Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for pharmacy chains.
A checklist built from how pharmacy chains 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.
- Central purchasing and allocation
- Inter-branch transfers
- Price lists and promotions by branch group
- Shared patient profile
- Batch tracking and recall handling
- Branch audit and checklists
- Head office dashboards
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For head office buyers
- For branch pharmacists
- For area managers
- For finance and pricing
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Cover and short-dated value by shelf bay
- Transfers in transit against transfers received
- Recall lots matched to holding branches
- Sales and margin by branch group and tier
- Promotion take-up by branch and till
- Audit scores with open findings and repeat failures
- Pharmacist cover against the branch rota
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Manufacturer and wholesaler order files
- Electronic prescription feed
- Barcode scanner
- Card and wallet payments
- Accounting and ERP export
- SMS and WhatsApp
- Label printer
- Courier tracking
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does one patient profile work across all branches?
- How does a recall reach the shelf?
- Can we keep different ranges for different branches?
- How are transfers valued?
- Can a branch work through a poor connection?
- What do area managers use in the field?
- Can it link with our accounting software?
- How long does a rollout take?
- What decides the cost?
- Is a small group too small for this?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- A recall must reach every shelf
- Stock sits in the wrong branch
- Prices drift between counters
- Patients are strangers at the next branch
- Branch audits run on paper checklists
Prefer to talk it through? See the pharmacy chains page.