BUSINESS IN FOCUS
coNtINUINg to INNovAtE foR cUStomERS
coNStANt chANgE IS thE WAY of thE WoRld todAY. moRE thAN EvER, BUSINESSES hAvE to thINK oN thEIR fEEt ANd mAINtAIN A cloSE WAtchINg BRIEf oN hoW thEY cAN INtRodUcE moRE INNovAtIvE PRodUctS ANd SERvIcES to StAY AhEAd.
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mall and medium-sized businesses may not have the budgets of larger firms but that
certainly doesn’t mean that they cannot be creative in their approach to their business.
let’s look at one fantastic example of how an innovative approach can lead to success…
cooper’s Pharmacy in the Andersonstown area of Belfast is based within a busy health centre and is a great example of how investment in innovation can fuel business growth in a very competitive market.
over the last 18 months, the business had developed a three-pronged approach to growth. firstly, they had invested in two different robotic dispensing systems: the first an
automated consis E dispensing system, which allowed michael cooper, manager of cooper’s Pharmacy, and his team to implement a forward-facing dispensary. this allowed the pharmacy to grow its dispensing volume with an increase in levels of safety and efficiency.
the third area of growth involved the adoption of a system, which allowed the pharmacy to deliver to patients who were having difficulty in managing their medicines. through the investment in a novel PillPacPlus sachet robot (the first of its kind in Belfast), cooper’s Pharmacy was able to provide compliance aid support to a wider network of patients who required this service.
the robot allows the pharmacy to automate the dispensing of 85 per
cent of the products it dispenses, increasing both safety and eliminating a time-consuming manual process.
‘the installation of robotics has dramatically changed work processes in the pharmacy,’ michael cooper told Pif. ‘Automation of many of the routine manual processes has allowed our team to focus on delivering an expanded and improved service to our patient base. this has led to an increase in patient numbers and subsequent revenue for both dispensing and NhS services.
‘Automation has also afforded greater control over stock management, which has delivered cost savings. the overall impact has been an increase in team morale and efficiency, which has fed through to our patient base.
‘this investment dramatically changed work processes in the pharmacy, but for us, this was not only about the automation, but about our team and our patients. the changes have allowed our team to focus on delivering an expanded and improved service to our patients.’
michael believes that early engagement and funding support was vital to growing the business. ‘Bank of Ireland UK were an integral business partner throughout the entire process and involved from the outset,’ michael told Pif. ‘We have had a long relationship with Paul Nixon, our relationship manager, who understood our business vision implicitly, from day one through to the completion of the project.’
Successful businesses continuously look for ways to improve their bottom line and invest resources in trying out new ideas, be it in sales, product design, production processes or better purchasing. All of these activities involve innovation, in one form or another.
‘Bank of Ireland UK is investing significantly in new technology, which will not only improve the way in which our customers transact their banking needs, but also ensure relationship managers spend more time working with our customers to understand their strategy, business needs and developing long-term partnerships,’ says gavin Kennedy, director Business Banking NI. •
58 - PhARmAcY IN focUS
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