Case Study: Using Ryutsu BMS
for Prescription Drug at SUGI
Pharmacy CO., LTD. (EDI)

SUGI Pharmacy, one of the major drugstore chains inprescription pharmacy section introduce systems

Japan, updated its EDI system for its prescription

mainly utilizing such order IDs.

pharmacy section and started to operate the newsystem using Ryutsu BMS from November 2016. (ForHowever, old business practices persist in thedetails about Ryutsu BMS, refer to 2.2.) Through theJapanese pharmaceutical industry andintroduction of the new EDI system, SUGI Pharmacy

pharmaceutical industry VAN led by drug

has worked to streamline its overall operation,

wholesalers is widely used. In this industry VAN, only

including order, delivery and accounting.

product names and quantities are determined at thetime an order is placed by the retailer and the order

About SUGI Pharmacy

ID and prices are set by the wholesalers when

SUGI Pharmacy is a drugstore chain based in Aichi

shipping. Additionally, the delivery date cannot be

prefecture operating 1,048 stores (*1) mainly in thespecified at the time the order is placed.

central region in Japan. Approximately 70% of theseFor these reasons, delivery data cannot be checked

stores have a prescription pharmacy. The pharmacy

against order data using order IDs upon productsection accounts for approximately 18% of their sales.

delivery. The information such as supplier, GTIN andquantity had to be examined visually to confirm theBusiness practices in the Japanesepharmaceutical industry

delivery data manually at the store. This places aChain stores in Japan set unique order IDs generated

calculation errors.

heavy burden on the stores and may lead towhen orders are placed. These IDs serve tostreamline not only the ordering process, but

SUGI Pharmacy's Introduction of Ryutsu BMS

inventory management and accounting as well. Also

SUGI Pharmacy also used to use one offor drugstore chain stores, sales sections except thepharmaceutical industry VANs called MEDICODE*1 As of the end of February 2017

VAN to order prescription drugs. However, it decided

Ryutsu BMS and its outlook for the future as follows.

to introduce a system whereby retailers assign
unique order IDs when orders are placed, as inEffects of Introducing Ryutsu BMS

sections except the prescription pharmacy section.

Even for prescription drugs, secure management ofOne of the triggers for this decision was the launch

the overall process from ordering and purchasing toof the new enterprise system SAMCING in the otherinvoicing and payment becomes possible with ordersections in 2014. Using this system as a core, SUGI

IDs determined by SUGI Pharmacy. Additionally, we

Pharmacy started to work on renovating the ordering

now can issue return slips for returning goods,

system for prescription drugs in 2015.

whereas before wholesalers used to issue them. This

Ryutsu BMS was chosen as the new EDI system in

eliminates discrepancies between accounts

December 2015. Then, after careful explanation ofreceivable and accounts payable and streamlines

the changes it had made to trading partners, all ofoperations from ordering to payment.

them began accepting transactions using Ryutsu
BMS. Test operations began in August 2016 andFuture Outlook

moved into actual operations in November.

SUGI Pharmacy plans further optimization and cost
reduction starting with the introduction of Ryutsu

Executive Director of SUGI Pharmacy Mr. SunaoBMS.

Kawasaki, who played a central role in introducingFirstly, we will promote further improvement ofRyutsu BMS, explained the effects of introducing

efficiency in ordering and payment operations andthen move on to “payment without billing (*2)” asFig. 1 Mr. Sunao Kawasaki, Executive Director of SUGI
Pharmacy

with the other sections.
Furthermore, we are now able to specify the datewhen goods are received, thus making the receiving
process more flexible. We are examining if thisenables operations to receive drugs that are only forspecific patients at the time of their visits.
We also want to link our ordering operation anddistribution system in order to change distribution
routes for prescription drugs from direct delivery
between wholesalers and stores to delivery throughdistribution centers. We expect this to enable bulk
purchases.

Fig. 2 LTD Headquarter Obu Center of SUGI Holdings Co. LTD.

Fig. 3 Toranomon Store of SUGI Pharmacy (Minato-ku, Tokyo)*2 In Japan, payment by each invoice is uncommon. Payment is usually made on a monthly basis by summing the amounts of all thetransactions that occurred in that month. Additionally, “payment without billing,” the payment process where retailers calculate payment
amounts from receipt data instead of suppliers issuing bills, is widely used by major distribution companies in Japan.

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