IT Singapore
June Issue, 2000
Page 42
By Hayma Suppiah-Shandre
Alcare Pharmaceuticals customizes reports to comply with clients’
requirements
ESTABLISHED in 1983, Alcare Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd has a
small retail outlet in Balestier Plaza but its main revenue is derived from
wholesale distribution. The consumer sale averages $20,000 a month, which on
its own is not substantial. The company’s core revenue comes from wholesale
distribution for large pharmaceutical firms. It distributes products for
pharmaceutical firms like Smith & Nephew and Bayer. The company has an
annual turnover of $4 million and staff strength of 12. Inventory is kept in
three locations with a warehouse in Hougang that is managed by one staff.
Prior to the implementation of Solomon Software,
the company relied on Form G that was written by a pharmacist. The software was
written to comply with the legal requirements of the pharmaceutical industry.
The company then switched to IUS, a standalone system.
In 1997,
the company invested in Solomon Software version 2.06 from Pro SVC Management
Pte Ltd. It opted for accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger,
inventory, purchasing and order entry. Reports were customized to meet the
trade requirements. The POS (third-party Solomon Software system) was also
integrated to the back-end system. Chua Chwee Hong, pharmacist/manager at
Alcare Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd, explained the benefits of an integrated system:
“Previously, we had to export the transaction data into the IUS accounting
system to monitor the inventory. But now with Solomon Software, this problem is
eliminated. Under the inventory module, we have a re-order point. For example,
if a product entry hits below this point, a Purchase Order will be
automatically churned out for this product. This will prompt us to place an
order for this product. This ensures we have ready stock.”
But the
migration path to Solomon Software was not easy for Alcare Pharmaceuticals.
First of all, the pharmaceutical company could not get the reports according to
their clients’ requirements. Thus, they had to customize the reports to comply
with their principals’ requirements. She explained: “Bayer, our principal had
their own requirement with regards to reports, which was not available on
Solomon system. Similarly, I have other principals with similar requirements.
Thus I have to regularly customize the reports according to each of their
requirements. Normally we sent them a hard copy. But for Gillette, another
principal, we export the data to Excel spreadsheet and send it via e-mail.”
According
to Chua, the system is very user friendly. “There is a display screen which was
not available on the previous system. The Form G system was a simple program
that was written mainly for legal purposes. In pharmaceutical trade, we have to
keep an inventory record called Form G, which is checked regularly by the
Ministry of Health. Although this is included in Solomon Software, this is
included in Solomon Software, this is not working that well now. This problem
is also due to the various brands that are available for a single product. Now
we are exporting the data back to Form G for such reports. But we will be working
with Pro SVC to resolve this issue.”
Alcare
Pharmaceuticals invested $30,000 in the system, which include hardware. They
invested in an OEM server that was later upgraded to a HP server. Future plans
include going online. She is considering branching into e-commerce. For now,
she is planning on setting up a Website with the assistance of Pro SVC.