maconda supports Swiss investors Syz Capital and Saturnus Capital in their investment in SK Pharma Logistics, a leading provider of pharma logistics
maconda News February 2022
The family-run Swiss investment boutique Syz Capital, together with Saturnus Capital, acquires a majority stake in SK Pharma, a leading German specialist in contract logistics for the healthcare industry. Prior to this, an experienced team of advisors from strategy expert maconda evaluated SK Pharma's market positioning, strategy and future prospects in a comprehensive commercial due diligence.
Outsourcing the often difficult and complex logistics is common practice in many industries. Many pharmaceutical producers also focus on their core business – development, production and marketing – and leave the logistics to external specialists. As a contract logistics provider, SK Pharma takes over all logistical tasks and processes – from the receipt of goods through repackaging to picking and shipping to the final customer, often the wholesaler, but also pharmacies.
The consultants of the Cologne-based strategy consulting boutique maconda have comprehensively analysed the strategic positioning of SK Pharma and the relevant market for the investors Syz and Saturnus. Among other things, they analysed the outsourcing behaviour of pharmaceutical manufacturers and other providers of products in the healthcare industry, examined the regulatory environment and analysed the structure of customers. They expect a high degree of reliability and, above all, flexibility from their logistics provider, which is why customer satisfaction was a particular focus of the commercial due diligence.
SK Pharma stands out from many competitors thanks to its high level of specialisation. This is especially true for its expertise in so-called temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals as well as in the strictly regulated narcotics, which are stored and handled separately. Not only domestic, but above all foreign manufacturers and pharmaceutical importers rely on SK Pharma, which is based in Bielefeld. Against this background, the company has grown significantly in the double-digit percentage range in recent years.
Not surprisingly for both the pharmaceutical and logistics industries, discretion – people don’t like to be shown their cards as to whether, to what extent and to whom parts of the value chain are outsourced – created a few hurdles that the maconda consultants, who are extremely experienced in intransparent niche markets in particular, were able to overcome well with their research and analysis methodology, which has been refined over many years. This included, among other things, numerous discussions with a wide variety of market participants such as pharmaceutical and regulatory authorities, contract logistics providers, freight carriers and logistics experts from the maconda network. The many pieces of the puzzle that emerged from this enabled a well-founded assessment to be made.
About SK Pharma
The company, which was previously run by the Krone family, is based in Bielefeld and is one of Germany’s leading specialists for pharmaceutical logistics. The services are aimed at pharmaceutical companies from all over the world. The range of services includes the handling of pharmaceutical, medical, cosmetic and dietary products. This also includes strictly regulated narcotics as well as temperature-sensitive products that are subject to a cold chain obligation. In addition to storage, order picking and transfer of dispatch, the full-service offer also includes additional services such as repackaging and serialisation and thus also value-adding steps that require additional certification according to the GMP standard. The service offer is additionally rounded off by the provision of order processing and accounting, depending on the customer’s wishes.
maconda further expands expertise around logistics and the pharmaceutical industry
The maconda team has dealt with logistics companies several times in the past, often in relation to the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to pharmaceuticals and OTC products, the maconda consultants have successfully carried out various projects, in particular for food supplements and dental products. These included several investment checks and commercial due diligences as well as strategy mandates.
Intensive industry experience: Pharmaceutical logistics | Transport logistics | Pharmaceutical wholesale | Pharmaceuticals | OTC products | Dietary supplements | Dental supplies and dental wholesale | Medical technology | Various service providers in the healthcare sector | Distribution outsourcing for pharmaceutical manufacturers | Contract manufacturing, contract filling, contract packaging | B2B services / Business process outsourcing