On November 5th, at the 50th International Convention on Quality Control Circles (ICQCC), Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group (referred to as YRPG) stood out from nearly 600 participating projects worldwide with its fruitful achievements in quality management research. It won 5 gold medals and 1 silver medal in one fell swoop, setting a brilliant record for Chinese enterprises at this year’s "Quality Olympics".
ICQCC is an influential international conference in the field of quality management, featuring a large number of participants and extensive industry coverage. YRPG’s success in this competition is an authoritative recognition by the international event of the practical achievements of Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises in quality management, technological innovation and lean manufacturing. With the 5 gold medals won this time, the total number of ICQCC gold medals obtained by YRPG has jumped to 36.
Among the projects participating in this competition, the innovative topic "Establishment of a Full-Process Product Management System" presented by YRPG's “Qihang” QC Team attracted attention. It is reported that relying on technologies such as data lakes and ETL tools, the system has built a multi-level full-process product management architecture. It realizes end-to-end data management of product information, reducing data query time from 6–8 hours to 20 minutes, which greatly improves production efficiency and management accuracy.
The “Yin Shui Si Yuan” QC Team focused on an environmental protection project, developing a new type of combined deodorization process that makes waste gas emission concentrations exceed national standards. Currently, the relevant technologies have been recognized by environmental protection authorities and promoted to the industry, demonstrating the enterprise's sense of responsibility in green intelligent manufacturing.
"Quality is the lifeline of pharmaceutical and healthcare enterprises, and even more a solid cornerstone for achieving high-quality development." A representative from YRPG stated that internally, the company's normalized practices include the all-staff "Total Quality" philosophy, the extensive application of the EFQM Model, and the continuous implementation of quality improvement activities. More than 160 QC teams are not only active on the production frontlines but also widely involved in sales, logistics and other fields, continuously conducting research on key projects. They have become one of the important driving forces for YRPG to continuously improve the quality of its products, services and development. At the 46th National Exchange Conference on Quality Control (QC) Group Achievements in the Pharmaceutical Industry held recently, 108 projects of YRPG won the first prize, achieving a 21 consecutive championships in the total number of first prizes in this award.
"The globalization of 'Chinese medicines' and deeper participation in global competition are inseparable from a more solid quality foundation and stronger innovation momentum." The representative from YRPG further emphasized that on the international competitive stage, only by achieving excellence in every link can enterprises gain greater confidence.
In April this year, YRPG underwent the on-site Review by Experts (RbE) for the EFQM Global Award led by international jury experts. The five-day in-depth review included 30 interviews covering all levels from senior management to frontline employees, with more than 450 questions targeting the core links of the management system. Eventually, YRPG gained multi-dimensional recognition from the jury experts and became the world's first pharmaceutical enterprise to obtain the Seven-Star Certification through the EFQM RbE on-site review after the implementation of the 2025 version of the EFQM Model.
This reascension to the international podium not only showcases the quality confidence of Made in China (represented by YRPG) to the world, but also provides solid quality support for Chinese pharmaceutical and healthcare enterprises to gain more respect and trust in the global market.