Audifar's unhealthy costs cured by IBS Pharma
Company background
Audifar is one of the ten largest pharmaceutical and healthcare wholesalers in Brazil. The company distributes a vast range of medicine, cosmetics and perfumes to pharmacies and chemists throughout the country. Audifar is comprised of seven branches and its head office is located in the metropolitan region of São Paulo.
Audifar employs some 850 people and generated sales in excess of EUR 190 million in 2002.
Business issues
As a leading wholesaler of pharmaceutical and healthcare products in South America, Audifar operates throughout a huge territory. The company's products reach pharmacies and retailers in 16 states throughout the country.
Audifar carries a product line of 12,000 different items. Customers and suppliers are served 24/7 and the company must process in excess of 7,000 orders, every day. Some 11,800 active clients depend on Audifar's daily deliveries for their medical and healthcare supplies.
Audifar operates a number of distribution centers around Brazil, with each warehouse using its own IT system. Operations are therefore both costly and decentralized. The company identified an opportunity to reduce costs by moving towards centralized warehousing and procurement, but it needed an advanced software solution to achieve this.
The Brazilian market is highly competitive. A software solution with commercial flexibility and the ability to control and measure business results is required for strategic decision-making. Fast order cycles and high order processing volumes are characteristic of the pharmaceutical wholesale business. Accurate timing, error minimization and strict warehousing conditions are other critical factors that demand constant attention.
We found in IBS the best partnership to support and develop our business with security, commitment, functionality and lower costs.
Celso Pereira
Financial Manager
Audifar
Solution and capabilities
Audifar chose to go with IBS PHARMA, a supply chain management and distribution software designed for pharmaceutical distribution. IBS PHARMA consists of components for supply chain automation, warehousing, replenishment and Inventory Management, logistics planning, sales-call planning, customer relations management, finance management, Business Intelligence and e-business.
IBS PHARMA is specifically tailored to address the immense quantities, swift lead-times and accelerated pace of pharmaceutical distribution. The software is capable of processing an impressive two million orders per hour, while providing complete supply chain visibility.
A major decision factor in Audifar's choice was IBS' commitment to support Audifar's business with IBS PHARMA's intelligent functionality and cost-saving abilities. The company felt that IBS was the ideal software partner to ensure future business development.
Implementation
IBS conducted a thorough survey of the unique requirements and practices of the Brazilian pharmaceutical wholesale market. Once the survey was complete, IBS took great care to develop a pharmaceutical implementation tailored to specific Audifar's needs.
The implementation of IBS PHARMA began in mid-2003, and the complete installation is expected to be completed live in a few short years. Audifar is extremely pleased with both the progress and prospects of its partnership with IBS.
Benefits and value
Audifar has been using more than one software system at its various warehousing locations. IBS PHARMA will enable the company to base its operations on one single and integrated software solution. Operations will be centralized from the head distribution center. This will allow Audifar to realize more efficient operations control while reducing costs for infra-structure and software maintenance.
By harnessing IBS PHARMA's functionality for business processes, Audifar will be able to achieve increased performance through improved data accuracy. The software is designed to speed up sales and procurement processes, optimize stock, minimize errors and out-of-stock situations, and enhance logistics planning.
Furthermore, IBS PHARMA is developed to improve Inventory Control, ensure high customer service levels and to meet the stringent quality requirements of pharmaceutical distribution. The software tracks and presents information ranging from KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and ROI (Return on Investment) to business partner performance overviews, competitiveness analysis and internal efficiency control.
IBS PHARMA is seamlessly integrated with e-business applications that allow a company to take advantage of the 24/7 availability of the Internet.
Contact IBS for more information. »
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