Commerce Centre to e-enable 2 200 pharmacies with OrderOnline

Commerce Centre, the e-solutions arm of Datacentrix Holdings, has announced the launch of OrderOnline, a real-time ordering system designed by members of the pharmaceutical industry for the pharmaceutical industry to order products online from their supplier of choice.

OrderOnline is an electronic system designed to allow its users access to the most current product information, to perform simultaneous price comparisons on one screen and to accommodate multi-supplier online ordering - in a single package, from a single terminal. It caters for ethical, patent, homeopathic, surgical and veterinary drugs.

There are 2 200 pharmacies in SA and OrderOnline anticipates a 90% conversion rate from existing systems to the new software.

"OrderOnline is a dynamic, flexible tool designed to adapt to the changing needs of the industry. It caters for the current environment and any changes in legislation, when pricing becomes secondary to the service expected by the customer," says Stewart Barker, CEO of Commerce Centre.

"The system is designed to free up the pharmacist - who has to act as manager, advice giver, medical expert, stock controller and shop owner - and enables him to spend less time on non-revenue generating activities such as placing orders and receiving stock, and devote more time to customers."

OrderOnline is neutrally positioned between retailers and wholesalers/distributors and targets all healthcare professionals who order products, either directly from manufacturers or through the existing wholesaler network.

The multiple benefits of the system focus on more than just pricing comparatives. OrderOnline:

* Allows a single interface through which pharmacists can find and order products from their supplier of choice. This information, together with the latest pricing, is updated every time the user dials in to the system.

* Allows a single order to be created for multiple products from multiple suppliers. This saves the time currently required to capture a single supplier`s order.

* Offers pricing comparisons between suppliers of the same product that are accurate and simultaneous.

* Is real-time rather than batch-processed, so feedback on whether the stock will be supplied or not takes only as long as the wholesaler takes to accept and turn around the online order, typically in five minutes.

* Has a reporting function that is simple and automated, providing the pharmacist with information with which to track trends, manage stock control and make commercial buying decisions.

* Caters for automatic regrets, at the pharmacist`s discretion. If the supplier of choice does not have a product in stock, the system automatically redirects the order to the second- and third-line supplier, as specified by the pharmacist. The pharmacist then receives status confirmation in minutes and saves hours of time spent communicating with suppliers for products.

* Is operational 24 hours a day, so the pharmacist can place orders before close of business without the threat of missing cut-off times for orders, confident that the stock will be delivered the following morning.

"Alternative ordering systems do not always indicate accurate pricing to the retail market and the representation of the prices from the wholesale market," says OrderOnline director Robert van Blommestein. "OrderOnline has been designed to cover this and other shortcomings of its competition."