Saturday, March 28, 2009

The repeat success

Taking repeat prescription business to a higher level, Paul Howie and David Roberts launched an online business as partners – while working in different pharmacies – to increase sales. The duo tells Faras Ghani how myrepeats.com came about and not only won patients’ hearts but also the Pharmacy Business Innovation Award 2008...

Winning an award is no mean feat, be it at something you have special talent for or something you love doing, or even if it’s an office related task. Being the best requires clear vision, dedication – with time and effort – as well as an interest in the field.

When Paul Howie of Lime Tree Pharmacy and David Roberts of Shelley Pharmacy (both in Worthing and competitors, in effect) joined hands to launch a repeat prescription website, neither of them imagined winning the Pharmacy Business Innovation Award 2008. Not because they did not have a clear vision, but due to the fact that neither had a deep interest in the technology field or even enough time to dedicate to the venture due to their respective positions in their pharmacies.

‘I don’t have a particular interest in IT or the technology world,’ Howie said. ‘However, there are a lot of online pharmacies in existence now so it’s a tried and test path and pharmacies have gone that way anyway.

‘With the advent of the internet, a lot of people, including myself, are shopping online and use the internet not just at home but at work as well. So it only seemed logical and we figured they would want to use the internet to order their repeat prescriptions online rather than driving to the pharmacy, putting their requests in and following that up with a visit to the pharmacy.’

The stigma, as Roberts put it, of being a pharmacy inside a surgery often deterred customers from walking in off the street and shopping there. ‘They [the customers] used to think that if they are not patients at that particular surgery, they could not use the pharmacy,’ Roberts said. ‘So the idea was also born out of how can we could overcome that stigma and we decided to go with the website. People can order prescriptions and made it available to everyone in Worthing [initially] so people realise they can use the pharmacy without being a patient at the surgery.’

The joint venture – myrepeats.com – came about on the back of huge repeat prescriptions concerns by both pharmacies as it formed almost 90 per cent of their business. Although the pharmacies had worked closely on a number of issues, a joint venture was not thought of prior to the website.

‘We were both [pharmacies] concerned with protecting our business so we thought we’d split the risk,’ Howie said. ‘So in one of the review meetings at the surgery, we discussed the idea – to tie our patients in and protect our businesses – and it seemed a good opportunity to cover both bases.’

After much planning and ponder, myrepeats.com was launched in August 2007, initially catering to Worthing only, according to Roberts. However, the success that followed owed much to a ‘little bit of naivety’.

‘We arranged for the web company [that had designed the website] to arrange a press release to send to the local paper and the local radio station in order to get some promotion,’ Roberts said. ‘What we didn’t realise was that the press release goes far and wide and it was picked up by a couple of national publications and before we knew it, we had questions coming right, left and centre enquiring about the venture.’

The website initially underwent a trial phase whereby the robustness and usability of the myrepeats.com was tested by a select few. ‘Following the initial launch, ten pharmacies contacted us – terming it a great idea – and expressing their desire to join us,’ Howie said. ‘We took that up and produced cards for the Pharmacy Show in October 2007. Following that, around fifty pharmacies contacted us and we realised we had to redesign the site to cater for all that.’

Following the relaunch in April 2008, myrepeats has grown to 321 on last count — from just the two when the idea was born.

The day-to-day running of the website is quite simple. The server run by a web design company. Each individual pharmacy part of myrepeats.com has its own virtual back-office and once they are accepted, they get their unique username and password. The pharmacy can then list the surgeries they cater to and the post codes they cover as well as delivery options – majority of the pharmacies offer delivery, even to a work address. There also exists a master administration site, with Roberts taking that up as a part-time job in the evenings. Any order that a patient makes is stored in a separate system that the pharmacy it has been ordered from.

So does the extra workload affect their daily routine?

It has not seemed to affect Roberts that much.‘I don’t work in the pharmacy five days a week so I can spend my free time working the site. Once a pharmacy is registered, I don’t need to do get involved a lot anyway and it’s not a lot of additional work except the random username or password SOS call.’

