You’re conversant in a key pandemic mantra: Wash your fingers continuously with cleaning soap and water.
No cleaning soap and water? Use hand sanitisers. Wish to keep away from alcohol-based sanitisers due to dry pores and skin or different circumstances?
A neighborhood firm has an answer: A lotion that mixes alcohol and emollients to moisturise the pores and skin whereas defending in opposition to the coronavirus and dangerous germs.
“Everybody ought to be washing and sanitising their fingers repeatedly throughout this Covid-19 interval, however frequent use of alcohol-based sanitisers can disrupt the pores and skin’s defence barrier,” explains Mr Lim See Wah, 54, chairman and chief govt of Hyphens Pharma Worldwide.
Launched in June, the lotion is without doubt one of the firm’s many merchandise and improvements that has helped Hyphens Pharma develop and develop globally — even in a pandemic.
Provides Mr Lim, who graduated from the Nationwide College of Singapore with a level in pharmacy: “We needed to assist individuals, particularly these with dry and delicate pores and skin, higher defend their fingers.
“In reality, recognising the pressing want out there (due to the pandemic), we acquired the product out six months after arising with the concept, and it has been very well-received.”
Caring for individuals has been good enterprise for Hyphens Pharma. The corporate’s well-known manufacturers embrace its Ceradan skincare merchandise, which concentrate on defending the pores and skin barrier, and the Ocean Well being line of well being dietary supplements.
Underneath Mr Lim’s management, Hyphens Pharma has grown right into a regional powerhouse, with places of work in Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. It has 320 workers, and clients in 15 markets, together with China, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Oman.
With the pandemic forcing many hospitals to postpone elective surgical procedures, Hyphens Pharma’s product gross sales have been affected. However it has managed to beat the setback by creating new merchandise and specializing in digitalisation, amongst different issues.
Its income grew by 3.6 per cent final 12 months, and by 6.1 per cent within the first half of this 12 months in comparison with the identical interval in 2020.
Driving development via digitalisation
In the case of digitalisation and e-commerce, Hyphens Pharma has been forward of the curve.
In 2001, lengthy earlier than most corporations have been pondering of e-commerce’s potentialities, it created an internet site for clinics and pharmacies to purchase its merchandise on-line.
With telehealth on the rise, it additionally started work on an e-pharmacy in 2019. Medical doctors who provide digital consultations can use it to ship medication to sufferers’ properties. Greater than 100 non-public clinics in Singapore have signed up because the service was launched in January.
“We took the time to construct the bodily services and digital infrastructure, and to make sure that we now have the correct processes to ship the correct medication to the correct affected person on the proper time, accompanied by the correct data,” says Mr Lim.
Final December, it fashioned a 10-member digitalisation transformation crew to develop plans and oversee tasks. One instance is its new enterprise useful resource planning system, which was rolled out in October.
The system digitalises buy orders, invoices and receipts between Hyphens Pharma and its suppliers and clients, and automates essential however laborious duties, such because the logging of merchandise’ batch numbers and expiry dates.
“We’ve saved about 10 to twenty per cent in manpower time and price, minimised human errors and freed up our employees for extra productive work,” says Mr Lim.
International attain, native focus
With assist from enterprise improvement company Enterprise Singapore (ESG), Hyphens Pharma has expanded into new markets.
It appointed distributors in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Sri Lanka final 12 months, and most just lately, in South Korea. ESG’s abroad centre in Shanghai launched it to Shanghai Good Luck Worldwide Buying and selling, which has expertise selling merchandise to healthcare professionals.
Hyphens Pharma additionally tailors its technique to every market. “We’re specializing in increasing our Ceradan skincare merchandise’ footprint in China as a result of it is a gigantic market, and lots of youngsters there undergo from eczema,” Mr Lim says.
“South Korea, however, is a extremely developed marketplace for cosmetics, and we consider our TDF Fairence lightening cream will do effectively there. By distributing and advertising and marketing on to medical doctors, significantly dermatologists, we will be in good stead amongst customers.”
Wanting forward, Hyphens Pharma is collaborating with companions, a few of whom have been beneficial by ESG, to broaden its vary of choices.
It’s working with the Company for Science, Know-how and Analysis, for instance, on a number of tasks to develop higher hand lotions for hand eczema sufferers.
As a part of its development technique, Hyphens Pharma will proceed to construct on its digitalisation and enlargement efforts.
His recommendation for different corporations, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): “Have a look at your operations to see should you can improve your productiveness and buyer satisfaction by adopting applied sciences, and give you digitalisation plans aligned to your long-term targets.
“Many Singapore authorities businesses, together with ESG, have schemes to assist corporations develop digitally and regionally. Use them. Develop new partnerships, enter new markets, and embark on progressive initiatives to extend your capabilities and seize new alternatives.”
Progressing via partnerships
When Hyphens Pharma was planning its built-in facility in Tai Seng in 2018, it labored with Republic Polytechnic (RP) and Singapore Polytechnic (SP) to optimise its warehouse and manufacturing.
RP’s Centre of Innovation (COI) for Provide Chain Administration suggested it on the warehouse’s structure. SP’s Meals Innovation and Useful resource Centre helped in designing an automatic packaging line.
ESG arrange the centres as a part of its initiative to co-create COIs with polytechnics and analysis institutes, and related Hyphens Pharma to them after the agency reached out for help. There are 9 COIs, every appearing as a one-stop hub specialising in a unique business.
Mr Lim says that the centres’ assist in boosting the warehouse’s productiveness was invaluable.
With ESG’s Dubai abroad centre’s assist, Hyphens Pharma additionally secured a partnership in 2018 to distribute its merchandise in Oman.
That is the final of a six-part sequence titled “Preserve Rising” in partnership with
