Swedish Pharmacy Group Apoteksgruppen Chooses RELEX for Improved Inventory Management

Apoteksgruppen, a chain made up of more than 160 entrepreneur-owned pharmacies throughout Sweden, has decided to implement RELEX’s solution for more efficient store replenishment.

Through Apoteksgruppen’s central service organization, its members are able to benefit from economies of scale. This, in combination with the entrepreneurs’ engagement and focus on customer service, enables profitable operations and satisfied customers.

Automatic replenishment is not a new concept for Apoteksgruppen. Business coach Helene Kristensen explains: “Since Apoteksgruppen was launched, we’ve used re-order points as a complement to manual supervision to improve order handling at the pharmacies. The challenge is maintaining these re-order points, which is especially complex when it comes to substitution of generic medicines. RELEX’s system helps us keep items with high demand in stock as well as adjust the inventory levels at each individual pharmacy in order to further increase our already high levels of on-shelf availability.”

By introducing RELEX’s system Apoteksgruppen aims to offer better customized inventories, says CEO Eva-Britt Gustafsson: “Availability is the alpha and omega in our business. Through a better system for store replenishment we want to ensure high on-shelf availability in the pharmacies. At the same time we want to make life easier in the pharmacies, so that their personnel can put even more focus on customer service instead of administration.”

RELEX’s Scandinavian Director Johanna Småros is enthusiastic about the collaboration: “The Swedish pharmacy sector is going through a big transformation at the moment and it’s very exciting to be able to take part in the development journey that the entire industry is now on. The pharmacy sector also has to deal with some unique challenges, such as the regulations concerning drug substitution, which gives us as a systems supplier a great opportunity to demonstrate what we can do.”