MEXICO CITY, Aug. 12, 2015
/PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced its
collaboration with Tienda Diabetes, a leading Mexican healthcare
provider, to provide diabetes patients with affordable same-day
delivery options for medicines, treatments and personalized care
with the launch of Farmacia Online, the first-ever specialized
online drugstore in Mexico.
Using IBM Commerce capabilities, online sales have soared 50
percent, with the average order value increasing by more than 60
percent.
Diabetes is one of Mexico's top
health challenges, according to the International Diabetes
Federation, with nearly 14.7 million of the nation's adults
suffering from the disease. This national crisis presents a heavy
financial burden for both the Mexican government and those directly
affected.
Tienda Diabetes, the first phase of Farmacia Online, a
business unit of Soluciones Hospitalarias Integrales (SOHIN),
turned to IBM Commerce to help provide better care for people with
diabetes, cancer and other chronic degenerative diseases, through
the launch of Farmacia Online and its national distribution
network. Previously, medicines that diabetics needed to treat their
condition were not readily available or difficult to find, forcing
patients to go to multiple stores to purchase their medicines. If
the products they needed were not in stock or sold out, they would
need to continue searching, putting the patient's health at
risk.
During the first phase of development of Farmacia Online, IBM
Commerce and IBM Business Partner Edgebound jointly designed
an e-commerce platform that significantly simplified the purchasing
process. Rather than having to visit several local stores,
customers are now able to browse through and buy 3,500 products,
including medicines, treatments and low sugar food items, all in
one place and all within just a few minutes. Additionally, patients
can consult with pharmacists online regarding their treatments, and
share experiences and feedback with other customers.
Analytic insights generated from this information will help
identify purchasing patterns of different types of medicines most
in demand and provide better understanding of the individual
patient – such as age, family history of high blood sugar or where
they live – for doctors to make decisions with a higher level of
precision for an individual's treatment. Currently Farmacia Online
additionally offers its services to insurance companies.
Through the new e-commerce platform on Farmacia Online,
customers can also set up recurring purchases, including reminder
alerts to schedule automatic refills. Tienda Diabetes also offers
same-day delivery options for a patient to receive their
purchases within just a few hours, 40 percent faster than the
average national delivery time. Since launching the new site,
approximately 85 percent of new visitors have become loyal
customers.
"With Mexicans spending about $382
million on diabetes medications annually, the disease is a
major challenge for the Mexican national health system. We needed
to address the growing demand for better access to medicines and
treatments that had not been readily available," said Juana Marcela
Ramírez, General Director of SOHIN. "Through the collaboration with
IBM, Tienda Diabetes' Farmacia Online is providing an affordable
and efficient way for patients to access the medicine they need,
when they need it."
Tienda Diabetes is currently developing a mobile version of
Farmacia Online to give customers an alternative channel to buy the
products they need while on the go.
This collaboration represents a major step forward in giving
Mexicans suffering from diabetes access to the medicine they need.
As the provider of the first online pharmacy in Mexico and seeing a growing demand for
specialized medicine and treatments, SOHIN plans to expand its
offerings to treat other chronic-degenerative diseases, addressing
both public and private healthcare needs.
"The Mexican health care industry needs to adapt to a new
generation of patients who are taking proactive roles in their
health care and who expect real-time services at their fingertips,"
said Guillermo Labastida, Executive,
IBM Commerce. "SOHIN's partnership with IBM, as well as with local
doctors and pharmacists, gives patients affordable, faster and more
reliable health care support."
About Tienda Diabetes
Tienda Diabetes - a SOHIN,
Soluciones Hospitalarias Integrales- business unit, is specialized
in offering the best attention to people with diabetes through its
online drugstore and national distributor network. The company has
its headquarters in Mexico,
employs 60 persons and offers more than 500 products. To know more
about Tienda Diabetes, visit: tiendadiabetes.com /
farmaciaonline.mx
About IBM Commerce
IBM Commerce helps clients
understand customer behavior and use insights to help deliver
highly personalized and relevant experiences at every touch point.
For more information on IBM Commerce, please click here.
About Edgebound
Edgebound is an IBM Premier Integrator
Business Associate specialized in providing high quality consulting
services for its customers, helping them to integrate and automate
their processes and making their businesses "thinner" and "faster".
The company has its headquarters in Mexico City. In order to know more about the
products, services and solutions of Edgebound, visit:
edgebound.com
Susana Maldonado
IBM Media Relations
Phone: 52-55-5270-6502
E-mail: smaldona@mx1.ibm.com
Lizette Kodama
IBM Media Relations
Phone: 646-675-0750
E-mail: lkodama@us.ibm.com
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SOURCE IBM