Wholesale distributors, organised pharmacy chains and e-pharmacies that move medicines from the plant to the patient.
Moves finished medicines from manufacturers' C&F agents through stockists and distributors to roughly 12 lakh retail chemists, hospital pharmacies and e-pharmacies. Trade margins are capped by regulation (typically ~10% for wholesalers and ~20% for retailers on scheduled drugs).
India's medicine distribution is still highly fragmented. Organised chains (Apollo Pharmacy, MedPlus) and consolidators (Entero, Keimed) are taking share by offering reliable supply, private-label generics and digital ordering - a scale game with thin margins but large revenue and real network effects.
High-volume, low-margin: distributors earn ~3-5% EBITDA and chains ~5-9%, so profitability depends on store maturity, private-label mix and working capital. Private-label generics can earn several times the margin of branded resale, which is why every chain pushes them.