Page 43 - Retail Pharmacy November/Decemeber 2020

vaccinations, and there can be no doubt from any stakeholders that the pharmacy channel can and will provide this service with the highest levels of customer satisfaction. And when it comes to customer satisfaction, I’m humbled by the leadership displayed within our network of pharmacies throughout this pandemic. Our NPS scores have been at their highest, which is really saying something given the mindset of our customers and, understandably, our teams. It takes real leadership to be able to put personal issues and concerns to one side to service customers, and I think that being Covid-19: an unprecedented response Kurt O’Brien, Head of Amcal and Guardian Covid-19 became an all-consuming global situation calling for an unprecedented response by our government, healthcare system and our communities. Early on, our Amcal and Guardian brands, along with all Australian pharmacies, understood we would play a pivotal role in frontline support, helping to empower patients to take proactive self-care measures and relieving some of the pressure on our allied healthcare partners, including GPs and hospitals. Immediately, our attention turned to putting in place practical measures to protect the health and safety of our frontline staff, along with our communities in which we serve. For our communities, our focus was to ensure a holistic and accessible Going above and beyond to safeguard health Patrick Stoll, Head of Discount Drug Stores and Chemist King As we approach the end of 2020, I feel it’s important to reflect on a year that will most certainly go down in history. I don’t believe anyone could have predicted the ferocity of Covid-19 and the impact it would have on our industry, our teams and our customers. Our whole industry has had to adapt quickly, to part of a broader network sharing the load has provided support. I’m also humbled by the productivity of our group. We’ve delivered industry leading education programs, with our recent virtual Academy Live and Masterclass Forum attracting more than 600 pharmacists and pharmacy assistants from across the network. We’ve fast-tracked digital initiatives including improvements to our e-commerce platform, enhancements to our health app functionality, strong promotion of our e-prescribing, and delivery and click-and-collect services. On top of all this, we launched a approach to patient healthcare. We worked in close collaboration with our supplier and delivery partners, such as MedAdvisor, to expedite our medicine delivery program to those most vulnerable in our communities, including those within regional and rural areas where the closest pharmacies were in nearby towns. Additionally, through our Amcal and Guardian home delivery service we were able to reach metro markets, some of which were under tightened physical restrictions. Ultimately, this speed and agility enabled our pharmacy team members on the ground to support local healthcare needs, while remaining flexible and sensitive to the changing environment around us. While we aren’t on the other side of Covid-19 yet, our commitment remains the same: supporting our national network of pharmacy teams as we, like many, navigate new and unseen times in pharmacy, and working side by side with our franchise partners to prepare for 2021 and beyond. continue delivering the services our customers need. With the power of Sigma Healthcare behind us, I’m proud to say Discount Drug Stores (DDS) and Chemist King have been able to navigate the uncertainty of this pandemic safely, showing great strength and adaptability across all facets of our business. From developing and improving our home delivery app, to creating makeshift drive-throughs and offering home delivery services, DDS and Chemist King have rolled out a series of game- changing initiatives to continue helping Australians adapt to a new normal, ANNUAL REPORT 41 sophisticated new stock optimisation platform, BuyBetter, which is driving more gross profit dollars at this critical time. Perhaps most importantly, we’ve grown profitability through the network, showing agility in adapting trading plans, merchandise initiatives and ensuring that our offer to customers has been relevant and compelling. Finally, we’ve been able to grow the network over this period. So, for TWC, while 2020 could have been a year to forget, our network has made it a year to remember. I would like to thank every one of our network partners for their contribution. In challenging times, it’s important to take stock, and this includes taking stock of the tenacity, patience and agility of our pharmacy team network, who embody our business’s spirit every day. Celebrating the achievements of our pharmacy teams is part of our brand’s DNA, and remained a focus when these achievements were being made in the face of testing, trying and, frankly, tough times. Early in the piece, it was fundamental we celebrated the uplifting stories of people on the ground, and reflect their stories back to one another. It demonstrated a collective purpose and a unified network supporting the community and each other. For example, this included launching our ‘Pharmacy Champion’ content series, which featured the creation of a digital ‘thank you’ collage made from physically distant store selfies from across the country, in honour of our tireless pharmacists, pharmacy assistants and pharmacy teams. with extra focus on caring for our most vulnerable community members. Our dedicated pharmacists, pharmacy assistants and teams across both brands have all gone above and beyond to ensure the health of their communities has remained the number one priority, and to them we say thank you. Our vision has always been focused: we aim to make everything simple, as life and health can be confusing enough as it is. So, as we move forward during these unknown times, DDS and Chemist King will continue to develop in the digital space to ensure we’re providing the modern consumer with a seamless RETAIL PHARMACY • NOV/DEC 2020