From a small shop to an annual turnover of 136.866 billion US dollars, it has been founded and has been profitable every year, surpassing the world-famous enterprises such as Intel, General Electric, Coca-Cola and Merck!
It's Walgreens, a 121-year-old pharmaceutical and food retail chain in the United States!
When you are struggling for the development of traditional enterprises, Walgreens has once again staged a business legend in the field of medical e-commerce with transformation and innovation...
Such a strong, growth miracle enterprise, in the end:
What is the superior business wisdom?
What are some of the hidden secrets of business?
And what are the magic weapons that can be copied? ......
Explore with you today the truth about its growth.
01— It has nothing to do with the domestic chain pharmacies you see
Is it different?
It is different from the form of drug shelves that we see in domestic partitions.
Everyone who walks into the Walgreens Pharmacy will have a moment's hesitation: Is this a supermarket or a pharmacy?
: The pharmacy is spacious and clean, but there is no consistent line of medicine shelves, presenting you with healthy meals made on the spot, fresh fruit and sushi processed on site, juiced, coffee brewed and served in self-service fresh yogurt, and wonderfully, the pharmacy also has photo rinses and nail services...
Outside the clean glass window of the pharmacy, customers are in an open-air café lit with a stove, enjoying coffee and snacks purchased in the store, waiting for information notifications through electronic screen prompts to pick up medicines, and there will be a special pharmacist to serve customers face-to-face with medication instructions.
Since most medicines had to be purchased by prescription, Walgreens set up the storehouse in an enclosed space at the innermost counter of the pharmacy, where customers simply handed the prescription to the pharmacist at the counter and waited to pick it up.
For the convenience of customers in different countries, pharmacies provide online translation of drug instructions in up to 15 languages and deliver the printed instructions to customers along with the medicines.
Walgreens has been upgraded from a drug dealer to a healthcare service provider. Its operating income is mainly based on drugs, with sales of prescription drugs and related medical services accounting for 67%, and the remaining 33% are over-the-counter drugs, medical devices, health care products and other daily necessities.
！ In the past, Walgreens focused more on prescription drug sales, market share and profit margins, as well as the number and speed of new stores. Now, the main focus has changed, and that is the core values.
Here's a look at the strategic changes to its transformation:
In 2013, including asthma, diabetes and hypertension. Walgreens has also launched an online instant consultation service, where doctors or pharmacists can answer questions about medication and diagnosis and treatment at any time.
, home injection services can be provided to patients according to the prescription issued by the hospital. There are also health checks, vaccinations, and employee health solutions for businesses.
In January 2015, Walgreens and Qualcomm reached a partnership.
In summary: Walgreens organically combines pharmaceutical retail and medical services,
It is the product-and-service business model of medicine that gives Walgreens the largest retail network of pharmacies in the United States. By the end of August 2016, there were 13,200 offline retail pharmacies, including 8,175 in the United States.
This model also has strong reference significance for retailers and e-commerce companies operating other categories.
02— How Walgreens borrowed the Internet
Perfectly transformed?
Joe Hartsig, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Walgreens, stressed that Walgreens has never been an e-commerce company that only focuses on online competition, and its 13,200 stores are the biggest capital. In Walgreens' strategy, offline pharmacies are at the heart of its layout, and all online channels are designed to make their offline pharmacies more convenient and relevant to users.
Let's take a look at its specific strategy:
1. Open omni-channel retail
Currently, Walgreens has e-commerce sites such as Walgreens.com, DuaneReade.com, Drugstore.com and Beauty.com, as well as 10 apps and mobile sites.
Users can access the products and services provided by Walgreens through their offline outlets, PC websites, mobile applications, mail, telephone, fax and other methods.
Niu Bai's APP
The most widely used app is the Walgreens app, which helps patients renew prescriptions by scanning the barcode on the pill box and can use the Balanced Scorecard directly through the app. In addition, there are services such as product purchase, photo printing, and store location.
In the community medical service APP, it not only integrates the routine functions such as membership points, prescription drug management, store navigation, and promotion information transmission, but also opens cooperation with telemedicine provider MDLive. Users can access MDLive's online face-to-face telemedicine services through the website or APP, which costs $49 each time.
Convenient way for Walgreens users in all 50 states of the United States to access behavioral therapy services online.
Revitalize customer assets
On December 9, 2014, Walgreens also launched its own brand of wearables that integrate health monitoring and in-store augmented reality product locators. Activate existing customer assets through various mobile ways, and make themselves the data traffic entrance of customers.
Omnichannel retail strategy returns
According to the figures released, the unit price of users who use both PC and offline stores or mobile and offline stores at the same time is 3.5 to 4 times that of only offline shopping users, while the unit price of users who use three channels at the same time is 6 times that of users who only use offline shopping.
