Oonagh O’Hagan is the proprietor of four pharmacies in South County Dublin, and moved to McLernons in the Spring of 2010.

Speaking of the ease of transition from one software system to another,  she commented, “The MPS system has gone beyond our expectations, and we have found the support, training and general working relationships with everyone in McLernons to be truly great.”

“The actual changeover was fine and was much easier than we had anticipated. In the lead up to the switch we had been well briefed by our McLernons’ trainer, who advised us how to organise ourselves in order to minimise any difficulties and this certainly helped. And on the day itself, someone was on site to make sure that we knew how to operate the software, answer and queries and generally allay any fears.”

Why move to MPS?

Oonagh outlined four reasons which were the key factors in seeing her move to MPS.  Firstly,  the initial decision to move was based on cost  – the total licence fee paid each year is significantly lower than with their previous supplier.

The quality, type and variety of reports  generated by MPS was the second reason that Meagher’s Pharmacies moved to McLernons, and Oonagh described the reporting as being ‘much better’ than was available in her previous PMR system.

Thirdly, the stocktaking programme within MPS is one which is a major draw, and each of the four pharmacies now uses the live stock control facility. Oonagh commented, “ We have seen significant reductions in our stock holding in all of our sites. We spot check the stock in our dispensaries on a quarterly basis, and with affidavits at 95% and above, we have removed the need to pay external stocktakers to audit our stock – in effect, this is  a double saving of reduced stock holding, and reduction of additional expenditure!”

Finally, control over the ordering and purchasing procedures in the entire Meagher Pharmacy group is established using the McLernon’s MPS Head office programme. This offers complete ‘command and control’ from Head Office, and purchasing decisions and order patterns can be effected centrally and rolled out to every branch. Oonagh added, “Our previous supplier had made the claim that the data on their head office application was correct, but we knew that this was not the case. After carrying out a thorough and forensic investigation of the figures, we noted that the data for two of the branches was not being pulled across correctly, skewing the results we were being given. I now use MPS Head Office on a daily basis for all manner of things – stock control, reviewing loans, sales, etc, and I find the reporting to be invaluable as it helps me plan everything from staff levels to purchasing.”

“The only regret I have about MPS is that I wished we had switched over sooner!”