Leader in data-driven insights to optimize shipping and freight operations unveils tools for critical prescriptions at the 2023 National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) Annual Meeting & Expo
Columbus, OH, Sept. 19, 2023 — VPL, a leading provider of smart supply chain software for the healthcare market, unveils new solutions and services to support pharmacy distribution accuracy and proactive shipping intervention. VPL TrajectRx provides accurate, exportable, transparent shipping metrics in an on-demand dashboard to simplify distribution accuracy and performance improvement trend reporting, preparing customers for accreditation audits.
Additionally, the dashboard provides actionable insights to inform budgeting decisions and drive operational improvements and service level accuracy accountability. VPL introduced the new features at the 2023 NASP Annual Meeting & Expo, Sept. 18-21.
“We built this shipping workflow with audits and accreditation in mind to save the pharmacy time on the back end,” said Amanda Awe, PharmD, RPh, Director of Pharmacy Products and Solutions for VPL. “Maintaining accreditation status gives pharmacies access to the prescriptions their patients need. Additionally, performance improvements such as Proof of Delivery drive cost savings; Pharmacists and their patients are happy, CFOs are happy, and everyone wins.”
VPL’s new solutions and services address longstanding challenges in the industry.
Pharmacies are 100% responsible for the outbound logistics but lack visibility into how to improve operational efficiency. As a result, distribution errors have grown to account for 5X more errors than in the dispensing of prescriptions. To maintain accreditation and remain profitable, pharmacies must report on their distribution accuracy metrics, which takes time to gather and detracts from patient care.
VPL also announced a tiered service offering to help pharmacies monitor critical shipments and intervene as needed.
“Specialty patients have high expectations because the stakes are high,” Awe said. “The reality is, that shipping will never be a 100% accurate process, yet Specialty Pharmacy has a 0% margin for error. That is why offering proactive monitoring and targeted intervention from the same system is the optimal all-in-one solution customers need to get patients their medications.”
VPL’s Proactive Shipping Intervention service includes monitoring, rescue, and intervention if needed, with the aim to reduce the cost associated with reships. VPL’s Customer Success team conducts both preventative analysis and reactive support when something goes wrong with a package. Proactive Shipping Intervention is tech-enabled and can be purchased as a professional service or used by pharmacy staff as a self-service tool.
The solution allows pharmacies to not only monitor and rescue packages, but also eliminate the underlying cause for package rescue.
“We often hear pharmacists using three or four systems for last-mile logistics, so we’re trying to simplify wherever we can,” Awe said. “VPL centralized access to all carriers and tech-enabled couriers, and we recently reduced our shipping workflow to 5 seconds and integrated into some of the leading dispensing systems to save more time. Offering proactive monitoring and targeted intervention from the same system was the obvious next step to giving customers the all-in-one solution they need.”
About VPL
VPL delivers visibility and resiliency to clinical supply chains. By making the procurement-through-fulfillment processes smarter and more profitable, it creates a new supplier dynamic whereby customers benefit from reduced costs, better insights, and increased transparency and efficiency. VPL developed the industry’s only Smart Supply Chain Platform, which automates inbound and outbound shipping, unlocks visibility into the status of critical shipments, and identifies cost-saving opportunities for all of healthcare including IDNs, critical access, outpatient, and pharmacy. With more than 700 hospitals, 6,000 plus suppliers, and a 97 percent customer retention rate, it’s clear that VPL is the company the healthcare industry trusts to deliver savings, insights, and peace of mind. For more information, visit www.getvpl.com.
