Distribution in Bulgaria

"Sopharma Trading" AD

"Sopharma Trading" AD is a leader in providing complete solutions in the health care in Bulgaria and Serbia. The company`s mission is to innovate in the sector, helping people live happier and more fulfilling lives.

“Sopharma Trading” was established in 2006 after the merger of five distribution companies and in all the years since its founding, the company's revenues and profits have been growing. In the last 10 years, the company ranks first in terms of revenue in the Pharmacy sector of the Top 100 ranking of the Capital newspaper, and in 2023 alone they reach BGN 1,673 million.

“Sopharma Trading” operates in various segments of the healthcare sector - wholesale of medicines, medical devices and consumables in the hospital market, wholesale of health and beauty products, including exclusive OTC brands, cosmetics and food supplements. The company also offers turnkey projects for investors in hospitals, partnering with world leaders such as General Electric Healthcare, Carl Zeiss and others.

In 2015, “Sopharma Trading” presented on the Bulgarian market SOpharmacy - its own retail concept pharmacy, which introduced the best global practices in the local market and provides an innovative approach to serving the health needs of Bulgarian patients. SOpharmacy's mission is to become a trusted partner in healthcare for life!

In 2020, "Sopharma Trading" AD acquires sole control over the companies "SCS Franchise" AD and "Sanita Franchising" AD managing pharmacies under the brands Ceiba, Sanita, SCS. The plans envisage their full integration under the SOpharmacy brand.

The distribution system

Guarantee for the quality of the products offered by the company, their storage and distribution are the Integrated system for quality management, environment, health and safety at work, Good Distribution Practice, meeting the requirements of the international standards ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, Guide to Good Distribution Practice in Trade in Medicinal Products for Human Use.

Thanks to the developed processes and systems “Sopharma Trading” offers in Bulgaria:

• Delivery to anywhere in the country within 4 hours.

• Quality distribution service through its own fleet of over 130 vehicles.

• Delivery of products with cars with built-in air conditioning system and continuous temperature control.

• Saving deliveries at all times, thanks to a developed system for business process continuity.

Logistics

Sopharma Trading is has 100% national logistics coverage, thanks to its three distribution centers in Sofia, Varna and Veliko Tarnovo, and two in Serbia - Sabac and Pukovac.

The logistics terminals of “Sopharma Trading” in Sofia and Varna have implemented the most modern automated warehouse management system KNAPP, without analogue in the Balkans. It requires minimal human intervention, ensuring high speed in order processing and minimal errors in the execution of deliveries.

This includes:

• Container speed of 6 m/sec.

• Processing capacity of 300 containers per minute.

• Ability to process 30,000 orders per day.

• More than 85% of customer orders are fully automated.

• 7 times faster order processing.

The company's newest distribution center in Pukovac provides:

• Servicing the entire “Sopharma Trading” portfolio of 20,000 products.

• Possibility to place orders within the same day, with deliveries made 6 days a week for customers in the Nis area and 5 days for other parts of Southeast Serbia.

• Optimal storage micro-climate for products with the highest class Siemens building management system.

Currently, the total and leased warehouse space of Sopharma Trading includes 19,245 sq.m. or 12,619 pallet places, 12 refrigerators with an area of 491 sq.m. In Serbia, own and rented warehouse space includes 10,700 sq.m. or 4,609 pallet places, 2 refrigerators with an area of 68 sq.m.

Social impacts

Aware of its socially significant role, “Sopharma Trading” has embraced as its mission to innovate in the healthcare sector to help people live happier and more fulfilling lives. A priority for the company's team is to build long-term relationships that best support the interests of its customers and partners and society as a whole.

Today "Sopharma Trading" provides:

• Management of turnkey projects in the construction of hospitals and other health establishments, thus ensuring access for the Bulgarian patients to state-of-the-art innovative methods of treatment and diagnostics.
• Access for the Bulgarian patients to the most up-to-date practices and standards applied in Europe and in the world in providing pharmaceutical services.
• Support for the young start-up specialists through the yearly internship program of Sopharma Trading.

Technology and innovation

Sopharma Trading's leadership position is based on the company's ambition to offer the latest in health services on the local market. The ambition of the company's team is to bring change by challenging the status quo, and innovation is a leading value for “Sopharma Trading”.

Following the best practices from Europe and the world, “Sopharma Trading” has implemented a number of innovative projects:

• The new “SOpharmacy” concept
  SOpharmacy pharmacies offer a modern approach in servicing the health needs of Bulgarian patients. The concept completely changes the imposed role of the pharmacist-seller, focusing on his expertise to provide individual advice on a number of health conditions. At SOpharmacy's facilities, patients will find a wide portfolio of products, including exclusive brands, as well as products under their own. Currently, more than 150 pharmacies operate under the brand in 10 cities in the country, and SOpharmacy is also developing its online pharmacy www.sopharmacy.bg, which is a leader in Bulgaria with over 10,000 products.
  
  
• Setting up modern logistics terminals
  

  “Sopharma Trading” has two modern logistics terminals in the cities of Sofia and Varna, which use the modern automated warehousing system of the Austrian company KNAPP. The system is unique for the Balkans and through it the process of processing customer requests is fully automated.

• B2B online platform

In order to maximize the flexibility in servicing customer requests and the availability of complete information about real-time commercial transactions, in 2016 “Sopharma Trading” created a new business site based on the Hybris platform. The site follows the main trends for transferring a large part of business processes in the Internet environment. Built to the latest standards, it offers opportunities for easy creation and submission of orders, advanced product information, tracking deliveries and more.