COFAS to go live with IBS Pharma

IBS Iberia has announced completion of the implementation of IBS Pharma at Cooperativa Farmacutica Asturiana (COFAS), one of Spains leading pharmaceutical distributors.

IBS Pharma is an industry-specific solution designed for the pharmaceutical distribution market segment, covering financials, e-business, sales, purchase, logistics, warehousing, inventory and business intelligence.

The project has been concluded within the expected time plan. In the initial phase, IBS implemented the financial modules of the IBS Pharma solution, which has been running live since early 2005. In September 2006, the final phase of the implementation will be concluded with the go-live for all remaining operations in COFAS, covering areas from distribution and warehousing to CRM processes. The approach used in this complex implementation assured total security for COFAS, and all company operations and departments continued to work without interruptions due to the system changeover.

For a pharmaceutical distributor like COFAS, the most critical application areas concern product (goods) reception and shipping, as well as legal regulations applicable in this sector. Thanks to the skills, specialization and experience of IBS in this market, COFAS has been able to accelerate picking processes and can automatically handle health authority alerts for the urgent withdrawal of products or product lots from the market. Other areas of improvement include quick order entry with phonetic validation, sales planning and integration with automatic picking equipments.

Flexible and integrated solution
One of the main advantages of using IBS Pharma is the possibility of adapting the solution to each customers needs. The business rules defined by a company, together with the specific requirements defined by the market in processes like forecasting, purchasing, customer service, order handling and inventory require a high level of functionality. In the case of COFAS, all issues related to specific requirements for pharmaceutical products distribution in Spain have been taken into consideration, as well as all legal regulations applicable to the pharmaceutical cooperatives. With IBS Pharma, COFAS is assured of having the best response to pharmaceutical regulations in Spain, with full control and traceability of products and lots.

Being a flexible solution with a strong level of configuration, IBS Pharma assured total integration with other applications used at COFAS.

By having a strong implementation team from IBS working together in a very close way with COFAS, we have been able to assure a very smooth implementation. The future looks quite nice! says Andrs Rodrguez Cortina, IT Manager in COFAS.

Without the collaboration between IBS and COFAS it would have been more difficult to reach the defined goals. COFAS has involved its best human capital in this implementation, recognizing that it was a project of vital importance to the company. This has assured success in an innovative and risky project, says Alberto Milheiro, IBS Vertical Industry Solutions Manager for the pharmaceutical distribution market in Iberia.

We have chosen IBS mainly for two reasons. First, the IBS Pharma solution is designed for our business and will allow us to grow in a secure way, maintaining the very best level of compliance in the pharmaceutical distribution sector. The second reason is due to the IBS team, which has demonstrated a very high level of professionalism with strong skills in the realities of pharmaceuticals, says Gustavo lvarez, Managing Director of COFAS.

COFAS, established in 1966, is listed as one of the Top 10 largest pharmaceutical cooperatives and distributors in Spain. The organization has a strong regional implementation with a market share that surpasses 70% in the Asturias region, and is present in other Spanish regions like Len, Cantabria, Galicia and Madrid. COFAS has about 125 employees and total annual revenue of 200 million euros.