Post Acquisition Report on Small Pharmacy Group

The new owner of a small group of 3 pharmacies in London asked Pharmacy Consulting Ltd (PCL) to assess how well each of the pharmacies acquired was being run, and what opportunities or problems might be apparent. PCL was also asked to contribute to the staff handbook for new company which was to set out rules to which staff would be expected to adhere

The Pharmacy Consulting Solution

PCL arranged for their senior consultant, who was a qualified pharmacist, to initially work in each pharmacy for a day as a locum. This gave an opportunity to see how the businesses were truly operated. Subsequently, pre-arranged return visits were made to each pharmacy, with the staff being aware that a business consultant was to visit. The combination of intelligence gathered during both types of visit allowed PCL to advise the client of a considerable number of operational areas requiring attention. PCL also identified some business development opportunities that had not previously been identified

The customer benefits

Although the client was a pharmacist, and had carefully studied the pharmacies before acquiring them, he had nagging doubts that what he saw when he was present in the pharmacies was not representative of what customers experienced. This doubt indeed proved to be the case in several areas, where at best poor habits had crept in since the change in ownership. The report thus allowed the client to tighten up controls on security and also to increase investment in staff training. The work conducted by PCL on the staff handbook, meant that staff knew exactly where they stood on a whole raft of subjects where previously no-one knew what the company policy was.