X/Procure® - Electronic Procurement & Media Solutions

Primedia Unlimited subsidiary X/procure® recently had reason to celebrate as the company has reached the R15 billion order processing mark, an impressive achievement by anyone’s standards. “We are very proud that our first R5 billion was achieved within three years of operating, R10 billion in just under five years of inception and our most recent achievement, R15 billion, achieved in just twelve months thereafter,” says X/procure’s® MD Deon Lewis. “Since our inception in 2001, these accolades have only stemmed from the processing of electronic orders through our system and doesn’t include revenue gained from advertising on our electronic procurement software, nor the advertising opportunities through our partnerships with dispensing software vendors. It’s a fantastic achievement which is reiterated by the energetic vibe of our team.”Over the past seven years, pharmacists have been introduced to the innovative software countrywide, allowing the company to effectively increase its national footprint. Through a combination of defined expertise, efficient team work and pharmacists relying more and more on X/procure’s® procurement system the company has been able to deliver on its promises of fast and efficient order placing, speedy regret reporting and constant product innovation.X/procure’s® electronic procurement software system is currently installed in over 50% of South African pharmacies, facilitating the purchase of scheduled and OTC pharmaceutical, surgical and front shop requirements directly from wholesalers and distributors. The groundbreaking software successfully allows users to search a database of well over one million line items, accurately compare prices, deals and specials, and easily build, send and manage purchase orders.“We are incredibly proud of the results that our system has produced,” commented JD Henderson, Executive Director of Sales and Marketing at X/procure®.  “We know that the R15 Billion mark is only the beginning of what is still to come!”

Due to generic legislations many ethical drug manufacturers need to find smarter methods of communicating with pharmacists in order to promote their products. By law, a pharmacist is obliged to ask a patient if they would rather prefer an alternative generic medication which may not have been the practitioner’s first choice. “As an ethical manufacturer, Merck has commissioned two of its products, Concor, treating high blood pressure ailments, and Diabion which treats diabetes, to trial our unique Ordering and Dispensing system,” says X/procure® MD Deon Lewis. “The aim is to increase awareness of these two drugs directly to two separate markets.” “The Ordering software system is accessed directly by pharmacists who place electronic orders for OTC and scheduled line item orders. Through strategically placed banner advertising and screen savers, over 1500 pharmacists will have access to the communication, and be reminded of the availability and product benefits of these two Merck drugs.”Secondly, when a patient has collected their medication at the point of dispensing, a Concor specific printed message appears on all hypertension related medical scripts. Again, the communication is shared with patients who suffer from an illness where Concor would be the most beneficial,” says Deon. “The patient can either ask the pharmacist for the ethical Merck drug or consider it when filling in a repeat script. So far, through dipstick research, the increased awareness levels of both Concor and Diabion have been exceptional.”

Leading pharmaceutical procurement software provider, X/procure®, has designed an innovative way to reward loyal pharmacy customers. Celebrating their 7th birthday this year, the Primedia Unlimited subsidiary is rewarding supporters who have helped create the Technology Top 100 rated company.  “Pharmacists use our software on a daily basis,” says X/procure®’s MD Deon Lewis. “They rely on it for procurement of stock, up-to-date product information, availability of alternate products and accurate pricing. Now we are providing an additional reason for pharmacists to use our ordering system.”The rewards scheme activates every time the pharmacist uses the system, the more they use it, the more rewards they reap. Each time a user logs into the system, X/points are earned, these loyalty points are processed on a daily basis and pharmacists are electronically updated on their X/points balance. At the end of the month pharmacists need only decide how they want to redeem their points. They can either exchange the X/points for money or accumulate these for entry to one of X/procure®’s fabulous competitions.“We strongly believe in a reward system and have always had a structure in place but until now the individual pharmacists had no control of how much they were rewarded,” adds Deon. “Now they have full control. The more X/points they accumulate the bigger the rewards.”