MHD WAREHOUSING
THE RIGHT WMS PRESCRIPTION FOR PHARMACEUTICAL DISTRIBUTION Ryan Klose, Executive General Manager of National Pharmacies, explains why the organisation chose Microlistics WMS to optimise its national distribution capabilities – pairing an approach to problem solving with a mutual commitment to technological excellence.
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he story of National Pharmacies is the story of healthcare, and getting proper healthcare to the community at large, says its Executive General Manager, Ryan Klose. Founded in 1911 – and categorically a non-profit organisation – it is a mutual organisation where profits made through its diverse operations are returned to members in the form of benefits and discounts. It has been quite a success story, says Ryan. With 300,000 members and roughly 70 stores across the nation, it is also one of five wholesalers that can wholesale pharmaceuticals in Australia. It is a unique organisation insofar as it combines large-scale operational and business success with a values-oriented dedication to customer service. “That’s why members join, because it’s a place where people can walk in and feel a part of something bigger – somewhere where their own health stories are listened to and where they’ll receive more hands-on assistance, because we have more pharmacists in our stores than competing discount pharmacies that try to lower their costs by reducing labour costs.” Recently, National Pharmacies elected to implement Microlistics WMS to drive its principal distribution centre operation in South Australia. The facility handles a wide range of pharmaceutical products, including over the counter, prescriptiononly and ethical prescription medicines stored under a range of temperature, compliance, and security 48 | MHD NOVEMBER 2021
Microlistics WMS optimises National Pharmacies’ distribution of a wide range of pharmaceutical products, including over the counter, prescription-only, and ethical prescription medicines.
conditions. Other products include optical and fast-moving consumer goods, says Ryan. “We are very pleased to have established this new partnership with Microlistics, which forms part of our broader technology transformation,” he says. “Their flexible and agile warehouse software will enable us to advance operational productivity further, continuously improve our quality services, and take advantage of emerging growth opportunities.”
WHY MICROLISTICS? Ryan says that a key reason National Pharmacies chose Microlistics is because its cultural values aligned with its own. “Compared to some of its competitors, when we talked to them it felt like we
were talking to a family company – both in terms of the trust they were able to engender as well as that sense of deep institutional knowledge built up over many years. I could tell that their personnel mostly came from the warehousing industry, and so had the credibility of knowing how to walk the floor of a warehouse and what it actually means to deliver an outcome on the ground, notwithstanding the highlevel sophistication of their technology. That credibility makes leaders like myself, who are involved in change management, more comfortable.” But that is only half the story, Ryan says. While maintaining the ethic of a family-style company, Microlistics also offered levels of innovation – particularly with regard to maximising
