Development status and competitive strategy of the

In recent years, the infusion industry in China has developed rapidly, the variety structure has been continuously optimized, new packaging materials have been developed, and the production capacity has been rapidly expanded. Since 2001, a "boom" of reconstruction, expansion and new infusion production lines has quietly risen across the country. Almost all existing infusion enterprises have completed expansion; Some enterprises that have not carried out infusion production, including enterprises outside the industry, have set foot in the infusion industry through the asset reorganization of the time multitask operating system developed by our company. Behind this "boom", infusion production enterprises need to study competitive strategy

-. Development characteristics of world infusion

1 Market centralized infusion is an industry with relatively low scientific and technological content, which is suitable for large-scale production. In developed countries, the phenomenon of large-scale infusion production concentration is very obvious. According to relevant statistical data, the per capita infusion volume in developed countries in the world reaches 3.33 bottles per person per year, but the number of infusion enterprises is small and the production scale is large. In the United States, Baxter company accounts for 80% of the infusion market, while McGonagall and Abbott company account for about 20%. The European infusion market is basically occupied by four major companies: Fresenius, Braun, Baxter clintec and Pharmacia. Otsuka has the largest market share in Japan

2. Product characteristics the product structure of the world's large pharmaceutical companies has their own characteristics. These enterprises have complete product specifications and serialized varieties. Among the seven dosage forms of electrolyte infusion, nutritional infusion, therapeutic amino acid infusion, plasma substitute, dialysate, cerebral circulation improver and therapeutic drug infusion, there are 825 kinds of infusion products in foreign developed countries

3. Diversification of packaging materials. The packaging materials of large infusion show a diversified situation, including glass bottles, plastic bottles, PVC composite films and non PVC composite films. Among them, non PVC composite films are the development trend of infusion packaging materials in the world. In today's international general infusion market, PVC soft bags account for 26%. Non PVC soft bags account for 10%, glass bottles account for 35%, semi-rigid bottles account for 4%, and plastic bottles account for 25%. In different countries and regions, the proportion of infusion packaging materials should also be immediately made up for the differences in refrigeration materials. In the developed countries, the United States and Canada, the proportion of PVC soft bag packaging is the highest, accounting for 79%, while the proportion of glass bottles is the lowest in all countries; In South America, plastic bottles (PP or PE) are mainly used for infusion, accounting for 78%; In countries such as Asia and Australia, glass bottles are mainly used The occurrence of the above situation, on the one hand, is related to the price of various products, the consumption level and consumption awareness of residents, on the other hand, it also reflects that the use of packaging materials is closely related to the technical level and economic situation of various countries

4. Intense competition infusion is a way of direct intravenous administration. Compared with other methods of administration, it has the characteristics of direct, continuous and mixed administration. Although the clinical application of infusion is large and stable, the technical content of large infusion products on the market is not high at present. Therefore, the battle to seize the infusion market will be extremely fierce in both developed and developing countries

II. Development status of large-scale infusion in China

1 Expansion of production scale at present, there are 18 enterprises with an annual output of more than 50million bottles of infusion in China, 6 enterprises with an annual output of more than 100million bottles, and the production concentration of the top 50 enterprises of infusion has reached 62%. From 1.38 billion bottles in 1995 to 3.2 billion bottles in 2002, with an average annual increase of 17%. Among the 393 infusion production enterprises in China, 340 have obtained the GMP certification after transformation, which not only ensures the quality of infusion products, but also further improves the industry concentration. On this basis, some domestic enterprises continue to expand their production capacity, which has reached 6.9 billion bottles per year

2. Product prices are polarized. The prices of ordinary infusion varieties have only fallen, with an average annual decline of 20% in recent years, and the prices of most varieties are below 1 yuan. However, the price of fat emulsion, plasma substitute and imported therapeutic infusion such as Dafukang of the joint venture remains high, generally at 100 ~ 200 yuan, showing obvious polarization

3. Diversification of product packaging materials in 2002, the annual output of large infusion in China was about 3.2 billion bottles. The vast majority of them use glass bottle experimental force, which has automatic shutdown packaging with fracture (damage) throughout the whole process, accounting for more than 90% of the national market. New infusion packages are constantly emerging, and more than 46% of developed cities such as Shanghai have adopted soft packaging infusion; At present, the infusion output of plastic packaging is about 150million bottles (bags), accounting for 5% of the total production of infusion Chinese character drop-down menu prompt with comments at the bottom of the screen. In China, 21 enterprises have introduced or plan to introduce 25 PVC composite film or non PVC composite film soft bag production lines, and 17 enterprises have introduced or plan to introduce 20 plastic bottle production lines. It is expected that in the next few years, China's large infusion products will still be mainly packaged in glass bottles, but it is an inevitable trend for plastic packaging to replace glass bottles

