Our client, a prominent state-owned pharmaceutical company in Europe, holds a dominant position in the Norwegian market with over 400 outlets and more than 40% market share. HCLTech initiated our partnership with them as an IT-managed services provider, gradually evolving into a reliable value-enabling partner, supporting 450 stores, two warehouses, over 600 suppliers and nearly 6,000 items per store.
The Challenge
Upgrading systems for rapid business expansion
Our client's rapid business growth outpaced the capabilities of their legacy systems, necessitating an upgrade to a highly scalable solution. Inconsistent pharmacy service levels among wholesalers posed operational challenges. Customized solutions were needed to maximize business value, and integration with third-party material handling systems was imperative.
The Objective
Goals for retail operational modernization
The primary objective was modernizing operations and enhancing service levels across the retail network. The key objectives were to:
- Upgrade to a scalable solution to meet evolving business requirements
- Address inconsistent service levels among wholesalers
- Develop customized solutions to maximize business value
- Integrate with third-party material handling systems for seamless operations
The Solution
Custom solutions for supply chain optimization
HCLTech's approach involved evolving from SLA-based application support to a managed service model with a risk-reward-based commercial model. Customized solutions included:
- Introduction of hierarchy management to streamline historical data
- Implementation of demand classification and forecast algorithms for accurate analysis
- Optimization of inventory management by aggregating demand and syncing dispatch with actual sales
- Introduction of new functionality for automated replenishment processes
- Implementation of safety stock calculation and transformation from a push-to-pull model for supply chain planning
The Impact
Significant improvement in end-to-end supply chain visibility
Our client has driven substantial improvements in operational efficiency, inventory management and supply chain visibility, positioning them for continued success in the competitive pharmaceutical retail market. The implementation of the Blue Yonder Demand and Fulfillment Platform, coupled with HCLTech's customized solutions, delivered significant impact:
- Increase in overall SLA for application support and maintenance from 70% to 98%
- Improvement in system availability from 95% to 99%
- 5%-6% improvement in forecast accuracy
- 8% reduction in store inventory and nearly 30% reduction in warehouse inventory
- 10%-12% reduction in overall safety stock levels
- Significant improvement in end-to-end supply chain visibility
