Pharmacy is not an industry associated with rapid change. The nature of the product sold, quality assurance and onerous administration have made it difficult for pharmacists to get their heads up and look to future-proof their business. Industry groups have long talked of the need for digital transformation, but progress has been slow. Yet retailers are leaving the high street at a pace we haven’t seen before and online is now where business migration is consolidating. Amazon have just announced their move to pharmacy. Their online strategy and business to date has been very successful so one can only assume that the move to pharmacy will be equally fruitful. What does that mean to Ireland’s pharmacists?
Over 2 years ago, CarePlus Pharmacy forecast changes on the industry’s horizon and set about preparing to face them – be different or run the risk of competitive disadvantage.
It was time to examine how the industry was evolving across the world. Technology was coming to the fore in international retail pharmacy models. Robots were being put to wider use across the globe. Screen technology was appearing in more outlets. Yet in Ireland, relatively nothing of note in terms of digitising the customer offering while driving pharmacy efficiencies in parallel had shown up anywhere.
John Carroll, the Chief Executive of CarePlus Pharmacy, figured that these innovations could tackle some of the perennial problems in Irish pharmacies, like errors, operational efficiencies, date rotation, theft, live-stock counts, labour costs and a feeling that pharmacists were ‘trapped’ behind the counter under-utilised, while helping move the sector towards the digital age.
Carroll tasked the CarePlus in-house team with combining screen and robot innovations to create a new concept. A 12 strong cross functional team worked on the project that commenced in May 2019. The belief was that cutting edge technology could be designed to fulfil certain tasks, freeing up staff to do what machines couldn’t. Through the efficient implementation of ordering screens and robotics, time could be freed up to build relationships with customers and become trusted advisers within their communities. Technology has been mobilised around the group’s PharmaCare programme which is designed around clinics, events and a closely managed system to help asthma, cardiovascular and diabetes patients in a community setting though a range of initiatives. In doing so, the brand is differentiating on two fronts; increased services that can be monetised, through a best-in-class digital experience for customers and patients.
Fast forward through many months of development of a bespoke platform and software, plus buying a top-of-the-range Gollmann robot, and the first Gen2 CarePlus Pharmacy was unveiled in May 2020 in Dunboyne, County Meath.
At first glance, the main difference is the absence of cluttered shelves and product displays on the floor. Screens around the store are either self-select or staff-assisted and enable customers to select from a full range of over the counter, vitamins and beauty products from a series of easy-to-navigate touch screens. There is virtually no stock visible on floor display. Practically everything on sale in the pharmacy is in the robot, which is a first anywhere in the world.
CarePlus uses the ScreenVend software system, which offers multiple omni-channel opportunities. Customers are already familiar with online retail and this in-store experience mirrors that while supporting easy product selection and promoting sales opportunities. The system is designed to recreate an “online” experience in store. The effect is to empower the customer to buy, while maintaining the patient safety required in the pharmacy environment. CarePlus plan to roll out ScreenVend onto mobile platforms in early 2021. This will enable customers to place and collect prescriptions and orders from the pharmacy through an ATM type device 24 hours a day.
In-store, the screens and dispensing system are linked to a large Gollmann robot at the rear of the store, which brings chosen products to the point of sale via a specially designed chute system to multiple points. The robot can store up to 20,000 individual items in an incredibly efficient manner, all of which are accessible through a click on the screen or via the dispensary system.
The combined system frees up the pharmacist to do what they were trained to do – help and advise customers. Community pharmacy is at the heart of the CarePlus philosophy and this generation of store offers the chance to strengthen and future-proof that role. The pioneering concept provides a robust, secure and efficient way to meet customers’ needs.
Pharmacists who make the transition to a Gen2 store will see benefits including growth in average basket size and value, as well as an increase in their non ethical margin. OTC medicine sales have been shown to record a significant pick-up. Rates of stock loss (thought to run at in excess of 10%) and damages fall, while the robotic system ensures expiry date concerns and other errors can’t happen. For perhaps the first time, business owners can look forward to a perfect till reconciliation at the end of each day.
