Wipro Healthcare IT Ltd (WHCIT), which is eyeing the growth in pharmacy chains and their increasing demand for an IT backbone, will enter the retail pharmacy solution vertical in October.
Prasenjit Lahiri, head of business operations, Wipro Healthcare IT Ltd, said: “We are launching it in October this year. It will help pharmacy chains run stores and plan stock keeping units and materials across the chain.”
The retail solution integrates purchase, main stores, sub-stores, receiving bays and various consumption points that are unique to these stores. “It is aimed at providing an IT backbone at both the store and the overall organisational levels,” he said.
WHCIT has been providing a similar solution at a much smaller level, integrating its Hospital Information System (HIS) with its more than 50 customers.
“There are ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) products, which address similar demands from the industry. HIS products already have a pharmacy module as most hospitals have a pharmacy,” he said.
The pharmacy market in India is fragmented. According to industry estimates, it is worth around Rs 25,000-30,000 crore. Organised pharmacy retail, which makes up only about 3-4% of it, is expected to grow at the rate of seven stores a month.
By 2010, Ranbaxy-promoted Fortis Healthworld has planned to roll out 1,000 stores, Medicine Shoppe India 700. Existing players in pharmacy retail include the Nicholas Piramal group, Guardian, 98.4, Fortis
Healthstore, Subhiksha and Apollo.
The healthcare IT market, pegged at 400-500 crore including hardware, networking and software, is growing at 30% a year.
“We have more than 50 customers for HIS and expect the market leader position in pharmacy verticals also,” Lahiri said.