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Case Study

Osborn Drugs Partners Adapts to COVID-19 Challenges with a Contact-Free Business Model Using LRS Connect

Industry: Healthcare

Osborn Drugs

“With LRS Connect, pharmacists and clerks become more efficient with patient throughput in the drive-thru, as well as delivery for contactless, curbside pickup.”

Profile

Osborn Drugs was founded in 1971 by Willie Osborn in the heartland of Oklahoma. Willie and his son, Bill Osborn, grew the business for the past 49 years through partnerships with other like-minded family pharmacists in the midwestern area. The Osborn Drugs group of pharmacies have built their business focusing on premier customer service through friendly, accomplished pharmacists and staff, as well as advanced robotics, packaging, and mobile technologies.

Challenge

For the past 49 years, Osborn Drugs has built their business on personal relationships with the customers that walk through their doors. In the blink of an eye, the COVID-19 health crisis forced Bill Osborn and the owners of the other Osborn Drugs pharmacies to close their doors to in-store shopping and refocus their operations to a drive-thru and curbside experience. While the Osborn Drugs pharmacies have long had drive-thru services, the length of time in preparing some prescriptions coupled with a sharp rise in customers using the drive-thru caused the lines to grow past their ability to effectively handle all customer engagements in this way. This change presented challenges with backups extending onto adjoining roads and customer queueing uncertainty.

Solution

Osborn Drugs partnered with Long Range Systems (LRS) to rapidly deploy contact-free curbside services to complement and increase capacity of their drive-thru. Osborn Drugs’ adoption of LRS Connect is a key component that enables them to continue to serve their communities. When the customer arrives at the drive-thru window, the pharmacist or clerk gathers minimal information, including name, mobile number, and a payment method. The pharmacy staff will then direct the customer to an open numbered parking spot and enter that number into LRS Connect. The customer then moves on to the parking spot and the drive-thru line can quickly move on. Should the staff have any additional questions, they can easily contact the customer. When the prescription is completed, a runner in proper protective gear safely notifies the client from LRS Connect that they are on their way and efficiently delivers the package to the waiting customer in a manner that keeps both their customers and their staff safe through contact-free delivery.

Results

Once the COVID-19 crisis has passed, the Osborn Drugs pharmacies will continue their use of LRS Connect to efficiently manage their in-store customer flow. Through the seamless integration of paging and SMS, LRS Connect enables Osborn Drugs customers to shop the store while waiting for a pharmacy order to be filled.

LRS Connect, along with its support for customer paging and customer SMS notifications, provides quick, robust, and intuitive solutions for customer, patient, staff, and site management. Learn more about the solutions at www.lrsus.com.

“We are pleased to partner with Bill Osborn and the Osborn Drugs pharmacies in order to bring leading edge solutions to increase customer satisfaction and safety”, said George Chandler, vice president of sales, at Long Range Systems. “During these difficult times, we are delighted to do our part to help with social distancing and safety of the public.”

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