Teaming up for animal health does not stop at the national borders. That’s why Royal GD is working to establish an international distribution network. Lee Jeong Seok, our distributor at Sistar in Vietnam, explains why this collaboration is useful for them.
Vietnam is home to approximately 100 million people, for whom meat is a popular component of their meals. Following the African Swine Fever outbreak in 2019, the livestock industry has evolved from small-scale farms producing only for domestic demand, into larger, professional farms. There is therefore an extensive market for animal healthcare products. Sistar Vietnam was established in 2011 and specialises in distributing vaccines, diagnostic kits and veterinary medicines. Their motto is ‘Distributing the best quality products’. Lee Jeong Seok tells us about the cooperation with GD.
How did you become acquainted with GD Animal Health?
“GD was introduced by one of its associates at an exhibition in Thailand in 2018. I subsequently met with the Director of Business Development of GD and discussed the business partnership.”
What are the benefits for both companies of working together?
"When developing products in a country, there are many tasks to be managed: introduction of technical aspects, quality trial tests, stable and daily communication with customers, et cetera. You can of course contact your clients abroad by phone and email, but Sistar can add face-to-face communication. In return, GD supports us with technical data and resolving issues. We have also visited some potential customers together.”
How are you introducing GD to the Vietnamese market?
“We are meeting with the technical managers of animal health departments and we are introducing them to GD training courses, FTA cards for PCR testing and sequencing. When it comes to laboratories, we focus on antigen, PTS and FTA cards, and we are also introducing GD training courses for laboratory staff. Besides this, we are introducing GD antigen and antibody research in the government sector.”
Would you recommend this kind of cooperation to other companies?
“Yes, because this system enables professional marketing, consistency of communication and product delivery. Together with GD, we can develop new products which are suitable for various markets. The manufacturer and distributor can share (local and global) market information to undertake new products. It also enables faster introduction of the products to end users, for the customers’ convenience and satisfaction."
The Sistar team