Case Study
PharmX implementation helps pharmacy improve net margin by 5%
Overview
Pharmacy faces a challenging retail environment and there is a recognition that all pharmacies, large and small, need to focus on increasing the efficiency of their operations. Automation is a key tool available to reduce operational costs and PharmX operates the leading order and invoice platform in pharmacy, providing an important means of automating order and invoice processing in store and at the supplier.
Simon Greville, who operates three busy pharmacies, has been using PharmX connectivity for many years to streamline his interactions with the main pharmacy wholesalers. The goal was to realise the same PharmX-enabled efficiencies at his pharmacies when dealing with his other key suppliers.
Approach
Simon reviewed his key suppliers and decided to focus on those that he either purchased from most frequently (highest volume) or involve the highest burden on staff time for ordering and invoicing activities (highest complexity). Blackmores was selected as a great candidate for the project, given the high volumes of order and invoices with this supplier, and with assistance from his POS software provider Simon enabled PharmX connectivity between his pharmacies and this supplier.
The Result
Simon found that a PharmX implementation with Blackmores was a revelation to their pharmacy operations.
His stores were able to dramatically reduce the staff time allocated to doing inventory control related activities in their POS. The implementation also resulted in an improvement in the accuracy and timeliness of their data meaning they could better control margins and found profit improvements for Blackmores product lines.
He also found that his staff had more time available to spend with customers and improving sales, as they now spent less time doing manual inventory-related administration.
Simon noted,
“No longer do we need to dedicate a pharmacy staff member one day per week (on average) just doing inventory control, generating, and receiving orders in our point-of-sale system. Errors are reduced, prices are updated accurately and instantly, and we are not losing money due to margin reductions.
Blackmores is the latest supplier we’ve connected with PharmX and it has made ordering and stock control much much easier. We used to have to generate an order on the POS, Fax the order to Blackmores then eventually Receive the order from Blackmores (changing the prices and adjusting for any out of stocks). This process could take upwards of an hour depending on how large the order was. We can generate, transmit and receive an order now in less than five minutes and it is no longer a burden to order. We would often wait until a few items were low or out of stock before ordering because the process was so cumbersome. That has all changed.
Before the PharmX connection we were also processing Blackmores invoices manually, and there was always a risk a changed net cost price might not be updated in our POS. With PharmX we now have accurate cost prices for Blackmores products and can accurately and reliably track our net margin for their entire range.”
Conclusion
Simon found a PharmX connection with Blackmores has saved his business money and increased profit. He’s now keen to build on the success of the Blackmores implementation and connect with his other key suppliers on PharmX.