In 2018, the last year of its three-year strategic plan, Shanghai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“SHAPHAR”) has, with concerted efforts of all employees, enhanced its service culture and intensified innovation efforts by actively participating in China’s accelerated and deepened medical reform, reshaping of the medical market system and Internet-based economic integration, thus making solid achievements on the road of innovative development via opening up and cooperation.

On the threshold of developing a new strategic plan, we held the 2019 work conference on January 22, which was attended by Zuo Min (Executive Director and President of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd.), Zhao Yong (Deputy Secretary of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd. Party Committee), Li Yongzhong (Executive Director of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd. and General Manager of Shanghai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), Shen Bo (Executive Director, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd.), and executives, middle management and employee representatives of Shanghai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The meeting summarized achievements made in the past three years and launched the new-round strategic planning.

Zuo Min pointed out that for Shanghai Pharma, 2018 featured heavy tasks and great challenges, and this was especially true with SHAPHAR. Thanks to persistent efforts of all employees, SPH KDL Health had seen successful integration, continuous improvement in product introduction capability and in-depth development of business innovation, while SHAPHAR had witnessed smooth budget preparation and greater contribution to achieving Shanghai Pharma’s strategic objectives and business targets. Zuo Min extended sincere gratitude to SHAPHAR employees on behalf of Shanghai Pharma and recognized the new strategic plan of SHAPHAR, especially the “four business modules and 16 priorities”. Zuo Min hoped that SHAPHAR could actively adapt itself to the great era with new changes and rapid development by paying greater attention to internal resource integration, information investment, lean management, cost reduction and efficiency improvement.

Besides, Zuo Min also gave insights into the new strategic plan of Shanghai Pharma. Shanghai Pharma will strive to develop into a leading Chinese pharmaceutical industry group with international competitiveness through optimized organizational structure, greater mechanism innovation and business platform restructuring, and by centering on four major transformation strategies (i.e. intensive development, innovative development, international development, and combination of industry and finance). SHAPHAR, as the business division of Shanghai Pharma, shall adhere to the principle of reinforcing strengths, strengthening the areas of weakness and transforming, and promote execution of the strategic plan by relying on strong capital operation capacity of Shanghai Pharma, with a view to enhance its leading position in the industry and capacity in special and innovative services, efficient integration and collaboration, and continuous improvement in efficiency and cost reduction. Besides, SHAPHAR shall, based on continuous innovation of distribution service model and retail development system, enhance its regional layout, develop into a service-driven and technology-driven modern health service provider, and realize overall improvement of corporate value, thereby making greater contributions to Shanghai Pharma.

Zhao Yao paid a tribute to the SHAPHAR employees because its achievements were made with hard work given its large scale and the joining of SPH KDL Health. During the process, SHAPHAR put equal emphasis on administration and party building; as a result, party building provided administration with strong guarantees in organizational structure, decision-making, systems and human resources. In 2019, despite the huge challenges, SHAPHAR has set up clear objectives for administration and party building. With clear objectives and positive attitudes, SHAPHAR will surely witness greater achievements this year. Concerning future development of SHAPHAR, Zhao Yong put forward four requirements: First, it shall further strengthen party building to enhance group cohesion, improve the party building network, and foster party branches and party members that can play a role. Second, it shall strengthen corporate culture, with an aim to improve employee care and service, and enhance the guidance role of “Service Pride” philosophy. Third, it shall give play to training, which can be used as a breakthrough point to promote enterprise and employee development, and actively participate in the training work of Shanghai Pharma Academy. Fourth, it shall make full use of performance levers to motivate its employees by building a more scientific, fair and comprehensive performance culture.

Shen Bo said that for SHAPHAR, 2018 was a challenging yet meaningful year. On the one hand, after acquisition of Cardinal Health China in early 2018, SHAPHAR was confronted with integration with it. Given current operation conditions, the integration was very successful, with predetermined targets met. On the other hand, SHAPHAR, which had fully executed the strategic plan of the past three years, greatly contributed to excellent performance of Shanghai Pharma.

