Alliance Healthcare imail Case Study

INTRODUCTION

Alliance Healthcare is a leading international provider of pharmaceutical wholesale, offering innovative added-value services to independent pharmacists and pharmaceutical manufacturers across Europe and beyond. Alliance Healthcare is a member of Alliance Boots.

Alliance Healthcare was looking to streamline the mail operation within two of its UK businesses: Alliance Healthcare (Distribution) Ltd. and the Group’s homecare business - Central Homecare. The objective was to lower overheads, reduce administrative requirements and enhance the service provided to customers.

THE SOLUTION

Alliance Healthcare and Central Homecare send letters to business and residential addresses across the UK via imail using a two-day delivery service. Alliance Healthcare sends up to three thousand credit notes each month to independent pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturers, whilst Central Homecare sends between three and four thousand items each month that are made up of statements, invoices and other forms of customer correspondence.

Both companies have previously used traditional postal services, with all items printed, enveloped and mailed manually using internal resources or specially-employed temporary staff. By automating the mail process using imail, it has been possible to remove internal administrative requirements, which had proved to be uneconomical in terms of time and financial costs. It has also been possible to further reduce mail overheads by no longer needing to procure stationery, ink, printers and franking machines to support in-house mail needs.

In addition, an Application Programming Interface (API) has enabled the imail system to be integrated with back-office systems. This has meant that the submission of mail items has been fully automated with a cut-off time of 6pm for same-day printing, so that all customer communications arrive two days after posting. This has not only improved cash flow, but also improved client perception by ensuring all letters are mailed in a timely fashion.

“Using imail our mailings can now go out quicker, cheaper and without the manual labour required to print, envelope and prepare letters ready for collection. We are already making substantial savings when compared to our previous processes, whilst creating a mail solution with high levels of added flexibility, simplicity and responsiveness.”
Head of Finance, Alliance Healthcare

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