Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division
Alliance Healthcare is the Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division of Alliance Boots. Its distribution network – which includes associates and joint ventures– supplies medicines, other healthcare products and related services to over 160,000 pharmacies, doctors, health centres and hospitals from more than 370 distribution centres located in 21 countries.
Alliance Healthcare provides a premium service to pharmacists including: frequency of delivery, product availability, delivery accuracy, timeliness and reliability at competitive prices. We also offer our customers innovative added-value services which help pharmacists to work to increasingly high standards of efficiency and effectiveness.
In addition to the wholesale of medicines and other healthcare products, Alliance Healthcare provides services to pharmaceutical manufacturers who require secure distribution channels for their products while at the same time outsourcing other activities. These services include pre-wholesale, logistics, direct deliveries to pharmacies, and specialised medicine delivery including home healthcare.
Alliance Boots ranks as one of the top three pharmaceutical wholesalers/distributors in almost all the Western European markets in which it operates. In recent years the Group has entered the fast growing Russian and Chinese markets, and is continuing to pursue organic growth in wholesale and distribution through acquisitions and investments in associates and joint ventures. The Group focuses on widespread global coverage when targeting new markets, singling out countries with high growth rates and consolidation potential. In the Group’s established markets, acquisitions activity concentrates on companies offering complementary products and services to the Group’s core business.
Results
Under the leadership of Ornella Barra, Alliance Healthcare has expanded its international dimension and increased profitability. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, net sales and operating income of the pharmaceutical wholesale division, respectively, increased by 23.6% and 36.2%. These good results were achieved through an effective and stronger partnerships with independent pharmacists and manufacturers.
Partnership with manufacturers and pharmacies
Alliance Healthcare aims to become the world’s leading pharmaceutical wholesaler/distributor, working in partnership with manufacturers and pharmacies and providing them with innovative, added-value services.
Services
Alloga
Alliance Healthcare provides pre-wholesale services through Alloga. The Alloga network delivers a wide range of specialist pre-wholesale logistics services in Europe, including: warehousing and distribution, contract management, packaging and secondary labelling, distribution of promotional material and logistics for clinical tests. Alloga delivers products directly to wholesalers, resellers, doctors, pharmacists and consumers.
Alphega Pharmacy
Created in 2001 by Alliance Healthcare, Alphega Pharmacy is a leading network of independent pharmacists present in France, Italy, UK, Czech Republic, Russia and Spain. It now has over 3,500 members.
The central aim of Alphega Pharmacy is to help improve the quality of health in communities across Europe by developing a benchmark of the independent community pharmacy model. It is fully committed to helping independent pharmacists exceed the healthcare expectations of their most demanding patients and consumers.
Globalisation of Health & Beauty: the brands
Ornella believes that a strong brand must be global. In this sense, she has backed numerous initiatives over the years targeting the globalisation of the Group's brands.
Almus
Almus is a complete range of generics available in five countries. Patient safety lies at the heart of the Almus concept. Almus is designed to help patients recognise and use the correct medicine. The brand aims to become an international business in its own right. Through its partnerships with manufacturers, it is developing a new global strategy which will improve cost efficiency and offer customers a seamless range of products and services.
Alvita
Alvita is the brand name for the Alliance Boots range of para-pharmaceutical products. This includes supplements, medicines, diagnostics, hygiene, first aid and incontinence products sold and distributed at pharmacies. Launched in 2006, the brand is now on sale in pharmacies in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, UK and Spain. Alvita benefits from the expertise of Alliance Boots in the sale of high-quality, high-margin products, many of which are distributed in Europe by Alliance Healthcare.
Boots Laboratories
Boots Laboratories is one of the flagship product brands of Alliance Boots. The history of Boots Laboratories can be traced back to 1849, when the Boot family began selling natural products in a small shop in Nottingham, UK. The experts at Boots Laboratories understand the health and beauty needs of their customers and have developed scientifically advanced products with proven effectiveness. Each product undergoes rigorous testing to ensure that pharmacists provide accurate advice to their customers.
Successfully launched in France and Portugal in 2008/2009, Boots own range of skincare products is being piloted in Spain and Italy. For the Italian market, Alliance Boots has signed a partnership agreement with Procter & Gamble leveraging the commercial capacity of P&G to distribute and promote the brand to pharmacies.