Whether the increase in prescriptions can be attributed to the aging baby boomer generation or that the pharmaceutical companies are developing more and better medications to alleviate the ailings of the population, one thing cannot be denied: medication is needed around the world in many homes. In the UK, pharmacies are taking on the responsibility of delivering the necessary medications to customers in an effort to provide service to those who need it. The biggest challenge is the size and scope as well as the security of this operation.
Plan Your Deliveries Today
In 2017, the demand for home delivery increased 84% in the UK. This is a big growth in a very short time, in a new aspect of the industry that is not well regulated. The chain of custody and proof of delivery are essential but most pharmacies do not have a dedicated staff for this role and the ones that are delivering are often not aware if there is legislation on this issue.
The other challenge is the cost of delivering to customers, which if a pharmacy is already dedicating between 11-13 hours per week to deliver, another year of almost 100% growth and that number could easily double. Having a dedicated delivery driver or team of drivers is costly and requires training to maintain a proper chain of custody. Currently, many pharmacies are using existing staff to make the deliveries, which is great for chain of custody but also costly for the pharmacy in payroll and time out of the store.
If pharmacies continue to do deliveries the way they are right now, costs will spiral up as the business grows. To save money, MyRouteOnline is a cost saving solution that every pharmacy should tap into in order to increase profits and grow with the demand. Using an efficienct system for deliveries will save on fuel costs as well as wear and tear on vehicle and time on the road.
MyRouteOnline is a software program that creates optimal routes with as many as 350 addresses. Customers enter the addresses in any order and the algorithm used in the software finds the most cost saving route between the addresses. You can also build in time gaps at stops to allow for drivers to provide good customer service as opposed to a drop and run.
One of the best features of MyRouteOnline is that it can be accessed from any smartphone or iPad with a data connection. Updates can be made in the moment and rerouting can be communicated instantly. This not only reduces costs to the pharmacy but it reduces the stress of the delivery staff. This is important especially if it is regular pharmacy staff doing the deliveries as the business grows.
In an industry that is rapidly growing and projected to continue to expand exponentially, keeping costs down is one solution to provide independent pharmacies and health care companies with capital to continue growing. Using MyRouteOnline can save profits from being spent in unnecessary areas of the business and can be allocated to proper training for delivery fleets and ensuring the proper legislation is being adhered to in such a sensitive industry.