How Chippenham scaled services whilst buying smarter
.jpeg)
Cambrian actively helped make tweaks to our settings that have saved us money"
Challenge
Chippenham is a Pharmacy and Health Clinic offering delivery services locally and nationally, whilst delivering vaccinations, allergy care, aesthetics and a range of NHS services.
As a delivery only pharmacy providing free delivery, owner Richard needed to know that his team would not be overwhelmed by time-consuming ordering and searching for products under tariff price.
Starting the pharmacy from scratch without supplier accounts and being new to a cascade system meant Richard needed extra knowledge and support in setting up their purchasing. Without terms with suppliers, Chippenham were also struggling to get the needed credit limits with suppliers up front.
Additionally, they lacked oversight of their purchasing profits, and needed a bird-eye view to show them the impact of how, where and when they purchased.
Solution
Working with Cambrian meant that their Business Manager Dawn was able to help them analyse their spend across every one of their suppliers and configure their account settings to suit them.
We gave Chippenham hands-on help to both set-up their e-CASS cascade, and to develop and train their pharmacy staff. Rather than searching for items individually in multiple places, they could use e-CASS on their PMR and on e-CASS Web to send orders to the cheapest supplier quickly.
Dawn was also available to onboard, train and advise the pharmacy team in using e-CASS Web and their Account Service Executive also helped manage the application process with Cambrian and our suppliers.
Richard also had access to a monthly purchasing profit report every month to get an accurate idea of profits - after clawback and with concessions included.
Useful features
Purchasing profit report
Richard use his monthly report to get an accurate idea of profitability
Business manager support
Dawn has helped train staff on e-CASS, explain features and advise on ways to maximise spend
Over-tariff
block
Using the % threshold, Chippenham can balance fast ordering with profitability
Result
Chippenham have grown their patient base from scratch and scaled from 200 to over 3000 prescriptions a month.
Thanks to e-CASS, the pharmacy team have more time to scale their services such as blood pressure check, aesthetics and more and to prepare for the introduction of Pharmacy First.
Using their purchasing profit report has given Richard greater understanding of the real profitability -plus given the whole team insight and buy-in into the macro and micro impacts of how they buy.
Gradually, Richard has started to work with Dawn to drill down into the insights and even shares these with the team, so they can see the impact of changing how they buy - and given everyone a standard they can trust.
Dr Richard Brown
Superintendent Pharmacist and Chief Officer of Community Pharmacy Avon and Community Pharmacy Dorset
Community Pharmacy and Health Clinic
Chippenham, Wiltshire
3000+/month and a full set of health services
chippenhampharmacy.org.uk
Get a personalised demo
Get a hands-on look at how e-CASS can help save time and maximise profits. Click to schedule a demo with one of our expert Business Managers in branch, or online.
Complete your details
Choose a time
Get a demo