4. Variety development tends to be similar. China's infusion production enterprises have poor variety research and development ability and lack products with independent intellectual property rights. Domestic enterprises are keen to change small injections and sterile powder for injection into infusion. Dozens of enterprises of the same variety apply, causing a serious waste of resources

5. The market competition is white hot, and the infusion products have the characteristics of low profit, strong regionality and winning by quantity. The production capacity of large infusion is seriously surplus, and the infusion market is in a competitive state of saturated production capacity. Infusion enterprises have raised the banner of price reduction, regardless of cost sales. The deep-seated reason for this phenomenon is the weak R & D ability of domestic large infusion enterprises. Infusion products are mostly price competition, rather than quality and technology competition, which makes the entry threshold of infusion market low, resulting in a herd situation. The future market pattern should be that several large infusion production enterprises occupy the market, which means that the competition among large infusion production enterprises will be more intense, and mergers or acquisitions are inevitable

III. competitive strategy theory and enterprise selection

1 Porter's competitive strategy theory divides the basic types of enterprise competitive strategy into three types: the first is cost leadership strategy, that is, through economies of scale, cost control and improving productivity, the total cost of enterprises is lower than that of competitors; The second is product differentiation strategy, that is, products or services have some uniqueness, so as to create a monopoly market to some extent; The third kind is called centralization strategy, which is to select a few target markets in the market segments and concentrate on development, so that we can have the advantage of cost leadership or product differentiation in this field. This strategy is actually the specific implementation method of the first two strategies, because any strategy can be implemented smoothly only when it is carried out centrally. Therefore, the basic enterprise strategy is cost leadership and differentiation strategy

2. Strategic choice of infusion production enterprises infusion production enterprises cannot simply use any single strategy of cost leadership, differentiation strategy and concentration strategy. They must adopt the strategic combination of cost leadership and differentiation for different product lines, different links in the value chain and different periods

(1) expand production scale, reduce costs and product prices. Through the large-scale production of ordinary infusion products, reduce production costs, occupy the market at a low price, and maintain or expand the existing market share. Although price competition is the most primitive means of competition, it is also the most effective means of competition. In this way, some small enterprises can be eliminated. Maintain the normal survival and development of enterprises

(2) implement differentiation strategy in an all-round way. Enterprises can adopt protective or catch-up development strategies in the short term, that is, on the one hand, improve existing products and production technology, and maintain the current technological status and current situation of enterprises; On the other hand, study the products of competitors. Carry out reverse engineering on successfully competitive products, integrate the advantages of products into their own products, and launch better products than those of innovative enterprises

(3) in the long run, we should adopt the innovation strategy to make new breakthroughs in technology through the development of new products, new services or the creation of new demand, and through the combination with other scientific research institutions, so as to launch products with large demand in the market and further improve the market share. Adopting the innovation strategy is mainly manifested as follows: ① market innovation: establish the marketing concept of decisive terminal, constantly expand the market field, and focus on the pure sales of hospitals. In fact, both new drugs and generic drugs need to be promoted. An independent hospital development and promotion team should be established to reduce dependence on commercial companies and enhance the ability of enterprises to resist market risks. ② Form innovation: optimize product packaging, gradually introduce plastic bottles and non PVC composite film packaging, and form a variety of packaging materials. Meet different customer groups and enhance the competitiveness of enterprises. At the same time, it can declare the abnormal specifications of infusion products. This kind of innovative investment is less and effective, which is worthy of deep research by enterprises. ③ Functional innovation: do a good job in product planning, and adopt short-term and long-term strategies. The short-term strategy can aim at the market demand, quickly develop and register five or six types of infusion products, so that people have their own, and form a series of advantages of products; The long-term strategy can concentrate funds on the basis of full research, develop infusion of traditional Chinese medicine, liposomes, etc., apply for patents, have their own intellectual property rights, form the core products of the enterprise, and win advantages in the future market

to sum up, the competitive strategy of infusion enterprises can be positioned as large-scale production, complete product specifications, diversified packaging materials, high-tech products, featured services and market networking

source: Chinese Medicine