Chinese Pharma Giant Seals Compliance Needs with Manhattan WMS

Yunnan Baiyao Group, one of China’s largest pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, has selected Manhattan Associates’ WMS to transform its digital supply chain. The solution will help the manufacturer optimize its distribution operations while ensuring compliance with stringent production and traceability regulations.

Founded in 1971, Yunnan Baiyao has established itself as one of China’s most important pharmaceutical companies, selling a broad range of medicinal and personal care products. It combines traditional Chinese medicine with new product innovations and has doubled revenues over the last five years to CNY24.3 billion (US$3.5 billion) in 2017. With its sights firmly fixed on continuing this trend, it recently set out to modernise its manufacturing and distribution operations.

The company will initially deploy Manhattan’s WMS in a new distribution centre (DC) adjacent to its toothpaste factory in Kunming, Yunnan province in southwest China. Yunnan Baiyao’s toothpaste is its most important healthcare product and the most popular in the Chinese market with a leading market share. Manhattan’s solution will play a key role in Yunnan Baiyao significantly increasing its toothpaste production to fulfil the growing market demands.

Xia Feng, General Manager of Yunnan Baiyao’s Engineering System Centre, said, “Manhattan’s WMS will ensure on-time replenishment of our production line, accelerate the shipment of finished goods to our wholesale customers, drive efficiency improvements across our warehouse and factory floor and provide us with the scalability we need for growth. It will also provide real-time visibility of all inventory flows, ensuring we are fully compliant with the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Good Supply Practice (GSP) codes governing the traceability requirements of pharmaceutical products.”