Pharmaceutical or medical distributor

A pharmaceutical or medical distributor supplies pharmacies, clinics and hospitals with medicines and medical supplies, on account and by delivery. Kila runs it as a wholesale business and starts it with the pharmacy rules.

What is special

What a reader notices first is the rules: Kila starts a pharmaceutical distributor with the Pharmacy rules, “Drug schedules, prescriptions, pharmacist sign-off, batches and expiry”, the same ones a pharmacy follows. See the rules below.

None of the demo businesses is set up as a pharmaceutical distributor. The wholesale side, from the order desk to delivery and credit control, works as at Mombasa Road Distributors: see Wholesale and distribution.

How Kila sets it up

The main screen is Orders (take, pick, deliver).

Rules it follows:

• Pharmacy: Drug schedules, prescriptions, pharmacist sign-off, batches and expiry

Its words:

Most businesses	Pharmaceutical or medical distributor
sale	order
receipt	invoice
branch	depot

Its set-up steps

1. Business details and KRA PIN
2. Depots, warehouse and tills
3. Products with pack sizes and price lists
4. Principals and their products
5. Outlets with channels, credit limits and price lists
6. Routes and drivers (if delivering)
7. Trucks and vans with their capacity, and product weights
8. Sales reps and their beats
9. Opening balances

Its home page

• Orders to pick, to deliver and delivered today
• Trucks today: out, back and settled; stops delivered
• The order desk’s calls today
• Sales on account, payments, overdue balances
• Money overdue, promises and holds
• Cheques to bank, in hand and bounced
• Customers over their credit limit
• Vans and reps on the road today
• Reps against target this month
• Beats today: coverage and strike rate
• Sales to outlets by principal this month
• Trade schemes and claims to principals
• Market returns to receive and credit
• Stock to reorder; purchase orders due
• Licences, permits and returns due
• Payments waiting for confirmation
• Approvals and reviews waiting

Roles it starts with

• Order desk clerk: Takes customers’ orders at the order desk and builds quotations; takes in returns and empties at the depot. No refunds or discounts beyond the limit.
• Dispatcher: Plans deliveries, routes and trucks’ trips, picks and loads runs and vans, issues gate passes, dispatches orders, and takes back returns and empties. No prices or credit.
• Credit controller: Keeps customers within their credit: decides orders held over the limit, holds and lifts accounts, collects, keeps the cheque register, sends statements and credits market returns.
• Sales rep: Visits the customers on their beat: takes orders, sells from the van, collects, checks shelves, takes back returns and empties, and adds new outlets for approval. No prices, credit limits or other reps’ routes.
• Merchandiser: Visits outlets on their beat to check shelves and displays (must-sell lines, facings, prices, photos), records visits, expired stock and new outlets. No selling, prices or money.
• Sales manager: Runs the sales team: reps’ beats, targets and commissions, trade schemes, outlets from the road and credit over the limit within their own. No books or users.
• Area supervisor: Supervises the reps in their depot: approves outlets from the road, reconciles van days, checks shelves and follows coverage. No prices or credit limits.
• Principals and claims officer: Keeps the principals’ records: secondary sales files, scheme, price-difference and expiry claims and their settlement; inspects returns and disposes of damaged goods.
• Driver: Drives a truck’s trip: delivers each stop by line (short or refused with a reason), takes the money on delivery, brings back returns and empties, and hands in at settlement. No prices or credit limits.
• Cash office: Runs the cash-and-carry counter and the cash office: settles drivers’ trips and vans’ cash, keeps the cheque register and banks. No prices, credit limits or stock.
• Pharmacist: Approves prescription and pharmacy-only medicines, sells, keeps patients’ medication records and the controlled-drug register. Needs a PPB registration number.
• Pharmaceutical technologist: As a pharmacist: approves scheduled medicines, keeps medication records and the register. Needs a PPB registration number.
• Dispensing assistant: Sells over the counter and prepares prescriptions (with the patient’s record); a pharmacist approves scheduled medicines.
• Claims clerk: Insurance, SHA and scheme claims: covers, pre-authorisations, claim batches, remittances and ageing. No till.

Where to go next

• Wholesale and distribution: everything a distributor needs, from the order to the invoice.
• Selling medicines: the pharmacy rules.