Fund Your Pharmacy Hub and Spoke with Finance

Pharmacy dispensing workflows are crying out for automation. But with community pharmacy currently facing the biggest funding challenge in its history, finding the money to cover the costs of technology can be difficult to say the least. Louise Laban, Director of Sales and Marketing for Centred Solutions why a finance option could be the perfect solution.

It is no secret that there is currently a serious funding shortfall across community pharmacy. To survive in this challenging landscape pharmacies are being asked to turn their attention to patient facing services to generate more income. But pharmacies find themselves in a catch 22 situation. To deliver these new services busy pharmacies, who are already under pressure, need to free up staff time. Pharmacy automation is cited as one way to release that time but this requires significant investment at a time when money is in short supply.

The Cost of Pharmacy Automation 

Investing in automation can leave a sizeable dent in business finances and with many pharmacies nearing crisis point this simply isn’t an option. That’s why we are now providing a range of financing options for all FLOWRx Hub solutions, meaning pharmacies can start their hub and spoke journey today without having to pay for it upfront.

When money is tight it is easy to focus attention on cutting costs. But there is much more power in considering investments that can future-proof businesses, making them more profitable. Using financing for such investments makes it more accessible and achievable.

By taking this route a business can pay for its hub and spoke project over time rather than in one lump sum. This provides the opportunity to fund a solution with the efficiencies or savings it generates. It enables pharmacies to access the technology they need now to streamline dispensing workflows and free up staff time without being hindered by budgetary constraints.

FlowRx Pharmacy Solutions

Our FLOWRx Hub technology has the potential to save an average pharmacy 4 hours and 27 minutes per branch per day. That freed up time can then be used to deliver NHS or private services in store, generating much needed revenue. We have developed a tool which demonstrates just how much revenue can be generated with this time for different services. Take a look. Equally we believe that centralising the pharmacy dispensing workflow, supported by technology, can result in stock savings of up to 40% delivering much-needed savings for pharmacies.

Financial savings with  FLOWRx Hub technology

These savings or newly generated revenue, which have only become possible by investing in automation, can then be put towards finance repayments. This means it is possible that financing an automation project could be net savings positive to pharmacy businesses – right from the moment the technology is installed. Project costs can be spread over three to five years and can be managed easily through affordable direct debit payments.

There are also other budgetary benefits that can be realised by opting for a finance plan to pay for a hub and spoke automation project. As pharmacies are not paying for the investment in one go it allows them to keep capital within their business so they can invest that in growth or keep it in the bank to boost cash flow. You might for example opt for a financing option for pharmacy automation so you can preserve cash for investment in expansion through acquisition of other pharmacy businesses. Having the cash available in the bank as well as the technology to support that expansion makes it less of a dream and more of a reality.

Opting for a financing approach also means pharmacies are not putting all their cash into depreciating assets. They may also avoid having to part with VAT as a lump sum upfront as this will often be spread over a repayment plan. Any financing offer will obviously be subject to credit approval but in a challenging environment this could be a way to transform the way pharmacies work. With schemes such as “Pharmacy First” imminent it is crucial that pharmacies start looking at new ways of working and exploring how they free up time to deliver those services. There has never been a better time to explore the options available and a lack of investment doesn’t have to be a blocker to starting an automation or hub and spoke journey.

Hub and Spoke Financing With  Centred Solutions

I would encourage all pharmacies looking at hub and spoke solutions to consider financing as an option to start their journey today, future proofing their pharmacy for what lies ahead. You can reach out to us if you are interested in hearing the indicative costs for financing. We can also put you in touch with a range of reputable companies who can support you with financing. We also recommend that you take independent advice from your own accountant or financing expert.