Suzuken is a leading company in pharmaceutical distribution, safely and reliably providing hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and other customers with prescription pharmaceuticals, as well as diagnostic reagents, medical equipment and supplies. The Suzuken Group plays a central role in Japanese pharmaceutical distribution, with six Group pharmaceutical distribution companies, two specialist logistics companies, and sales offices in all 47 prefectures.

Ethical pharmaceuticals are delivered from manufacturers, through wholesalers to hospitals, clinics and dispensing pharmacies, where doctors prescribe them according to the ailments and constitutions of individual patients, paying attention to efficacy and safety. There are therefore a variety of legal regulations, such as the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, governing the manufacture, purchase, transport, sale and prescription of such pharmaceuticals.

Lives depend on pharmaceuticals. The first duty for Suzuken as a wholesaler is to ensure quality and fulfill orders correctly, quickly and reliably. Another vital mission, however, is to accurately provide information on a drug's efficacy and safety to ensure that it is used properly.

Suzuken has a full lineup of products that includes ethical pharmaceuticals produced by nearly all pharmaceutical companies in the world. Suzuken utilizes its nationwide network comprising all the Group's pharmaceutical wholesaling businesses to supply hospitals, clinics and pharmacies with superior pharmaceuticals and related information, supporting the health of people throughout Japan.

Because pharmaceuticals are life-related products, high levels of safety are demanded in their distribution.
At Suzuken, we have introduced a unique distribution system that enables traceability for the first time in the pharmaceutical distribution industry through thoroughgoing quality control.
The main characteristics of this system are that they clarify the distribution routes of all pharmaceuticals and conduct even stricter quality control than required by established laws and regulations.
After receiving shipments from pharmaceutical manufacturers, batch numbers and expiration dates are managed uniformly.
By doing so, even if by some chance a quality problem does occur with a certain pharmaceutical product and recall is necessary, we will be able to respond immediately.

As part of the company's Business Continuation Plan (BCP), which envisages times of major disaster, such as great earthquakes, Suzuken has upgraded its disaster countermeasure systems and has also formulated a Guideline for the Supply of Pharmaceuticals at Times of Major Disaster. The company is implementing regular drills every year so that appropriate and prompt countermeasures can be laid out. As a company that plays a role in the social infrastructure, Suzuken is striving to construct cooperative relationships with customers, such as medical institutions and insurance pharmacies, so that we can deliver the necessary products to the necessary place at the necessary time.

The head office building has been constructed with a design exceeding the earthquake resistance criteria of construction-related laws and has also installed a private generator in preparation for times of electrical power failure.

In addition, the city of Nagoya, where the head office is located, has experienced large-scale disasters, so we have envisaged cases in which system functions have been damaged and constructed a back-up system for order taking in Hokkaido. This system has been fully operational since April 2007.