From the counter to the cloud: how digital transformation is redesigning pharmaceutical retail in Brazil

Digital transformation has reconfigured, on a global scale, the operational and strategic foundations of the pharmaceutical sector. In Brazil, this movement follows the global trend, but carries specificities that require deep adaptations. The digitalization of the national pharmaceutical chain demands not only applied technology, but also a redesign of processes, public policies and historically consolidated business models.

The advance of digitalization, with the adoption of technological platforms in pharmacy, distribution and logistics operations, represents more than a leap in efficiency: it is a structural transition towards a more integrated, responsive and territorially inclusive health system.However, the process requires coordination between different links in the chain, from the industry to the point of sale, including technology suppliers, startups, independent networks and the State itself as a regulator and inducer of innovation.

Second report by Research & Markets (2021), the global pharmaceutical market is expected to reach US$ 957.59 billion by 2028, almost double that recorded in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.34%. This data reveals a booming sector, driven by factors such as population aging, increased prevalence of chronic diseases and greater population access to health services.

The emergence of healthtechs in the innovation ecosystem has also been a relevant vector of this transformation. According to data from the Distrito platform, Brazil registered US$ 27.3 million in investments in startups in the sector only in 2020, indicating that there is market and capital appetite for technological initiatives aimed at health.However, this innovation still needs to break cultural and operational barriers that fragment the sector.

Among the main bottlenecks of pharmaceutical digitization are inventory management, demand planning and the ability to generate actionable data in real time. Many of these challenges stem from a historically analog, decentralized operation model with low systems integration. Digitizing this environment is not just connecting pharmacies to an application or e-commerce, but building a technical and regulatory infrastructure that supports continuous, interoperable and auditable information flows.

In this scenario, digital pharmaceutical ecosystems are beginning to consolidate as viable alternatives to structure a more cohesive chain. A relevant example is the Digital Pharmacies (ecosystem of GrupoSC), which connects more than 4,000 pharmacies in a network that not only performs transactions, but operates based on data intelligence. The integration between inventory control, regulatory compliance systems and logistics “last mile” supply disruptions, increase demand predictability and ensure traceability, an essential element for health security and the fight against fraud.

One of the great differentials of these ecosystems is the ability to connect pharmacies, often isolated from a technological and logistical point of view, to the digital environment of the sector. This movement contributes to democratize access to health solutions, mitigate regional inequalities and strengthen the role of pharmacies as essential units in primary care. Technology, in this context, becomes a mechanism of productive inclusion, reorganizing logistics flows and redistributing operational intelligence along the chain.

The integration between agents of the sector io as distributors, pharmaceutical industries, healthtechs, universities and regulatory bodies IO will be decisive for the consolidation of a digital health model that contemplates the complexity of the Brazilian territory.

More than a trend, digital transformation in the pharmaceutical sector represents a strategic need to ensure competitiveness, expand access to medicines and consolidate a health care model that is contemporary to the demands of the connected society.