Market Overview

The market size of domestic logistics services for medicines and medical equipment & materials (based on the sales at logistics service providers) for FY2019 rose by 3.9%, generating 106 billion yen. With the shipment volume of medicines and medical equipment & materials as well as the rate of outsourcing logistics tasks increasing, together with expansion in approved ranges of outsourcing services, the market is showing stable growth, more than 1.6 times larger market size than in FY2010.

Noteworthy Topics

GDP (Good Distribution Practice)-Based Quality Control Required in Medicines

Since 1990s, the demand for domestic logistics services noticeably increased mainly at foreign-affiliated companies of pharmaceutical and medical equipment. In 2020s, full scale introduction of logistics services at domestic major pharma attracted attention, after which the services became general. In the past, domestic big pharma used to establish their own logistic centers, at which they shipped and warehoused the products directly or through group companies. With recent increase in the number of logistics-specific companies that can provide distribution and logistics services totally and comprehensively, major pharmaceutical companies have started relying on such service providers, aiming at streamlining and improving their main business quality.

In addition, as the Japanese version of GDP (Good Distribution Practice) guideline for distribution of medicines was issued in December 2018 by MHLW, GDP-based quality control in distribution has become required. Whether or not the distribution processes and logistics management appropriately conforming to GDP or not has become critical factors to select outsourcing service providers.

Future Outlook

Now that more than 60% of logistics for medicines and medical equipment & materials are said to be using logistics services, to gain and find new customers are becoming limited for logistic service providers.

Nevertheless, as the medical field is less apt to be influenced by economic fluctuations, its stability is attractive for the logistics service providers. In addition to existing service providers enhancing the business for medical industry, growing numbers of companies are attempting to newly enter the pharmaceutical logistics market, for instance, by launching new warehouses targeting pharma and medical companies. On the other hand, while there still exists are logistics support services for pharma by those companies with their main business to wholesale medicines, there have been some business alignment taking place between medicine wholesalers and logistics, showing an increasing tendency to provide the entire logistics of pharmaceutical and medical products throughout manufacturers to patients.

Hereafter, as online medical care and online patient compliance are to be fully implemented, the demand for medicine delivery that cannot be covered by medicine wholesalers is expected to be generated, which may require providing new services specializing in and having the knowledge of small-lot distributions.  

Research Outline