Smith Drug Company, Div. J M Smith Corp., received the Healthcare Distribution Alliance’s (HDA) 2018 Distribution Management Award (DMA) for their implementation of a cloud-based predictive inventory management system (IMS). The award was presented at HDA’s Distribution Management Conference and Expo in Austin, TX.
The DMA is awarded annually to HDA member companies that, through a collaborative partnership, enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of the supply chain. Recipients must demonstrate measurable gains in productivity and reduction in costs in addition to implementing innovative technology, processes or programs across trading partners.
“Every year we are pleased to honor members, like Smith Drug, [that] continue to push their organizations to achieve greater efficiencies in pharmaceutical distribution,” said Perry Fri, HDA Executive Vice President of Industry Relations, Membership and Education; and COO, HDA Research Foundation. “DMA recipients demonstrate the true passion and creativity that goes into ensuring a safe and more secure pharmaceutical supply chain for all stakeholders. We congratulate Smith Drug on this achievement.”
With the goal of increasing their inventory turns and enhancing their service levels, in 2017 Smith Drug Company implemented a new cloud-based IMS in collaboration with P4 Technologies. Accessible anywhere, this powerful system manages, optimizes and predicts a distribution center’s inventory through unique and robust forecasting and replenishment algorithms. Since implementing this customizable solution, Smith Drug Company’s inventory was reduced by 30% and the system has improved their inventory turns by 47%.
“As an organization that prides itself on providing unparalleled customer service, we are thrilled to be recognized by HDA for our hard work,” said Saul Factor, RPh, President, Smith Drug Company and Burlington Drug Company. “Partnering with P4 Technologies has not only transformed our operations but also has allowed our company to provide high service levels for our customers.”
In addition to Smith Drug Company, rfxcel was recognized as a DMA merit finalist for its real-time Environmental Monitoring (EM) solution, which was piloted between March and May 2017 with a global pharmaceutical manufacturer and Verizon. Through the pilot, 24 domestic and international high-value pharmaceutical shipments were tracked, with GPS and temperature data sent to a cloud-based platform when temperature conditions or the location were outside the customer’s customized thresholds. The EM system provided real-time monitoring of shipments, allowing pilot participants to effectively manage product movements and intervene as necessary. rfxcel projects that the solution saved each manufacturer an average estimated savings of $300,000 per avoided incident.
