Chain pharmacies are facing layoffs due to the improvement of their digital capabilities

Behind the improvement of the digital capabilities of chain pharmacies, the middle management department is facing layoffs
.
Middle-level management layoffs, front-line shortage of stores A few days ago, Chinese pharmacies reported that with the increase in the number of stores, the functions of chain pharmacy headquarters have become more and more prominent, and top talents have moved closer to it.
Coupled with the improvement of their own digital capabilities, labor-intensive The front-line stores of characteristic stores will gradually reduce manpower investment, and "big headquarters, small stores" has become an inevitable trend
.
In this regard, Wang Qiaotong, the person in charge of the pharmacy talent pool, explained to Cyberblue-Pharmacy Manager: "At present, large chains are optimizing their organizational structure, and layoffs are inevitable, but the main target of layoffs is not store employees, but between headquarters and stores.
middle-level managers, such as regional managers
.
" "Actually, this situation is normal, because when the enterprise grows, the management becomes heavier and heavier, and the management efficiency also declines.
It's like a funnel.
The longer it is, the slower the flow rate
.
" Wang Qiaotong went on to say that after the company's online management tools have matured, it has facilitated the vertical management of the store by the headquarters, which will correspondingly replace some of the functions of the middle management department
.
It should be noted that at present, large chain pharmacies focus on operating efficiency and mainly promote the operation of small stores.
The staffing is very streamlined, and there is not much room for optimization of labor costs behind it
.
Li Dan, the owner of a Henan pharmacy, said that the daily sales of local pharmacies are basically between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan, and they cannot support too many employees.
Large chain stores have good operating capabilities and will have more sales, but the difference will not be too big
.
Therefore, large chain stores have now simplified their large stores into small stores.
Generally, there are three people in the store and two in the community store, which is similar to that of a husband-and-wife store.
In this case, it is difficult to further reduce labor costs
.
"It is basically impossible to lay off staff in stores.
The pharmacy industry is still in a state of shortage of people.
Many pharmacies are trying to recruit people
.
" Wang Qiaotong added that now big chains are transforming and opening up some new businesses, such as convenience stores, dual-channel pharmacies, etc.
, these businesses need manpower to support
.
Not only that, some large chains also specially emphasize human resource risks in terms of operation, which involves front-line store employees
.
Dashenlin and Yifeng mentioned in the company's annual report that with the continuous expansion of the company's business scale, the store's demand for front-line employees with a pharmaceutical background, strong service capabilities and dedicated work is also increasing
.
If talent management cannot meet the needs of rapid development in the future, it will have an adverse impact on the expansion of the company's scale and business operations
.
To sum up, chain pharmacies use digital capabilities to reduce labor costs, but currently it will basically not affect the front line of stores
.
Improve digital capabilities and adapt to future competition It is worth mentioning that, in addition to reducing labor costs, chain pharmacies can also increase their strength against Internet platforms and face industry competition with a better attitude
.
At present, many Internet companies compete for traffic on offline pharmacy sites.
In order to survive, large chains are also expanding their development space online, choosing to confront Internet companies head-on
.
If a large chain wants to beat Internet companies, digital tools are a sharp edge
.
Xie Zilong, chairman of the common people, bluntly said that the company's current digital empowerment capabilities are no less than that of Internet companies
.
In addition, national and local departments are vigorously promoting the new format of "smart pharmacy", reducing manpower and site requirements, but without the corresponding digital capabilities, it is difficult for pharmacies to undertake this part of the dividend
.
In December 2021, the Hubei Food and Drug Administration issued a document stipulating that drug retail companies that set up 24-hour remote medicine cabinets must have the qualification of "online pharmacy"
.
In the construction of smart pharmacies, large domestic chains are competing for layout
.
In 2019, Yifeng Pharmacy established a digital center.
At present, it has formed a research and development and operation and maintenance team of more than 300 people, and built a number of businesses including "digital pharmacy"; Yixintang said that the company will continue to strengthen smart pharmacy, Provide consumers and suppliers with more professional and convenient services through innovative technologies such as the Internet and big data
.
High cost, small and medium-sized pharmacies cannot support it Although digitalization is of great significance to the industry, the high cost and supporting resources behind it have discouraged many small and medium-sized chains
.
What needs to be known is that the digital construction of enterprises is a systematic project, which requires continuous investment, and also has a running-in process and trial and error costs.
The profit scale of dozens of small and medium-sized chain stores is not enough to cover the high digital costs
.
Therefore, many small and medium-sized chains were directly persuaded to quit due to cost issues
.
To extend it a step further, even if a chain enterprise chooses digitalization, there is a certain probability of success, because the organizational structure, hardware configuration, and personnel quality of the enterprise may not keep up with the operation rhythm of the digital system
.
As a result, the corporate sector may experience a rejection of digitization
.
For individual pharmacies, their own "one acre of land" is not worth the effort of digital tools
.
Li Dan believes that the use of digital tools in chain stores is like a single pharmacy, which does refined operations and saves profits from operations.
Single pharmacies have almost peaked in this regard, and many digital tools are not applicable
.
She went on to say that, compared with digital tools, individual pharmacies need an Internet platform from which to buy low-priced, high-margin OEM drugs and enjoy the same treatment as big chains
.
(At the request of the interviewer, Li Dan is a pseudonym in the text)