest of Latin America
• Middle East & Africa
  • GCC
  • South Africa
  • Rest of Middle East & Africa