Any healthcare delivery business needs to be organised enough to manage demand as it changes, flexible enough to adapt to changing customer trends and habits, and reliable enough to retain these customers and avoid disruptions.
When providing healthcare services, or distributing pharmaceuticals on a B2B level, in the technology-driven age we live in, the ease at which customers can change suppliers is easier than ever. This means that healthcare delivery systems need to be air-tight, allowing for consistent deliveries to drive customer loyalty and overall growth.
In this article, we are going to run through 4 ways an advanced healthcare delivery system helps to organise, manage, and track your wholesale medical distribution operation. We’ll cover the emergence of e-commerce for wholesale medical distributors, delivery tracking & the need for accountability, digital reporting & account management.
The presence of e-commerce in today’s world of distribution is no secret. Although 67% of B2B distributors offer an online buying experience, for healthcare distribution, there are “Only 11% of medical supply and pharmaceutical businesses currently offer a B2B eCommerce option, so wholesalers have a significant opportunity to benefit from B2B eCommerce.” (1)
These e-commerce platforms also don’t need to stand alone, with distribution management systems allowing pharmaceutical companies to automate order entry into a system that then helps them to process them, and manage deliveries.
Giving B2B customers the convenience of a B2C buying experience gives medical distributors a sharpened competitive edge.
Advanced healthcare delivery software offers full integrations with both ordering systems and accounting software, allowing wholesale medical distributors to achieve a seamless workflow and order management process.
Orders can be accepted, loads can be processed, inventories can be automatically updated, deliveries can be tracked, e-signatures can be taken, and finally payments can be processed and invoices exported. Each stage can be managed and completed under a single system that communicates with existing systems, meaning healthcare distributors can achieve an air-tight, seamless delivery operation.
Due to the nature of the products being delivered, the need for accountability for medical distributors and their customers is absolutely essential. Blind spots should be minimised so disruptions or delays can be avoided, and deliveries monitored and controlled as closely as possible.
If distributors can track each delivery in real-time, they can improve responsiveness to delays or disruptions, keep their customers informed, and avoid any blind spots or miscommunication that would otherwise impact relationships.
Some systems even offer customer self-service portals, which allow customers to check updates on their orders using their own online space. This provides a far more convenient buying experience and drives customer satisfaction, which in turn, increases retention and growth.
Leading on the convenience offered with live delivery tracking for medical distributors, automating communications and processes where possible and improving the productivity of your teams through each stage of the order process.
Not only will digital reports remove the need for paper records, which have their own array of costs and problems, but digitising records means payments for orders can begin review & processing as soon as the delivery is made.
Imagine if drivers could take an e-signature from customers, and these delivery confirmations were sent straight back to the head offices, where they could be checked over, and invoices could be generated within 10 minutes of the delivery being made. It would help the business to keep more organised, improve the order-to-cash cycle and help customers to keep on top of their outstanding payments.
Medicines and pharmaceuticals need unique inventory conditions and transport requirements to ensure products reach their destination securely while minimising the risk of spoilage.
This means having an adequate system that holds product and product group information and requirements and organises them, helping teams to manage how they are kept.
Live, accurate inventory & stock updates throughout the delivery process enables tighter control and ensures replenishment levels are maintained. Alongside this, precise trend analysis of products and product classes, distributors can predict demand more effectively, manage demand, and promise that services are reliable.
Having a fully integrated management system to handle your deliveries gives your teams and drivers the tools they need to manage demand effectively, improve delivery performance and improve customer services. All of this is achieved while management can keep in the loop and track performance in the long term.