Now, the entire industry has undergone significant changes that exert a major impact on the distribution business. As the important business division of Shanghai Pharma, SHAPHAR shall, in response to performance requirements raised by Chinese and foreign investors, adapt itself to the market, take a leading position in the industry, and shift the focus from expanding scale to improving strength. The management and all SHAPHAR employees shall make concerted efforts to achieve corporate goals with common values and a common cultural system, maintain its leading position in the industry, and make greater contributions to Shanghai Pharma in achieving the latter’s strategic targets for the following three years and improving its position on the market. 

Integration & Improvement Contribute to Long-lasting Development

At the meeting, General Manager Li Yongzhong reviewed the work of 2018 and shared key strategies for 2019, with achievements in 2018 divided into five aspects: steady improvement in business performance, higher value through integration and collaboration, product strength based on import, in-depth service innovation, and professional value from service-oriented headquarters. For all SHAPHAR employees, 2018 is challenging yet fruitful, and is also the year for deep reform and position strengthening. Faced with unprecedented market fluctuations, all employees strived to overcome difficulties and helped the company maintain a good development momentum and basically achieve its business objectives. Moreover, under the guidance of service culture, predefined objectives were accurately achieved.

In 2019, SHAPHAR will, following the “two new strategies” and the principle of “persistent innovation, service pride, and hard work”, place a priority on integration and improvement, fully implement the work plan of sound operation, focus on efficiency, value innovation, and integration & improvement”. Attention shall be paid to both long-term strategic layout and addressing of development challenges in the short term. Besides, SHAPHAR shall embrace changes to promote industrial innovation, actively take actions with adherence to strategies, and pay greater attention to integration and collaboration, innovation and transformation, organizational reform, efficiency reform and growth driver reform, thus laying a solid foundation for the company’s long-lasting development and pursuit of excellence. The meeting also introduced 16 priorities for 2019. 

In the era featuring rapid development, SHAPHAR employees will catch up with the times by following the spirit of “striving for constant self-improvement”, with absolute confidence, great enthusiasm, untiring perseverance and down-to-earth attitude. 

Addressing Challenges through Collaboration and Innovation, and Writing a New Chapter through Careful Work

At the meeting, Liu Yaling, Secretary of SHAPHAR’s Party Committee, made a report on the work of the party committee on behalf of the committee. In 2018, SHAPHAR intensified efforts to perform the four core tasks (i.e. setting up a platform, creating culture, building a team, and optimizing the mechanism), by making improvement in the building of the leadership team, party style and clean government, ideological and cultural elements, grassroots organizations, and various teams and groups, and by constantly strengthening responsibility for party building, consolidating the foundation of party building, innovating the methods for party building, and improving the quality of party building, so as to build a party building system consistent with the innovative development of the company, give play to the party committee’s leadership role, party branches’ fortress role, and party members’ exemplary vanguard role, and in turn provide a strong guarantee for achieving the company’s strategic objectives.

In 2019, in the face of more fierce competition and more challenging market environment, SHAPHAR’s Party Committee will, further following the principle of “strict standards, strengthened innovation, focus on collaboration, and integration promotion”, strive to build an excellent team through compliance with strict standards, make achievements through greater innovation efforts, promote concerted efforts through focus on collaboration, and drive balanced development through innovation promotion. In addition, by giving play to the role of the party branches and party members, SHAPHAR can, under the tide of “promoting the new round of reform and opening-up”, stimulate corporate creativity, face challenges, encourage integration and collaboration, and dramatically enhance corporate value through focus on operation and careful work. 

At the meeting, the management of SHAPHAR entered into the 2019 responsibility statement on security and comprehensive management with subordinate organizations. Moreover, Hua Jia (Assistant General Manager of Shanghai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) shared Quality Work Arrangements, Chen Zhicheng (General Manager of Financial and Asset Management Department) shared 2018 Performance Results and 2019 Budget Arrangements, and Huang Wenzheng (Deputy General Manager of Strategic Development Department) shared the New Three-Year Strategic Plan Publicity.

At the end of the meeting, SHAPHAR commended outstanding operation teams, projects, advanced groups and individuals in 2018. On the occasion of summary and outlook, the company paid a tribute to model teams and individuals because of their great contributions, and call on other teams and employees to learn from them and set out with great ambition.