While there are potential labour savings through increased robotic use, John Carroll maintains that the role of the pharmacy technician can change as a result. “We need to see the consultation room as an emerging sales department that adds value within pharmacy. Not only for customers but also through the best deployment of technologies through appointment systems where their training can be leveraged to its greatest and most profitable effect’ he says. In effect, pharmacists and their employees can work with customers and resolve their queries instead of ordering and merchandising front of shop cleaning and maintaining shelves and labels, while there are also efficiencies to be had in dispensary labour.
Pharmacist Sarah Collins is the Director of Retail Operations for CarePlus. She says that the new store format replaces shelves, not people: “Our Gen2 pharmacy is about enabling retail pharmacy for the future, that’s grounded in digital technology and automated workflows. We let the robotics do the repetitive work in a safe and quality assured manner, and free up our members to work with their customers. At CarePlus, we believe that’s key to the future of retail pharmacy. We must harness the advancing technology to enable pharmacists and staff provide something technology can’t – a listening ear and expert medical advice based on the personal connection made with a customer”.
John Carroll says that the cost of the equipment and the return on investment case is something that all pharmacists should look at. He goes on to say that he believes that the latest generation CarePlus pharmacy is an attractive prospect, given the savings, stock control, peace of mind and future-proofing it provides for pharmacists across the country. Many in the community have already anticipated the need to step up their offerings, but the development costs alone would be prohibitive for a standalone operator. CarePlus offers an exclusive, tested and costed option with the added benefit of the buying power of the Axium Group.
CarePlus knew that for a system to be successful, it has to be easy for staff and customers to use. Group research shows pharmacists save 40% of their time by using the Gen2 model. When it came to customer buy-in, Sarah Collins says they had a simple mantra:“We imagined Maura, a 64-year-old CarePlus Pharmacy customer. We kept telling the developers – ‘Make it work for Maura. if Maura can’t understand it, it’s not going in’. The thing is, Maura’s probably reading the news online, shopping on Amazon and Zoom-calling the kids in Vancouver these days! We’ve recorded an 85% satisfaction level among four key demographics in our market and that’s really encouraging”.
The first Gen2 store opened last year amid unprecedented upheaval in the Irish economy. Damien Conaty and his Dunboyne team stepped up to the challenge of helping customers navigate the new system in a retail landscape suddenly governed by public health guidelines. What the people in CarePlus couldn’t have known when they devised their Gen2 Pharmacy, was how important social distancing would become at the point of rollout. With shelves and baskets cleared from the shop floor, Gen2 perfectly meets the need for customers and staff to keep their distances.
The year 2020 taught many important lessons. No matter what we plan for, anything out of the blue can happen. Each and every aspect of how we think and live our lives can be turned upside down. The team at CarePlus are more convinced than ever that a diverse, forward-thinking digital based offering is the key to survival for retail pharmacy. CarePlus Pharmacy has been widening its offering into the community in recent months – a dedicated diabetes service for people living with the condition and a proactive care programme for asthma patients have already been launched. A cardiovascular care programme is in the pipeline. A pharmacist who is front and centre in their store, ready to discuss symptoms, conditions and treatments is one who earns a valued place in the community with real and long-lasting customer relationships.
One of the developments Navi Group, the parent company for CarePlus Pharmacy foresaw years ago, and which came to fruition last autumn was the arrival of Amazon into the retail pharmacy market. Operating in the US for now, Amazon will shake up the market as it has already done for bookshops, electrical goods, groceries and more. It’s not the death knell for smaller chains, but Sarah Collins – herself a qualified pharmacist – says it’s a deafening wake-up call: “It’s time for our sector to stop talking about the need for change and simply act. What pharmacists can offer is human connections, expert support and understanding. What we now have at our disposal is technology that frees us up to exploit those points of difference to our advantage. Gen2 is a step up into the future for Ireland’s retail pharmacy and I’m excited to see who will be joining us for the journey in the coming months. We hope to open 12 CarePlus Pharmacies in 2021, with outlets planned in Cork, Galway, Leitrim and Dublin in the first quarter of the year.
Digital technology in retail stores is here to stay. The ScreenVend software that runs the screens and robot interface is scheduled to launch in Switzerland, France, Germany and Spain this year and has plans to roll out in the UK, US, Dubai and Asia in 2021.
Exciting times ahead for the digital pharmacy.
