United Pharmaceutical Distributors
Delivering Healthcare on a Broadening ScaleWriter: Matthew StaffProject Manager: Eddie Clinton As a thriving member of the Clicks Group in South Africa, United Pharmaceutical Distributors has upgraded and diversified its offering in the SADC region since 1989 to hold significant market shares across a range of domains, but refuses to rest on its laurels as it looks to new international climes and an even broader market presence.In the years leading up to 2015, the Company was experiencing one of the most lucrative periods in its 21-year history, across its numerous business arms, with capacities and subsequently revenues hitting new heights.A double-edged sword occurred however with the Company’s infrastructure coming under increasing pressure to meet the ever-evolving demands. Now though, with a new Head of Commercial in place since mid-2014, the business has worked hard on improving internal efficiencies in order to not only meet the aforementioned expectations, but to also now look ahead to even further development moving forward.“When I came aboard, the Company was going through an extremely rapid growth phase but wasn’t building on the infrastructure as much as it could,” Naidoo recalls. “We were taking on new clients and new business but the infrastructure wasn’t in place to handle the exposure. Since then, I’ve tried to ensure that the growth is in line with the capabilities.”The subsequent honing and refining of efficiencies and systems that has occurred over the past 12 months has therefore not increased capacity, but has overhauled the infrastructure in a way that will set UPD up for the next phase…
