by Heather Frutig
Mike Hussey, Raquel Escobar and I had the pleasure of introducing Sebastian Goycoolea, Chile Logistics Manager at Farmacia Ahumada. The meeting took place at the company’s distribution center and was followed by a tour of the facilities. He had a lot to say about the history, strategy and accomplishments of the Chilean pharmacy, which was acquired by Walgreen's Alliance Boots in 2014. But what stuck with me the most was the ability of this central distribution to control the look and supply of each of the 454 stores that were in Chile.
Specifically, Sebastian pointed out that in order for the stores to look uniform, instructions were sent to each store detailing the height and width measurements of how much shelf or wall space should be allotted to each item. Of course this makes sense for a company that focuses on efficiency, consistency and scale. On the other hand, I was struck by the lack of personal touch that this creates. On-the-ground store managers have little say in the look of the store or even the inventory shipments or schedule. This last bit was another of Sebastian’s points. Data collected at point-of-sale for each store and predictive software are used to determine the amount of goods delivered to each store.
I am both impressed by the speed and efficiency of Farmacia Ahumada and a bit taken aback by the ability for stores to predict consumer spending habits.
Specifically, Sebastian pointed out that in order for the stores to look uniform, instructions were sent to each store detailing the height and width measurements of how much shelf or wall space should be allotted to each item. Of course this makes sense for a company that focuses on efficiency, consistency and scale. On the other hand, I was struck by the lack of personal touch that this creates. On-the-ground store managers have little say in the look of the store or even the inventory shipments or schedule. This last bit was another of Sebastian’s points. Data collected at point-of-sale for each store and predictive software are used to determine the amount of goods delivered to each store.
I am both impressed by the speed and efficiency of Farmacia Ahumada and a bit taken aback by the ability for stores to predict consumer spending habits.