For the customer
15.2.2016
Oriola-KD adopted a new operating model in January. The goal of this is to respond to the changes in the business environment and to further improve the service to customers.
“The pharmaceutical and healthcare market is going through major changes, and our customers are adapting their operations to the new market situation. Our customers’ needs are increasingly similar in all our markets. We naturally want to organise our business operations to serve our customers,” says Kimmo Virtanen, Executice Vice President of Services.
As of the beginning of 2016, Oriola-KD’s businesses are divided into three business areas: Consumer, Services and Healthcare.
“The Consumer business focuses on needs related to consumer health and wellbeing. The Services business offers tailored expert services to pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, veterinarians and health shops, while the Healthcare business offers services to hospitals, healthcare centres and other healthcare operators,” Virtanen says.
New operating model - improved customer experience
Our desire to serve our customers even better has been the driving force behind the change.
“We offer pharmaceutical companies entry to the market and help them to succeed. Our shared goal is to ensure people’s wellbeing. We continuously develop our services and create new ones.”
Finnish healthcare is going through a major change which will have an impact on all the healthcare operators.
“Change makes us all rethink our position and operation. We don’t have to do everything by ourselves. Oriola provides tools for change and helps find more effective solutions for everyday activities.”
In the veterinary market, the trend for chains of vet clinics has begun, and the number of pets is on the rise.
“In Finland, we have daily contacts with vets and a particularly good service offering, including direct deliveries to homes and requested delivery addresses. In Sweden, vets still collect their orders from the nearest pharmacy. We can also offer a more extensive selection of services to vets.”
Customer needs and services better aligned than before
The new operating model was carefully prepared, and changes in the organisation and operations have been implemented in phases.
“Our customer service was divided into four teams last year: pharmacies, hospitals, veterinarians and consumers. This way we can meet the needs of various customer groups even better and offer them excellent service. Customer needs and services are now better aligned,” Virtanen says.
Smoother and more efficient services
In 2016 Oriola will continue to focus on an extensive and high-quality service.
“Supporting our customers and offering them professional help comes naturally to us. We want to be near our customers, which is why we meet them regularly. Our local representatives visit pharmacies and supermarkets throughout Finland, which is an excellent way to hear the latest news. Our aim is also to provide wide service offering and to create completely new services for pharmacies, veterinarians and pharmaceutical companies. We believe that the need for expert services will grow in particular.”
Oriola has launched significant investment projects in order to update logistics and IT solutions. The automation system at the Espoo warehouse will be renewed in winter 2016, and the new IT solutions will be introduced in 2017.
“The aim of the projects is of course to offer our customers excellent high quality service, improve availability of products and efficiency.
Text: Minna Koistinen
Picture: Vesa Tyni
