API Uncovers Cost Savings through Workforce Management Implementation Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API) is one of the leading service providers to the pharmacy industry in Australia and New Zealand today. API also owns and operates the Priceline chain of retail stores. Their workforce consists of more than 2,800 employees.

Burdened with Manual Award Interpretation

Prior to automating the process the workload associated with manual award interpretation was enormous. With warehouse staff in every state working under different awards, manual award interpretation was onerous and becoming quite error prone. In fact, the number of errors had grown so much that an adjustment pay run was run each week to rectify the errors from the previous payroll.

After many years of managing hours worked with outdated bundy cards and manual timesheets, management realised that efficiencies could be gained by implementing an automated workforce management system.

Time for Change

John Cooney, Human Resource Operational Excellence Manager, led the team responsible for sourcing the workforce management tool that would eliminate the manual elements of their processing and provide management with up-to-date information to support informed decision making.

Being a veteran of large scale business software implementations, John was aware of the pitfalls in undertaking such an ambitious project. “We looked for a flexible solution that would be easy to use and require no customisation. An intuitive graphical user interface was vital, as was the ability to deliver accurate shift costings during the scheduling process”, said Mr Cooney.

“Based on the hard dollar savings we estimate a six-month return on investment.”

John CooneyAustralian Pharmaceutical Industries

“We assembled a committee of eight key stakeholders representing all areas of the business to make the

final decision based on a short-list of solutions. It was unanimous – they all chose TimeTEQ for

its ease of use”, said Mr Cooney.

The Pilot Begins

API has commenced a TimeTEQ pilot across three Priceline Stores and one warehouse location. “The pilot is going very well and feedback from managers is extremely positive – they find it really easy to use and that it delivers the information they want in the format they need”, said Mr Cooney. TimeTEQ boasts extensive filtering capabilities, so managers are able to create screen views that display the information they need and not unnecessary data that is not required.

Reporting previously was an issue across the business. When reports were finally printed and made available, the information

was out of date, especially when shift budgets were already exceeded. “Now the information is available in real time. When selecting staff for a shift, store managers can see the cost associated with that selection, and the system alerts them when labour budgets have been exceeded. “With over 100 standard reports within TimeTEQ, there are reports to meet the needs of the finance team. “There is no need to request the development of custom reports, which can be costly. TimeTEQ has all the reports we need”, said Mr Cooney.

Sydney Melbourne United Kingdom(02) 9317 2311 (03) 9854 6239 (20) 7313 5735www.riteq.com.au www.riteq.co.uk

Cost Savings

Prior to reviewing the market, API conducted a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis to determine the viability of the project. “Based on the hard dollar savings we estimate a six-month return on investment. As soon as we go live we will eliminate two full-time staff at our outsourcing provider and redeploy six internal staff which will be redeployed to more value add activities” said Mr Cooney.

Time theft is another area where savings may be achieved. Although a little harder to estimate the savings or include in the initial ROI, API decided upon biometrics to eliminate buddy swiping and will utilise the PC/POS-based Kiosk Application with USB fingerprint-reading devices at store level. They have decided on more robust dedicated time capture devices for the Warehouses.

The Rollout

The pilot program is nearing completion and the national roll out will start shortly. API has decided a state-by-state approach will be the most effective and allow them to address any change management issues should they arise. “We are confident we selected the best solution for API. Once the project is complete, we will have a contemporary solution to streamline processes, eliminate manual data entry and provide significant cost savings”,said Mr Cooney.