But what is the public opinion, how sustainable are pharmacies today and what do young people think?
72 per cent of Germans still buy their pharmaceuticals in a traditional pharmacy. This was the result of a representative INSA survey* commissioned by trans-o-flex. Not surprisingly, the proportion increases with age.
And what about young people?
You would think that online pharmacies would be particularly popular with younger people. But especially in the group of 18 to 29-year-olds, trust in ordering from the Internet is not quite as high as expected. 38 per cent of 18-year-olds in the survey said they had no confidence in online pharmacies. Among 29-year-olds, the figure was 34 per cent. The key question among the sceptics in this age group is that of quality. While 77 per cent of the survey participants assume that medications from online pharmacies are of the same quality as in over-the-counter pharmacies, only 67 per cent of 18-year-olds are convinced of this.
The respondents are also sceptical about the issue of transport. Only just under half (45 per cent) believe that the transport of medications is monitored as strictly as the transport of food.
"There are also standards, norms and quality seals for the transport and storage of medications, but not to a sufficient extent. Moreover, these are difficult for the consumers themselves to comprehend. This is where politicians have a duty to make improvements," says Wolfgang P. Albeck, CEO of trans-o-flex, a specialised logistics company for the transport of pharmaceuticals.
The absolute majority of 52 per cent of Germans would like to see measures to increase the safety of pharmaceuticals in the mail order business during transport.
trans-o-flex CEO Wolfgang P. Albeck: "Advice should not only be given on the medications, but it also builds trust regarding origin, transport route, safety during transport and certificates. People also want this security, and pharmacies can meet this need. Pharmacists can do that too."
* For the representative survey, a total of 1002 people from Germany aged 18 and over were interviewed on 13 January 2023. The survey was conducted as an online questionnaire. The survey is supported by the ongoing telephone research INSA Perpetua Demoscopia.
trans-o-flex’s core areas of expertise are logistics solutions for the healthcare, cosmetics and consumer electronics industries and other sensitive goods. The company has built up transport networks to carry goods throughout Germany and Austria at 15 to 25 degrees Celsius or 2 to 8 degrees Celsius actively temperature-controlled and documented in accordance with EU regulations for healthcare transport. These EU-GDPs require the highest standards for safety and security, cleanliness, reliability and transparency, from which all trans-o-flex customers benefit. trans-o-flex operates internationally via the networks EUROTEMP (temperature-controlled logistics) and EURODIS (in 36 European countries). In contrast to parcel and groupage services, trans-o-flex delivers parcels and pallets on a consolidated basis. trans-o-flex Express offers numerous express and time-slot deliveries, special services such as hazardous goods transportation (without minimum quantity regulation), consignment consolidation and direct deliveries. The range of services is complemented by warehousing, order picking and individual value-added services such as serialisation and deserialisation of pharmaceuticals. This means that the company covers the entire logistics chain from procurement through to fulfilment. The annual turnover of the trans-o-flex companies, which employ a total of around 1,793 people (FTEs, end of 2021), amounted to around 552 million euros in 2021. More information is available at www.trans-o-flex.com
trans-o-flex Express GmbH & Co. KGaA
Hertzstraße 10
69469 Weinheim
Telefon: +49 (6201) 988-0
Telefax: +49 (6201) 988-980
http://www.trans-o-flex.com
Leiterin Unternehmenskommunikation
Telefon: +49 (6201) 988-134
Fax: +49 (6201) 988-343
E-Mail: pr@tof.de
