Not in the case of pharmacy, argues Stephen Greenwood, Executive Director of The Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
Pharmaceutical wholesalers provide financial guarantees for some pharmacies.
The quid pro quo is that pharmacists will purchase most of their stock of medications and pharmacy lines from the wholesaler. There are three principal pharmaceutical wholesalers in Australia. Each carries tens of thousands of items from virtually all the pharmaceutical manufacturers. So there's the first point - they all carry or can supply substantially the same stock and pharmacists can choose and buy whatever items they need made by whatever manufacturer, no matter which wholesaler they choose. Secondly the wholesalers compete strongly for business, and pharmacists can and do change wholesalers to get the best combination of prices and service, finance guarantee notwithstanding.