Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/1013201
Chain Drugstore Daily Saturday, August 25, 2018 3 4 PharmacyTimes.com: New Look, Enhanced Navigation The publishers of Pharmacy Times ® are pleased to introduce the updated PharmacyTimes.com, a streamlined web- site designed to enhance your user expe- rience. With a single login, you will have access to all the latest news and resources related to the pharmacy industry, as well as a full range of complimentary Continuing Education activities. The PharmacyTimes.com homepage includes the latest pharmacy news and trending articles. Quick Links have been added to provide easier access to resources that support you in your everyday practice. This is where you can find Clinical Resources, which are comprehensive guides for more than 20 disease states and include clinical trial updates, phar- macy overviews, treatment guidelines, news, featured articles and patient counseling tips. PharmacyTimes.com also offers a variety of video program- ming via the Video link. This includes the expertly moderated Peer Exchange panel discussion, Insights, the in-depth interview series, and Perfect Consults, the patient consultation tool to help you better communicate with your patient. You can use the dropdown box to choose a specific video category. Conference Coverage includes therapeutic outcomes data, practice-focused information and video interviews from a multitude of confer- ences that are attended throughout the year. The Consultation Center assists pharmacists in patient counseling activ- ities via disease state education. This includes patient counseling videos, product detail videos and fact sheets, and patient education material. Publications is where you will find fea- ture articles from current and past issues, including special editions and supplements. The Continuing Education link pro- vides access to complimentary Pharmacy Times C o n t i n u i n g Education (PTCE) enduring online activities and live web-based pro- grams. Pharmacy Times, the leading resource for the entire pharmacy profes- sion, is the only resource you need for information and solutions relevant to the everyday practice and business of pharmacy. Information is readily avail- able through print, digital, video and live events channels. For more information, visit booth #2250 or contact John Hydrusko, Associate Vice President, Sales & Digital Media Strategy at 908.839.2605 or jhydrusko@pharmacytimes.com. Ascend's Venkatesh Sees Continued Growth In December of 2014, Venkatesh Srinivasan, the current President of Ascend Labs, the USA division of Alkem Laboratories, moved to New Jersey with his wife Nithya and their two daughters. Alkem had recently completed its acqui- sition of Ascend and was ready to put a strong focus on the U.S. market. Moving his wife and daughters from their home in Mumbai to a new home 10,000 miles away with a completely new culture was more of a challenge. But Venkatesh saw the potential and the opportunity, not only for himself but his family as well, and when he was offered the position by the promoters of Alkem, the Singh fami- ly, he believed it was the right move. So far that has proven true. His family is enjoying their new found friends and the different things life in the U.S. makes available. His oldest daughter is now looking at colleges and will make that big decision over the next several months. Over the past four years, Venkatesh has been responsible for the global P&L of Ascend's North America business and leads an integrated team of Sales and Marketing, Supply Chain & Operations, Customer Service and Corporate func- tions. Venkatesh has more than 20 years of work experience in multiple industries (consumer products, foods, pharmaceuti- cals) and multiple functions (marketing/ P&L, business development and com- mercial operations). Venkatesh's aca- demic background includes double Masters (Chemical Engineering – Washington State University and Business Administration – IIM Ahmedabad). Venkatesh has seen Ascend grow over these past few years from basically a start up to a company with a significant presence in the generic marketplace. Ascend passed the $200 million sales mark in its recently closed fiscal year and currently markets over 40 molecules which when totaled of all strengths and sizes accounts for over 130 SKUs. The company also has over 50 additional molecules submitted to FDA awaiting approval and another 100 at various stages of development. "Ascend is well positioned with regard to its current product line and a very robust pipeline to continue the upward growth it has shown over the past few years," said Venkatesh. He adds that the company has focused on developing its infrastructure in both people resources and in investments that will facili- tate growth. These include the acquisition of an API company in California and a finished dose facility outside St. Louis. More so, the company has upgraded its IT platform to a full SAP S4 Hanna system from the smaller SAP Business One. "All of these things com- bine to allow us to provide superior serv- ice to our customers," he says. "At the end of the day, we compete in a multi- source environment and it's our service that will distinguish us." As Ascend continues its growth, it validates the decision that Venkatesh made and positions itself as an important supplier within the healthcare environ- ment. For more information, visit booth #3515 or go to www.ascendlaboratories.com. Front End Redesign Unlocks More Sales for Retailers Checkout is a key moment in the shop- ping journey for incremental purchases, like gum and chocolate, and Mars Wrigley Confectionery U.S. has devel- oped a keen understanding of how to leverage this moment effectively. Based on global research, the Transaction Zone Vision (TZV) program was developed. At the center of this program are insights on what shoppers want at the end of a shopping trip. What the company found is that most take advantage of checkout to do one of three things: Refresh, Reward and Remind™. Shoppers are either looking to refresh after a shopping trip, reward themselves or remember items they've forgotten to grab else- where. Because of these needs, con- sumers expect to see certain items at the end of their trip, and by prioritizing prod- ucts that meet these three needs, more sales can be captured wherever transac- tions are happening. This past year, Jewel-Osco partnered with Mars Wrigley Confectionery to optimize its checkout areas. Mars Wrigley Confectionery redesigned express lanes and created a new, more efficient queuing system. Additionally, Mars Wrigley Confectionery created new signage and updated layout and queue flow along with recommended product merchandising strategies to meet the Refresh, Reward, Remind needs. Participating stores saw increased shopper satisfaction and increased sales, with reward categories seeing a 26 per- cent growth, refresh categories seeing a 13 percent growth, and remind categories seeing a 20 percent lift. Participating stores also found shopper perception of available healthy choices and selection of products both increased nearly 10 per- cent versus control. New, more effective signage and organizing products by shopper needs elimi- nated frustrations and increased purchases. "We didn't have the data or research to help us make the right decisions," said Jeff Hancock, Jewel-Osco's assistant sales manager of confection and beverage. "Mars Wrigley Confectionery came with presentations outlining data from retail- ers with similar configurations and had great insights on queuing lines to meet our shoppers' needs." Mars Wrigley Confectionery's TZV work continues to grow with several new partners implementing customized tests in their stores. It analyzes results specific to each individual retailer in an effort to build customized recommendations for merchandising. Looking ahead, Mars Wrigley Confectionery anticipates the checkout experience will leverage technology in new ways to provide an innovative trans- action experience. Currently, it is testing solutions to give retailers permission to rethink a shopper's entire experience, all while driving impulse sales in self- checkout, scan and go, click and collect, and in line. It calls this new checkout experience the Transition Zone. For more information, contact your Mars Wrigley Confectionery representative, go to www.mars.com or call 800.631.7630.