The largest pharmacy chain in Central and Eastern Europe

• Dr.Max operates in Serbia since 2019
• Pharmacies at 147 locations in Serbia

Katarina Milovanović | Category Manager

Dr.Max Serbia has been using Quant since 2019. Could you explain what was your motivation to search for
the space planning tool and why did you choose Quant?

After the integration of nine legal entities in one POS system (more than 120 pharmacies), we got an opportunity to work in one unique code system. It was a great challenge to have a suitable assortment in the majority of Pharmacies (at that point, the ordering system was not under control). There was no Category Management System installed. As the pharmacies were different by their sales, assortments, space and equipment, the problem was how to achieve control over sales and to complete the agreed contract with manufacturers.

Our goal was to have an assortment for each pharmacy that was agreed and at the same time to meet the needs of the pharmacists and patients. It was important to try to make planograms based on the sales data of each pharmacy. We had a great recommendation regarding Quant from our colleagues from the Czech Republic and we chose it according to their good results. All that we need at this point was completely covered by Quant solutions. We have an easy accessibility and communication with pharmacies, the possibility to expand cooperation to manufacturers and suppliers. All the data analytics regarding space and sales provided us with an opportunity to create planograms in order to achieve maximum benefit for patients and company.

After you started with Quant, how long did it take to implement the system and what were the first benefits?

Pilot project started in Q1 2019 in three pharmacies. Two pharmacies are near a health centre and one pharmacy is a street pharmacy. At the same time, we implemented in those three pharmacies the people counter system to track the parameters like the number of customers, the number of passing customers, the time spent in the pharmacy, working hours, the cold and hot places in the pharmacy etc. The goal was to increase the sale of OTC products agreed with the commercial department.

In the end, the result was more than 24  % increase of total sales and 8  % increase for OTC placed products.

After the month of June, we rolled out the project in ten pharmacies. All the pharmacies were included until the end of 2019. Final result was that protocol OTC product sales represented more than 80% of total OTC sales at the end of 2019.

Have you used Quant Web from the beginning? How difficult it was for pharmacies to get used to it?

Pharmacies accepted this project with great enthusiasm. In the beginning, there was a big change for pharmacies that did not meet the assortments and categories, but the sale was done according to the demand of patients. Over time, pharmacies realized that the assortment makes the job easier; thus, there weren’t many objections. We respected and listened to every suggestion of the pharmacies within the limits which were possible. All pharmacies now have individual planograms in accordance with their sales. The assortments are similar for similar types of pharmacies, but the templates are certainly adjusted individually. Moreover, if our pharmacies did not have standard furniture, we managed to do everything in a short period of time. It is important that we managed to teach pharmacies to sell the agreed assortments and to keep stocks within the expected limits.

Do you use integrated communication channels like Chat?

Chat was very helpful for communication and well accepted by pharmacies. We encouraged our colleagues to participate actively in communication and give suggestions. On the other hand, we tried to respond very quickly and constructively.

What about photo documentation functionality integrated in Quant?

We started in Q3 2020 to use photo documentation. It wasn’t mandatory at the beginning, because all the pharmacies did not have technical possibilities (wireless internet, or smartphones).

Were you able to set up the automatic data transfers between your ERP and Quant?

POS system in which we work was able to adjust and set to have automatic connection. It took us a few months to complete and finish the automatic data transfer. The first few months before the automatic data transfer we did manual import of data and now we have daily automatic transfer (individual store data like sales / stock, and product data).

During this time, we did manage to create categories in POS, and to define an article for each level of categories, collect all data regarding products, collect all data regarding Technical plans for each pharmacy. After automatic data transfer, it was easy to create planograms adjusted to each pharmacy according to their sales and stock levels. Of course, there is also a possibility to create general planograms for the similar types of pharmacies.

What are your favourite reports and features?

It is important to emphasise that the work is very simple for pharmacies and that it has a very easy access. We have access to space and shelves overview at any time to each pharmacy. We often use the placed product overview for new pharmacies. Last two months, we had the acquisition of 26 pharmacies and we did not have any problems with the preparation of planograms and orders.

How would you rate the quality of the support?

Support team is more than efficient. Everything is resolved very quickly and clearly explained.

What are the main results of the project so far and what are your future plans and targets in the area of space planning and category management?

We managed in a short time to reach a protocol OTC sale of 87  % in relation to non-protocol items. Pharmacies easily accepted the positioning. Through the introduction of photo documentation, we hope for even better compliance. In Q3 and Q4 2020, we plan to introduce the marketing materials. In Q2 2021, we want to present Shelf Labels Types through Quant.

Would you recommend Quant to others?

I would sincerely recommend Quant to all types of retail business regardless of the developmental stage they are in. We started from a lot of simultaneous projects and did not have major challenges in setting up categories, thanks to the solutions offered by Quant.

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Analysis comparing space and sales in individual shelves

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24 % increase of total sales

8 % increase of sales of OTC placed products

Protocol OTC product sales represented more than 80% of total OTC sales at the end of 2019