About Kassenzone
E-commerce is a topic close to the heart of Etribes managing director Karo Junker de Neui. That's why Kassenzone podcast host Alexander Graf didn't have to ask twice whether she would like to regularly take over the most successful German podcast on e-commerce and digitization for individual episodes. Every week, CEOs from retailers, brands and manufacturers talk about their unique business models and e-commerce strategies. In “Kassenzone with Karo,” Karo would like to take a look at the future in particular and discuss upcoming macro trends and changes under the motto “E-Commerce 2030.”
Intro
In episode K#519, podcast host Karo talks with Maximilian Achenbach, co-CEO of gesund.de. Around 12% of Germany's gross domestic product is currently generated by the healthcare sector and around one in eight jobs are in the healthcare sector. In particular, the introduction of the e-prescription and the approval of Cardlink technology for reading health insurance cards from home with smartphones not only open up great potential for gesund.de, but will soon digitize several steps of our daily doctor and pharmacy visits. With a focus on local care facilities such as pharmacies, medical practices and medical supply stores, gesund.de is not a conventional online pharmacy, but offers a holistic network of local health services with customers. Around every third pharmacy in Germany is currently listed on the platform. The aim is to map a comprehensive customer journey for the topic of health. In an interview, Maximilian gives insights into the structure of the German healthcare system, describes the gesund.de business model, talks about the widening supply gap and shows how digital offerings can counteract this challenge. Maximilian also explains how the use of the e-prescription in conjunction with NFC technology in our smartphones will work with the gesund.de app in the future and provides personal insights into his motivation to actively shape the healthcare system.
The business model of gesund.de is based on two factors: Pharmacies and medical supply stores pay a monthly fee for listing on the platform, plus a transaction fee of 6% on over-the-counter medicines. The platform also works closely with industry partners to launch, position and develop campaigns. The gesund.de app now has almost one million app downloads. gesund.de gains these customers with a mix of organic growth and targeted marketing activities. The team works with influencers, cooperates with various partners and uses e-couponing to issue vouchers and promote customer loyalty. The competitive advantage of gesund.de lies in the speed with which they can deliver medicines and the promotion of the local shopping experience. Available medicines can be picked up from the local pharmacy within a few minutes or, alternatively, delivered by the pharmacy's courier service. Thanks to close cooperation with shareholder Phoenix, medicines that are not directly available can be delivered to every pharmacy in Germany within 2-3 hours. Every third pharmacy is currently listed on the platform. For the future, Maximilian also underlines the importance of artificial intelligence for gesund.de. He can imagine that AI technologies will be used for monitoring and treatment care in the future to ensure that patients regularly take their medication and keep an eye on their health. Another focus of gesund.de is on continuing to focus and support other healthcare providers and working with medatixx, a provider of software solutions for doctors, to connect even more doctors with patients on the platform. In the future, users should be able to make appointments with doctors directly on the platform, chat with them, receive findings online and order follow-up prescriptions.
Summary
0:01:44 Maximilian's background & path to gesund.de
0:05:05 The structure of the healthcare market in Germany
0:08:15 Positioning of gesund.de in the health pyramid
0:08:53 Gesund.de's business model
0:11:51 User experience at gesund.de
0:12:33 Comparison with other online retailers such as Amazon
0:16:43 Pharmacists' and doctors' reactions to gesund.de
0:20:31 Current status of gesund.de: Partnerships & size
0:23:22 Customer acquisition and app downloads from gesund.de
0:24:14 Order frequency and customer loyalty at gesund.de
0:25:24 Organic growth through pharmacy collaborations
0:32:01 E-prescription: The future of drug delivery
0:36:50 Planning and implementation of CardLink implementation
0:39:38 Organization and team structure at Gesund.de
0:41:36 Using AI in healthcare
0:45:29 Internationalization challenges
0:49:52 Personal motivation and drive
