Distribution Channel: Veterinary Supply & Feed Stores

| 3 minutes

Applicable product ranges: Veterinary

Why don’t vet supply stores buy directly from AdvaCare?

Vet supply stores are a major distribution channel for AdvaCare Pharma’s veterinary products. However, vet supply stores are not the direct buyer of AdvaCare Pharma products, instead having to purchase our products from our distributors, for the following reasons:

● A single vet supply store usually does not have the demand to order large quantities of each product, meaning a single vet supply store cannot meet our MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) per product. However, a chain of vet supply stores could possibly meet our MOQs, but will still likely buy from a local distributor.
● Vet supply stores do not have the capacity or interest in dealing with product registration or importation, both of which are further up the supply chain, the role which our distributors fill.
● Vet supply stores procurement relies on on-demand fulfillment, meaning smaller quantities are ordered and delivered quickly because vet clinics generally require a very wide range of products in smaller quantities.
Medicines vs Nutritional Products

Unlike our human products, for which our pharmaceuticals can be prescription or OTC and supplements are separate product ranges, our veterinary range combines both medicines and nutritional dosage forms. Given livestock have far less diverse diets than humans, animals might require more nutritional supplementation. Many of our products, across many dosage forms, can be only supplements or medications formulated with vitamins and minerals.

While the majority of our veterinary range is medications, available in all 16 dosage forms, many products are for nutrition. Some examples include:

● Solutions & Suspensions: several products are nutritional supplements
● Powders & Premixes: many nutritional products or medications mixed with supplements are common in soluble powder, premix and granule dosage forms
● Tablets: several nutritional products for birds, dogs and cats

It is important to understand this dynamic that is specific to vet supply stores. Therefore, see

Veterinary: Veterinary Supply & Feed Stores > Overview

Large Animal vs Pet Supply Stores

It is important to distinguish between veterinary supply stores that are for large animals (livestock) and those that are for pets. Large animal supply stores rely on farmers, whereas pet supply stores rely on pet owners to buy for their dogs, cats, birds and other small companion animals. As our core business and product range is for livestock, most of the vet supply stores that will sell our products are large animal supply stores. However, our product segment for pets is growing and it is a sector that we will increasingly focus on.

The advantage of our distributors supplying large animal supply stores is that higher quantities of medicines are sold as farmers have many animals to keep healthy, unlike a pet owner who might be far more numerous than farmers but will buy for only 1 or a few pets.

Some common types of vet supply stores that our distributors supply our products to include:

TYPES OF VET SUPPLY STORES
Livestock Supply Stores
  • This is the most common type of vet supply stores for our products.
  • These are general stores that provide a wide range of medicines and nutritional products, as well as supplies and equipment for large animals.
Feed Stores
  • In developing countries, this type of store might be less common, as it is more likely to be combined with a more general offering such as livestock supply stores.
  • These stores specialize in providing animal feed and supplements for livestock, including cows, pigs, sheep, goats, horses and other livestock.
Mobile Supply Stores
(Wholesale Delivery Stores)
  • Some stores, depending on the country, might focus more on delivery by truck to farmers and ranchers in the surrounding area or region.
  • These stores might be more like warehouses than stores.
Pet Supply Stores
  • While pet ownership rates are still low in developing countries, there is a lot of growth as these countries develop a middle class.
  • While still limited, some of our products are specifically for pets and do go to pet supply stores.
  • As pet supply stores rely on purchases from pet owners, quantities are likely to be less than for livestock, but more numerous customer base.
Challenges facing Vet Clinics in Developing Countries

The challenges faced by vet supply stores are the same for vet clinics. Therefore, see

Distribution Channels: An Overview > Challenges facing Vet Clinics in Developing Countries

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