Howie, however, needs to spend a lot of evenings working on the site. ‘We’ve also had to take on a morning driver as the deliveries have gone up quite significantly [around ten per cent of their total business is done online]. We only had an afternoon delivery before but now we have a van on the road all day [that has been branded with the website name to act as a promotion for the website while on the road].’

While the pharmacies have not felt the need for additional storage space, they may look to employ an administrator for the site. ‘We are looking to employ a part-time administrator who can then provide backup and support to the registered pharmacies. I think it’s essential we provide maintenance and maybe call up the pharmacies and check if everything is ok.’

According to Howie, their online business is growing by ten to 15 per cent each month. ‘A lot of the increase is via our existing customers who we have encouraged to use the site. It not only increases the sales but also protects our business. It also helps us spread as previously around 95 per cent of our business was from just one surgery. Now we cater for every surgery in town. Before we were
doing ten items a month and now we are doing 50 to 100 items in some surgeries.

‘It is also down to increased marketing in the form of the branded van as well as word of mouth and the Pharmacy Show success. We put in a lot of time and effort to make it look an attractive proposition for community pharmacies.’

So how are the two pharmacies benefiting from the venture?

‘Well, currently there is a £100 plus VAT sign-up charge for pharmacies,’ Roberts said. ‘Originally we thought of charging ten pence an item sold via the website but along came Category M and that idea had to be abandoned. We are now trying to generate revenue through advertising and have limited adverts currently on the site.’

Howie hopes to increase advertising spend on the website in the near future. ‘There are adverts on the pharmacists-only area right now and we are hoping someday somebody will want to advertise some OTC prods on the patients page.’

Once the traffic increases on the site, Roberts has plans to get a lot of health information organisations involved and start provide complementing information to visitors besides the option to order repeat prescription while not losing focus of the main objectives and what the site was originally designed for.

While looking for improvements in the design and usability and different modes to improve it, Howie hopes that a lot of independent pharmacists reap rewards and thus help protect business in the future.

‘We would obviously like to increase our current user-base. When EPS is rolled in reliably and it goes live, all the big multiples are going to a big hub sort of dispensaries. In effect, prescriptions can go electronically to any big robot anywhere in the country and patients will be able to order by phone. Our worry is that we will lose a lot of prescriptions that way and I hope other pharmacies will see the threat and sign up with us.

‘If a lot of us get involved then it will not only protect the business but will also create a strong brand in itself that people will know of and trust. That will also help in protecting what happens in the future.’

For someone who did not have a huge interest in pharmacy at a young age, winning the award was a huge achievement for Howie. ‘I didnt have a big interest in going into pharmacy even thought I was doing science-related subjects in school. I didn’t fancy doing medicine but reading around those subjects, pharmacy seemed quite a broad spectrum and covered the subjects I was interested in and there seemed to be a lot of employment opportunities at the end of it.

‘Winning the award was just fantastic, more so because the project we won the award for was done in our spare time. It was great to get the recognition and appreciation as well as feedback.we received. And meeting people that evening, it got us huge publicity.

Regular praise and appreciation also comes from customers in both pharmacies upon noticing the award. And although the future seems uncertain for Howie and Roberts – one looking at a different profession and the other being moved to a business he is oblivious about – the award-winning creation has given a solid platform and one that is destined to win over more community pharmacies as well as an increased customer-base.

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in Pharmacy Business March 2009

Strength in numbers

Phoenix UK’s CEO Paul Smith has had a rough start to the New Year – following the suicide of the parent company’s boss there were rumours of a takeover. In an exclusive interview with Pharmacy Business, Smith dismisses sale talks – not entirely convincingly – and presents the financially healthy side of the business...

Phoenix UK last month dismissed rumours of a takeover. Has anything changed since?
Nothing has changed. We have just gone through our year-end and have produced some fantastic figures. We remain in a strong financial position and are in no need to sell the business. Our German parent company continues to discuss our positive future with the banks. We are not for sale and the UK business will not be sold.

