Pharmaceuticals send tens of thousands of shipments daily. Each is accompanied by 10-20 sheets of paper. In just one month, the archive of even an average pharmaceutical distributor or pharmacy chain is replenished with 40 boxes of paper (this is a half-ton pallet). As a result, each pharmaceutical company literally spends millions of dollars a month on paper and related processes.
With Cogential IT expertise and track record you can easily automate all the hassle involved in ordering from a multiple McKession suppliers to selling medicines to a buyer with the help of reliable EDI.
- EDI will save you money and time:
- an electronic document is ten times cheaper than a paper document
- electronic archive does not take up space
- checks and courts with electronic documents
McKesson Corporation is the oldest and largest healthcare company in the United States with more than 50% of hospitals and 20% of physicians. McKesson with the SAP Ariba ensured delivery of products and services to patients in need by developing a smart, cost effective, user-friendly procurement system that enabled the healthcare provider to make value-based decisions and saving $2 million with e-sourcing.
How does EDI work in pharmaceuticals
While the majority of pharmacy chains issue orders for pharmaceutical products electronically, paper is often used in other workflow processes. Many pharmaceutical distributors prepare delivery documents in paper form, sending them to pharmacies along with the goods through the driver.
The implementation of the Cogential IT EDI service automates the document flow of a distributor with pharmacy chains at all stages, from the purchase of medicines to the receipt of closing documents for the transaction. In parallel, the service solves other important tasks of document flow.
Below we have
- The distributor publishes in the EDI a price list with master data (characteristics, photos, certificates, etc.), and customers who subscribe to it receive notifications of the change.
- According to the visual catalog in the EDI data or from its accounting system, the pharmacy places an order. EDI checks the compliance of the terms and prices with the contract and transfers the order to the distributor.
- The distributor makes the shipment according to the order. Only the bill of lading is printed for the cargo, the invoice and other documents are sent to the EDI.
- EDI will automatically upload electronic documents to the pharmacy's accounting system, significantly speeding up the acceptance of goods. And they will go to the network accounting department for verification immediately after acceptance.
Below are listed common EDI documents
- EDI 810 invoice
- EDI 850 purchase order
- EDI 855 purchase order acknowledgment
- EDI 856 shipment notice/manifest
- EDI 997 functional acknowledgment
Pharmaceuticals are distinguished by a large volume of document flow between the distributor and the pharmacy. In these conditions, the transition to paperless technologies greatly simplifies the work with documents for us and our clients. When it comes to connecting with McKession EDI or any other particular OMMs, we at Cogential IT, offers you a complete solution irrespective of how complex your business.
Another important process is the workflow between a pharmaceutical manufacturer and distributors. The significant growth of companies producing pharmaceutical products on the market, coupled with an increase in supply volumes, leads to the fact that each year the manufacturer and supplier exchange millions of documents with each other. At the same time, a significant part of the documents is paper.
The Cogential IT with McKession service allows you to automate the document flow between the manufacturer and the distributor, converting the exchange of any documents into electronic form. Through the service, you can exchange invoices, price negotiation protocols and any other, including structured, information.
Among the advantages that both parties receive when using the cloud-based EDI service from us are: fast and transparent exchange of documents, reduction of costs for printing and maintaining paper archives, prompt corrections, elimination of document losses, etc.
Also Read : Complete EDI Solution for ANSI X12 Transactions