ADVANCED PHARMACY

Advanced Pharmacy designs, develops, and implements innovative technology solutions for institutional pharmacies. The company’s AP PassPort™ machines accurately and efficiently package and dispense medications for residents in long term care facilities. The machines save nurses’ and pharmacists’ time, eliminate waste, and ensure continuous quality control. Advanced Pharmacy also operates institutional pharmacies in three states. Advanced Pharmacy is part of a fastpaced, highly-regulated industry and requires a robust financial reporting and accounting solution. That solution is Sage 300 ERP, backed by the professionals at ADSS Global. 

 THE RIGHT PARTNER 

When Tom Trently joined the company as Vice President of Finance, the company had Sage 300 ERP installed, but it had not been fully implemented. “We use a pharmaceutical industry billing application that was not integrated with Sage 300 ERP. This led to duplicate data entry and other inefficiencies,” Trently says. “We also were using a Sage solution for fixed asset tracking that was not integrated. I felt we could be doing better.” Trently spoke with the developer of Framework, the pharmaceutical industry software Advanced Pharmacy uses. “Softwriters told me that Framework could integrate nicely into Sage 300 ERP,” says Trently. “They recommended that we speak to ADSS Global, a Sage Authorized Partner. They described ADSS Global as responsible, capable, and resourceful.” 

 A PLAN FOR SUCCESS 

When Trently spoke with the consultants at ADSS Global, he was immediately impressed. “They are exceptionally knowledgeable, not just about the product, but about business and best accounting practices,” Trently explains. “They listened to my pain, and then offered up viable options to get us where we want to be.” 

ADSS Global helped the company create a long-term plan to drive efficiency across its accounting and finance operations. “They worked with us to prioritize our needs and value-engineered the changes  we asked for to meet our requirements and to fit our budget,” explains Trently.  “ADSS Global is a partner in our success and I can tell that our success is important to them.” 

↳ CHALLENGE 

Advanced Pharmacy had owned Sage 300 ERP for years but was not taking advantage of the full power of the application. This resulted in duplicate data entry and other inefficiencies.  

↳ SOLUTION 

ADSS Global worked with the company to create a long-term plan for obtaining the maximum value from the software and is helping Advance Pharmacy implement the plan. 

↳ RESULTS 

The company has been able to reduce its accounting staff by half. Financial statement generation was also streamlined and is now completed in half the time. 

STREAMLINED PROCESSING CUTS COSTS 

ADSS Global’s consultants designed a program to import accounts payable data from Advanced Pharmacy’s suppliers, saving hours of manual data entry. They also implemented an ACH component in Sage 300 ERP that enables the company to pay its vendors electronically through the Automated Clearing House, further reducing manual processing. ADSS Global is currently working with Advanced Pharmacy to integrate the Sage Fixed Assets application with Sage 300 ERP. “With the two software applications fully integrated, we can bring accurate depreciation data into our financials,” says Trently. “It is another area where the efficiency and time-saving gains will pay off.” 

Sales tax returns are often a time consuming and complicated task for companies that do business in multiple states, as Advanced Pharmacy does. The company is working toward streamlining this task by incorporating an industry-leading sales tax automation solution, Sage Sales Tax, powered by Avalara. 

Another area that was streamlined involved a stand-alone manufacturing application Advanced Pharmacy used to track its inventory of spare parts. It was left over from the days when the company manufactured its products in-house. “It was overkill and way too complicated for our current needs,” Trently says. “ADSS Global recommended we use the Sage 300 ERP Inventory Control module instead. It is simple, straightforward, and effective.” Trently is pleased with the results. “Due to the efficiency gains using ADSS Global, we were able to reduce our accounting staff from six to three, and our financial statement generation process already has been reduced by half,” he says. “It used to take 60 days to turn around our monthly statements; now we have it down to 30 days and we anticipate reducing it to 15 days.” 

A PARTNER FOR THE LONG TERM 

Advanced Pharmacy is confident that the efficiency and productivity gains Advanced Pharmacy is enjoying will continue to grow. “We talk regularly to our ADSS Global consultants to brainstorm ideas and strategize for the future. I appreciate that they are both practical and creative in their approach to solving business problems,” concludes Trently. “In ADSS Global, I feel that Advanced Pharmacy has found a partner for the long term.”