Generic Medicine PCD Franchise for Trade Distributors

The generic, or trade, model runs on the chemist, not the doctor. You are not asking a physician to write your brand. You are offering chemists common salts at a better margin than what they stock now, and they sell them across the counter or through generic-focused stores. A generic medicine PCD franchise suits distributors who know their local chemists well and can handle volume and collections.

Margins per strip can look attractive on paper. Whether you actually make money depends on how fast stock moves, how quickly chemists pay you, and whether the quality is good enough that chemists keep reordering.

How it differs from the ethical model

In the ethical model, MRs visit doctors, the doctor prescribes your brand, and chemists stock it because patients ask for it by name. The chemist's margin is standard, but demand comes from the prescription. In the generic model there is no doctor promotion at all. Demand comes from the chemist's own counter, so his margin, the gap between what he pays you and the MRP, becomes your main selling point.

That changes your costs and your risks. You spend little on MRs, visual aids and samples. But you compete on price with every other generic supplier in the market, chemists switch suppliers easily, and loyalty lasts only as long as your rate, your quality and your delivery hold up.

Margin, volume and credit

Look at the PTR and the MRP for each product, and compare them with two or three other suppliers for the same salt and strength. A wider gap makes chemists more interested, but a printed MRP far above the market can put off customers. For medicines under price control (scheduled formulations under the DPCO), the MRP must stay within the notified ceiling price, so do not expect unusual margins there.

Volumes have to be higher than in an ethical range to earn the same. Think in full boxes per chemist rather than a few strips, and focus on salts that sell every day: paracetamol, pantoprazole, cetirizine, amoxicillin, metformin, multivitamins and ORS.

Credit is where many generic distributors get stuck. Chemists in the trade usually expect a few weeks of credit, while the company may want payment in advance or on dispatch. Work out how much money you can keep tied up in the market before you take the franchise, and set a written credit limit for each chemist. Ask the company what credit, if any, it gives you.

Quality checks on a generic supplier

A cheap rate is worth nothing if the stock comes back. Before you sign:

• Ask for the manufacturing site and its licence details, and whether the plant follows revised Schedule M. Do not assume WHO-GMP unless the company shows the certificate.
• Ask for a COA (certificate of analysis) for the batches you receive.
• Check the packs: batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates, MRP, manufacturer's name and address, and proper sealing.
• Open a few strips for broken tablets, faded print or moisture inside blisters.
• Get the expiry and breakage return terms in writing.

One bad batch can lose you a chemist for good, and word travels fast in a small market. The licence-checked badge on a company's profile tells you its licence details were checked, and the profile shows its full product list.

Post your requirement on this page

Filter the companies above by state or city, or fill in the requirement form on this page and let suppliers call you. Write that you want a generic medicine PCD franchise, the salts or product count you need, your district, the first order you expect and when you plan to start. Mention your expected payment terms as well. The form is free, your number is not published, and only matching companies receive it.

Related pages: Intensive Care Products and Analgesic & Anti Inflammatory Pharma Franchise Companies. Molecules most listed here: Paracetamol, Zinc, Methylcobalamin.