B2C eCommerce sales are expected to reach $2.4 trillion by the end of 2017 and B2B sales will ring in a whopping $7.7 trillion worldwide. Yes, these are large numbers but not very surprising considering that the buying habits of consumers have been moving to the online sphere for years. It's no different when it comes to the pharmaceutical industry as customers, such as independent pharmacies, also have been turning to the web for optimal buying experiences. Inevitably, with this change, we've seen new and innovative pharmaceutical eCommerce platforms such as Trxade, sprout up expanding the market by offering faster, more efficient ways for distributors to sell their products.
How does Trxade work? It is a web-based US, supplier-to-pharmacy marketplace created to bring independent pharmacies and qualified/accredited national suppliers/distributors of pharmaceuticals together to provide efficient and transparent buying and selling opportunities. Since the launch of the platform back in 2010, it has opened and expanded the distribution channel to more than 8000 independent pharmacies and features 40+ track and trace and NABP (previously VAWD) compliant wholesalers... and these numbers are on the rise. Pharmacy customers are able to compare pricing, product information, and seller's information all from Trxade.
Benefits of selling on Trxade
- 1 out of 3 independent pharmacies in the U.S. use Trxade which means greater exposure of distributor product.
- Trusted source for customers- only federal and state licensed pharmacies and distributors (track and trace/ DSCSA compliant) can become members of Trxade.
- There are no membership or transaction fees for buyers (pharmacies). Instead, Trxade will charge distributors selling their product, a small transaction fee.
- Saves distributors and customers time not having to take/place orders through email or telephone and online orders can be placed 24/7.
- Can send customers direct transaction pedigree information via web portal, invoice/pedigree request combo at point of sale, or by directly requesting transaction history – up to six years from point of sale from each supplier.
- Each product search result enables members to view the supplier’s catalog of inventory uploaded to the site, send a message to the supplier before the purchase, and see additional information on the supplier, such as the supplier’s shipping methods and terms & conditions.
- Offers opportunities for distributors to sell products with shorter expiration dates “Short-Dated Items”. Since not all customers require long expiration dates on products, using Trxade provides distributors a way to offer their short-dated inventory to the market, often at a reduced rate, benefiting both the distributor and customer.
Optimizing Trxade with Blue Link ERP and eCommerce integration
While for most distributors, it's a no-brainer to have an online presence, it's important to be prepared for online selling as sales volumes can potentially be a lot higher. One way to manage this type of growth is integrating a pharmaceutical focused ERP system with Trxade or any other secure web portal to manage sales coming in through eCommerce channels and associated back-end processes to offer your online customers a fast and reliable buying experience. Blue Link ERP integrates with Trxade to allow the flow of information such as sales orders and customer/shipping, payment information directly from Trxade to Blue Link, which means data is only entered into the system once.
Inventory Allocation
The beauty of having an integrated Pharmaceutical ERP system like Blue Link connected to online selling platforms is that once the order is placed online, Blue Link will automatically allocate product/inventory for order fulfillment in real-time. The updated inventory quantities are then published to the online store. Users can also set up criteria for evaluating orders, such as product availability and total order amount, and if all criteria are met the order gets sent through to the warehouse for picking – without a human having to manually perform any tasks.
Picking, Packing, and Shipping
Once inventory gets allocated, the warehouses have access to accurate inventory and shipping information, all-in-one system. Orders are processed correctly and in a timely fashion. Blue Link ERP allows various warehouse management activities such as:
- Managing multiple warehouse locations
- Creating consolidated pick slips for convenient picking
- Tracking inventory based on bin/shelf plus overflow locations
- Allowing users to print shipping labels directly from the system
- Ability to integrate mobile handheld picking and barcode verification scanning
- Serial number/lot number selection can be associated with products to track the history of the product
Maintaining Accreditation
To remain a Trxade member, facilities must maintain their accreditation. Blue Link ERP allows for product traceability to keep track of which customers received specific shipments (useful for achieving and maintaining FDA/DEA/NABP compliance). Trxade also allows distributors to quickly pull Transaction History information and compliance documentation associated with any product that has been in their possession to send to customers who request it.