Would it be fair to say that the future of Phoenix UK is secure for a long time?
The Merckle family issues as well as the financing problems are well documented. Bearing that in mind, all that happens is that the family starts looking at selling some assets in order to strengthen its financial position. Ratiopharm is being mentioned as one of the companies and they have made it public that a purchaser is being sought for the company.

Phoenix, may or may not, possibly in the future, change hands. I do not know that for sure. Having said that, it could have changed hands in the past just like any other business can. That does not affect our financial position. We operate in 23 countries and we are not selling off assets anywhere. We have not felt the need to sell because it is a very successful business as a whole group. So if anything is sold, it will be the group [as a whole]. I don't think it will be broken up for sale because that just won't make any sense.

Did the takeover reports affect the business and its employees?
I don’t think the takeover reports in particular affected us or the employees that much. There may have been some uncertainty because of the prevailing downturn that was felt by the entire industry. We have a great staff but the unfounded claims and the financial issues created by our founder obviously led some employees and customers to be unsettled. However, we have a great relationship with our customers. Some of them asked if they could help the company at the time. On our part, we believed it was important to spend time talking to our customers and employees and give them the confidence that we are in a strong position.

Did the Ratiopharm and suicide news affect business in the UK?
It did not have a direct impact from a customer and customer service point of view. You do spend more time than you normally would talking to people about the events and reassuring them. So there is a slight impact, certainly at a higher level. We place a special emphasis on relationships and obviously people want to talk to you in such times.

Besides the rumours, did the recession and credit crunch affect business?
The healthcare business in itself is fairly recession proof. Although the world is not in a healthy financial state, there are still the same amount of unwell people out there and they all need caring for. This sector is similar to hospitals: you don’t see less admissions due to recession or fewer visits to the doctor because of it. It does impact people's health and that is what we're involved with. Although OTC products may not be sold in a great quantity, the stress of daily life in such times is harsher and hence the tendency to visit GPs is higher.

Did the credit crunch result in any large-scale redundancies?
No, not any more than during the normal course of business. We did have a warehouse move in Glasgow last year and unfortunately, we lost some people then. However, we also re-employed a lot of people after the move. We’re opening a new depot in the south-east; that will create a few jobs.

What is Phoenix's stand on the single distributor system?
Phoenix will not be involved in a sole distribution model simply because I don't think it is a place where we should be. I can understand two or three or even multiples, but I don’t see the single distribution as being beneficial. I think even the OFT were fairly scathing of a single distribution channel and for reasons of patient choice and safety, the single channel isn’t where we should be.

I don’t believe that the integrity of the business is at risk by having more than one partner. We have formed some good partnerships recently, we expect other people to join us. I'm surprised the government doesn't see this as a health issue. That is why people will make decisions on how that supply gets to pharmacies. We're very involved from our side and are playing our part in the process by ensuring that patients are served. I firmly believe in competition, so I’d say a minimum of two because then you have comparisons as well as backup.

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in Pharmacy Business March 2009

Friday, March 13, 2009

An air of complacency

Faras Ghani, a Pakistani journalist, has contributed this special post to Line and Length on the need for the Pakistan Cricket Board to wake up to their slack security.

How can Ijaz Butt, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, defend the security measures – not the security officials – in his country when he didn't see what I saw? While I wasn't in Lahore for the aborted second Test, I was in Karachi for the first where security seemed to become toned down as the match progressed.

Although security officials still outnumbered spectators, there was an air of complacency. From day two, I could see no snipers stationed atop the water towers, body searches became faint touches and most personnel positioned to search belongings would smile and wave you on.

See, I'm a cricket freak. Not an enthusiast, but a freak for only a freak would dismiss all safety concerns, defy the financial gloom and fly across the continents to spend the last drops of his holiday allowance watching Pakistan take on Sri Lanka at home in their first Test for 14 months. Even the most fervent of followers queried my love for such a dour encounter, but as I told them: it could be the last series to be played in Pakistan. Little did I realise how true that prediction might be.

