How Jitendra uses e-CASS to speed up ordering, free time and stay ahead of price changes.
But ordering medicine is complex. Using e-CASS saves me 45 mins on ordering every day. We know we get the best price, plus I have more time for services."
Tucked away from the main road between shops, some leafy hedges and local pub The Six in Hand, Croesyceiliog Pharmacy is small, but big on ambition for their community.
With a pocket sized retail front and back where the busy team of 5 can be seen unloading totes and packing prescriptions, you might think there’s no space for anything other than dispensing.
But like many pharmacies, they’re doing more with less. Owner Jitendra is enthusiastic about offering as many services as possible:
"We do lots of services now, we do ear cleaning, smoking cessation, inhaler review, common ailments service, flu vaccine, travel vaccines, weight loss clinic and more."
Being able to add new services meant adding more and more potential revenue streams, at a time where Jit needed them.
"I don't think any pharmacy can survive on dispensing alone now."
When he took over in 2024, Jitendra found himself in a bind that many pharmacies recognise. Naturally, by their contract, dispensing made up the majority of their work - but it wasn't profitable any more.
"I can't afford to pay more than the cheapest in the market. But it used to take me so much time to find that."
The complexity of training, promoting and running services in a small business where every member of staff is already at their limit meant they needed to free capacity somewhere.
So Jit focused on their ordering as somewhere they might be able to save time.
"Previously, the team would add what we needed to an order pad. And then it would be my job to go on each supplier portal and website looking for the cheapest price. It would usually take the last hour of every day."
As soon as they joined Cambrian Alliance and started using e-CASS - that job didn't need to be done. "That time is freed up because we automatically get the cheapest price through e-CASS."
They can go on e-CASS, check their prices across each supplier in one place, and decide where and when to order. It's easy to see if suppliers have accepted orders, and they can even send orders direct to specific suppliers that will deliver afternoon or next day delivery if it's urgent.
But it wasn't only having e-CASS' cascade system that saved Jit and his team time. Having Ula and Lee as his Business Manager was also a big help in dealing with the complexities of supply.
Every month, his Business Manager visiting makes it clearer - using his monthly purchasing profit report to analyse how the team are ordering and suggest adjustments and features on e-CASS they can use to simplify their ordering process.
And because our Business Managers are close to our pharmacists - it means we always have suggestions for changes that will really help members. The most recent Jit loves is our price alerts.
"I can anticipate what is going to be out of stock, or increase in price. The alerts told me that Atorvastatin was rising in price with 2 of my suppliers.
So I checked the stock I'd need for the month - and ordered enough. Within a week or so the price had tripled, so fortunately I was able to save a lot of money.”
It's the transparency he needs to do things quicker. Rather than listening to rumours or wasting time on multiple portals, Jit has the most relevant info to hand, able to act quicker, and get back to servicing his patients.
Jitendra Ghoniya
Independent Prescriber & Pharmacist,
Croesysceiliog Pharmacy
Independent Community Pharmacy
Cwmbran, South Wales
6500+
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