Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for online pharmacies.
A checklist built from how online pharmacies work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Order queue from every channel
- Prescription check by line
- Batch scan and expiry picking
- Cold-chain dispatch
- Courier status and returned parcels
- Refill dates and repeat orders
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For the responsible pharmacist
- For packers and the dispatch bay
- For the support desk
- For buyers and the owner
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Orders waiting for pharmacist review, by age
- Lines rejected or queried, with reason
- Batches dispatched, by patient and parcel
- Cold-chain parcels and courier delay
- Returned parcels and their disposal
- Refills due and reminders answered
- Near-expiry stock by batch
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Website or app storefront
- Marketplace listings
- Payment gateway
- Courier booking connections
- SMS and messaging
- Accounting export
- Label printer
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it replace our storefront?
- How is the prescription tied to the order?
- Can it stop a restricted medicine from being sold?
- Can it trace a lot to a patient?
- How does it handle insulin and other cold-chain items?
- What happens when a parcel is returned?
- Can patients receive refill reminders?
- Can we use our own couriers?
- Can customer and order data be exported?
- How is a quotation prepared?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Prescription and order live in different tools
- Recall notices cannot be answered quickly
- Cold-chain parcels run against a clock
- Returned parcels re-enter stock unchecked
- Monthly customers drift to other sellers
Prefer to talk it through? See the online pharmacies page.