GIRP

The challenge:

The European Healthcare Distribution Association is the umbrella association whose members represent over 750 pharmaceutical wholesalers and distribution companies across 34 countries. In recent years, many silos within the sector have been exacerbating market tensions and hampering communication and collaboration across the value chain. The challenge was to crystallize a new vision and mission for GIRP and the National Associations and to clarify how these associations could bring real value to their members and the different actors in the value chain. Despite playing a critical role in the daily delivery of medicines, full-line wholesalers remain largely invisible to the public and policymakers. The challenge was to help the sector rediscover and articulate its collective identity, and to turn this invisibility into a driver of recognition, resilience, and relevance.

What transpired:

Fifty hours of in-depth interviews across Europe uncovered that this invisibility isn’t due to a lack of value but stems from a strong sense of duty and commitment that is deeply rooted in the identity of these Wholesalers. They operate quietly at the very center of healthcare, not just moving medicines, but buffering shocks, building trust through open and transparent communication, connecting fragmented systems, and building trust between manufacturers, pharmacists, and public institutions by ensuring every player is considered an equal part of the value chain. Their excellence lies in being logistics experts and change agents, capable of leading the transition to a more collaborative model to address the endemic challenges affecting the sector.

The result:

The reframing and crystallization of a new vision, mission, and purpose, anchored in a bold yet humble tagline: “Advancing health as one.” It expresses both the sector’s operational excellence and its unifying purpose. With a fresh perspective of how it can contribute to the greater vocation of the sector, GIRP is now positioned to shift the perception of wholesale from a background function to becoming a central actor — one that connects, stabilizes, and inspires change across the healthcare ecosystem.