SecurityThe dullness of the Karachi Test allowed me to wander about the stadium with my camera. While not questioning the desire, and the right, of officials to be photographed, the sheer numbers hassling me for one became rather worrying. Being complimented for looking nice with a red tee failed to ease my worries and nor did the number of napping police officials in the stands.

I had to go through three checks from the gates to my destination but the whole act seemed superficial. Inside, perhaps fully confident in their colleagues' abilities on the gates, security officials seemed more interested in watching Younis Khan crawl to a world record, pleading for photos of them to be printed on the front pages or sharing a cigarette than keeping a watchful eye on spectator behaviour, especially in the backdrop of the prevailing law and order situation. Some even rested in bunches under the shade outside, surrounded by leftover biryani and the sense of false security.

After Lahore's debacle – deemed the farewell to international cricket in Pakistan by my good friend Hafsa Adil – how can we expect tours in six to nine months after this? Step out and smell the teabag and powered milk chai Butt sahab.

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published on The Times Online Mar 13, 2009.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Not Cricket


FOUR hundred and seventy-five days. That is how long it has been since Karachi last witnessed Test cricket. So when Pakistan took on Sri Lanka in the first Test at the National Stadium last Saturday (21), big things and big crowds were expected.

After all, it was Pakistan’s first Test since December 2007 and the visitors possessedthe twin spin threat of Muttiah Muralitha­ran and Ajantha Mendis.

The first day bore an uncanny resem­blance to the Karachi Test in October 2007 against South Africa – a limited and inex­perienced home bowling attack struggling against a talented and experienced oppo­sition at the crease. But as the day, and the match progres­sed, cheers and applause became scarce. Security officials outnumbered specta­tors. Phone conversations and light naps, often a rare sight at National Stadium, became the order of the day.
The days that followed witnessed world and individual records, dubious decisions, dropped catches, elegant stroke­play and even daily prize draws to encourage pub­lic interest. All of them failed, despite the free entry, as the heat and poor facilities at the stadium kept enthusiasts away.

“Watching cricket here [at the National Stadium] is a nightmare,” said Afzaal Khan, a student. “We can understand the security procedures but not be­ing allowed to bring food and drinks inside the stadium can­not be justified.”

The opposition, according to those fans who turned up, was also a deciding factor. Since this series is no comparison to a cross­border duel, it was understandable why the stands re­mained vacant. Even the Sunday bazaar (market) witnesses a greater following, despite it being a repeated affair, perhaps because it has something of interest for all those who visit.

“If it was India playing Pakistan, I would have gladly suffered through the heat, hugely over­priced food, atrocious toilet facilities and the great mission that is en­tering the stand due to the numerous se­curity checks,” said Kamal, who had opted to stay away.

Younis Khan, Pakistan’s captain, touched upon the same issue while blaming the unsporting pitch for the lack of interest. “Test cricket gets boring if we play on such wickets. If we play on such tracks then it’s not a surprise why people are sta­ying away,” he said.

But Khan enjoyed bat­ting on the lifeless pitch, scoring a career­best score of 306 not out (when EE went to press), becoming only the third Paki­stani batsman to make a triple century.

Some supporters blamed the absence of star attractions including Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Yousuf and Mohammad Asif for the low turnout. “It is encouraging to see Pakistan invest in youth and opt to include them in the playing 11,” said supporter Iqbal. “However, these youngsters will not bring the excitement that Sho aib and Af­ridi bring when they are in the middle. So un­less we see some ex­citement on the field, we will be watching the match at home or at work.”

The few who did make the journey said they were mostly unsatisfied. “It has been a waste, a total waste and I will make sure I don’t attend any more cricket if the pitches remain the same,” said frustrated spectator Asma. “To go through all the trouble that I did, and to witness such dull action... I think it is truly shameful on the cricket board’s part and no wonder people are stay­ing away.”

So as the shadows invaded the protected zone on the pitch, I sat there pondering my deci­sion to travel such a long way for my love of crick­et. Maybe the locals were right after all.

© Faras Ghani 2009.
Published in Eastern Eye Feb 27, 2009.
© Faras Ghani 2009.
Published in Eastern Eye Feb 27, 2009.