2. Invest in advanced technology one step earlier
Looking at the data below from Walgreens, we know that the decision-making level is forward-looking:
。
, using the latest internal communication system Intercom Plus, linking all stores.
, to provide users with a wealth of pharmaceuticals and health care products.
, in a 600,000-square-foot distribution center. Improve management and operation efficiency.
, further promotional shelves for more than 5,000 pharmacies across the United States (except for a few pharmacies).
, which led to a nearly 5-fold increase in the use of its application software in 2011.
, to reconfigure its IT infrastructure.
to collect data on user sleep, exercise, etc.
……
In summary, Walgreens' continuous investment logic in technology and big data is: prophetic foresight has a first-mover advantage, online and offline channels are opened, a full range of service closed loops are established, and the support of a strong operating system is used to maximize the good user experience and seize more market share.
03—How Walgreens is achieved with persistence
Grow profitable?
Former Walgreens CEO Koch. Walgreens said in interpreting its profit model: "It's not that complicated, but once we understand the concept, we move forward." The idea is: to be the best and most convenient pharmacy, considerable unit of customer patronage profits.
Let's interpret Walgreens' philosophy by looking at "the best and most convenient pharmacies":
In 1992, the first mobile pharmacy was newly opened, which was more user-friendly in design:
In 2005, about 82% of pharmacies had drive-thru shopping windows:
In 2002, it pioneered the provision of multilingual identification services, with labels available in 14 languages:
Take the lead in opening shelves to sell drugs, 24-hour drug sales, online photo photos, online pharmacies, home delivery of drugs, etc.
Since 2013, it has realized the online and offline omni-channel retail model.
Walgreens has also created a one-stop digital application system. Users can quickly collect, pass on, and record patient-related information, whether they go to Walgreens' community pharmacies, in-pharmacy clinics, specialty pharmacies, or clinics or pharmacies set up within the enterprise.
In summary, it is not difficult to see that "convenience" and "thoughtfulness and precision" are the goals of each innovation.
Look at the "considerable unit customer patronage profits":
In layman's terms, it is the maximization of profits per unit of customers. That is to say, Walgreens not only earns the difference between disposable retail drugs, but also hopes to increase the profit contribution of unit customers by increasing high-return service projects, high value-added, high-viscosity business, etc.
For example, the launch of chronic disease diagnosis and treatment services, health examinations, vaccinations, and employee health solutions for enterprises, transitional care support and chronic disease care management, the development and sales of its own health care brand, and the sale of instant food and daily necessities in stores.
In summary: in fact, it is based on prescription drugs, extending the service radius around customer needs, creating lifetime value, improving long-term efficacy and multi-level revenue.
04—What are the chain experiences that continue to grow
What about borrowing?
: Seize prime locations. Walgreens' strategy is to open stores at bustling intersections in the metropolis so that they can be easily seen by customers. At present, 70% of stores belong to this type of gold storefront, and as many as 99% of newly opened stores belong to this type.
": Walgreens after the transformation of the sales of products is not the core, but to bring the core value of consumer life, this thinking origin is conducive to taking over more of the user's life, it is to give full play to the important role of pharmacists in patient disease management has achieved great success, making money is just a matter of course.
Walgreens' APP Cow Worship, Why? Easy to use, use more people, good experience, natural business is good.
You look at our enterprise digital APP, public number, small program almost became a decoration, did not create value, silver spend 1 point is more. The key to building a strong operating system is to think about logic, not a simple "money" problem.
Walgreens has been releasing a new version of the program on average every 3 to 6 months; New features are launched in the app every three weeks.
: In Walgreens' strategy, offline pharmacies are the core of its layout, very firm in its competitive core, all online channels and various forms of service, but also to meet the offline pharmacies for users more convenient.
In 1940, Walgreens established the Pension Memorial Trust Fund and the Profit-Sharing Pension Fund for Veterans; In 1952, the pharmacy management training program and pharmacy management seminar were started; The inventory strategy system was completed in 1994. In 1981, a broadband network system was introduced, using satellite communications to connect its global sales outlets... In the management of people, money and materials, we have always built an advanced system and kept pace with the times.
: Walgreens always stick to their philosophy, go forward, and then persevere in implementing it. This is also the common "hedgehog concept" characteristic of excellent enterprises.
Summary: "Denouncing the United States" is not as good as "strengthening itself", and I only hope that mainland enterprises can be inspired by it, learn from the strengths of all people, and grow by leaps and bounds. Economic strength is the right to speak! You tell me?
The next issue is more exciting (I hope to see more details of the case, there will be additions later).