Leading UK pharmacy simplifies data management with Managed File Transfer
Well is the largest independent pharmacy in the UK. In 2014, it was acquired from the Co-Operative Group by global business leader Bestway Group. With nearly 800 retail pharmacy locations and 7,000 employees, Well issues more than 73 million prescriptions a year. Their organisation proudly provides high quality services and products, providing personalised health and wellbeing services for their customers.
The challenge
After Bestway Group acquired Well, they wanted to eliminate their reliance on a significant number of file integration protocols, which were owned by their former parent company. Rather than duplicate the existing complicated systems, Well’s IT Project Manager used the transition as an opportunity to look for a more cost-effective and advanced file transfer solution. This would need to simplify and manage their automated and manual data transfers, whilst providing greater control and a more secure, reliable flow of data. This was particularly important for financial information such as invoices, orders and Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services (BACs) files, among many others. Managed File Transfer would reduce their reliance on multiple solutions and offer the following functions:
- Data management efficiency through one secure, centralised platform for enhanced visibility and control
- File transfer integration within their environment for business critical applications AND between third-party applications with partners, vendors, or suppliers exchanging data
- Automation of financial accounting data to save time, improve security and increase accuracy
- Full audit and reporting for improved diagnostics
- Rapid deployment of new transfers on receipt of business requirements
The solution
Well’s IT Project Manager contacted Pro2col to deliver ongoing support, integration and consultancy. Pro2col worked with Well for two months to identify the right solution and configuration, while still meeting their budget requirements.
With a full understanding of Well’s current and future environment, Pro2col recommended and implemented a solution, which included advanced workflow automation and auditing and reporting capabilities. Pro2col’s technical consultant also designed the platform for future use, offering a recommendations for additional modules that would create a manageable yet robust environment.
Results
Operational efficiency is very important to Well. Customers and business partners rely on consistency, accuracy and timeliness, so they cannot afford to have any of their key data transfer processes falter.
As a result of their collaboration with Pro2col and deployment of Managed File Transfer, Well’s IT department is able to take advantage of a more efficient and improved file transfer system. The automated workflows save the IT department vast amounts of time and effort.
- Well’s improved business processes, including their centrally controlled standard file archive and retention policy, was organised within clear and logical file and folder structures. This better and more organised process allowed IT support to quickly find tasks and activities involved in the data flows. Well expects to see their 300 to 3000 daily file transfers continue to grow in volume following their transition to Managed File Transfer.
- Having streamlined manual and automated processes, they have eliminated the need for any human intervention or coding. As a result Well’s financial data transfers are more secure with greatly reduced risk for payment fraud.
- They have also automated their auditing and reporting workflows, delivering improved diagnostics. This has freed up time in the IT department to fix existing problems, prevent future problems, and minimise vulnerabilities like failed data transfers, gaps in security, or data breach attempts.
- Well needed an order and response mechanism for the newly acquired set of pharmacy branches. Pro2col designed an automated process for Well to poll every 30 seconds, pick up the file, transform it from xml to plain text, and return a notification of receipt within two minutes to emulate the process within branches prior to the acquisition.This custom policy automatically transformed certain files from an XML file to a plain text file and provided the sender with a receipt notification. The automatic notification system was a key workflow that Well relied on before and after the acquisition.
In the end, Well was provided with a new system capable of supporting the data flowing from its 800 UK-based retail chains, third-party vendors, and healthcare providers. Despite the overhaul of its old systems and a lot of consolidation, Well’s IT department and Pro2col were able to deploy their new advanced file transfer solution without interruptions to its business or customers.
