Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/709452
C h a i n D r u g s t o r e D a i l y S u n d a y, A u g u s t 7 , 2 0 1 6 6 6 PHARMACEUTICAL WHOLESALE SERVICES FROM R&S NORTHEAST An interview with Darren Shirley, Vice President Vendor Relations, R&S Northeast LLC. CDD: Tell our readers about your com- pany. DS: R&S Northeast is a family owned and operated pharmaceutical wholesaler with a niche focus on 340B and contract administration. With headquarters in Kentucky and a distribution facility in Philadelphia, we can provide competi- tive services to 90 percent of the U.S. R&S is an authorized vendor of Premier and Med Assets GPOs as well as work- ing with APEXYS, PHS and AFAXYS contracts. We also offer a variety of services through our family business portfolio. CDD: What is your role at R&S Northeast? DS: As Vice President of Business Development and Vendor Relations and one of four family principals, I have a vision to offer market services and fill "gaps" where a customer need can now be a competitive strength. CDD: What makes R&S different? DS: R&S is family owned and a smaller market supply chain provider. We have a desire for all customers, not just large ones, to be on a level playing field. By offering a variety of services in a niche market and superior customer service, we position ourselves to carve out market share and sustain longevity within the market place. We offer flexible payment terms, web-based ordering system and no minimum financial or quantity order requirements. Audit and compliance assistance programs are also available. We believe having a strong alternative pharmaceutical and med- ical products supply chain is vital to consistent patient care. CDD: What are your products and services? DS: Our products are mainly brand and generic pharmaceuticals with limited offering of medical supplies. However, with our affiliate family businesses, we offer an array of services including Apace Packaging (oral solid packaging), R&S Solutions, our newest addition offering 3PL (third party logistic) serv- ices from Jackson, Tennessee, and AvKare, our marketing company with emphasis on government markets including AvPak which focuses on Hospital Unit Dose. R&S focuses on your pharmaceutical and medical supply needs so that you can focus on patient care. Visit R&S Northeast at booth #2432. For more information, go to www.rsnortheast.com. CURAD INNOVATIONS AT A STORE NEAR YOU Medline's CURAD ® retail brand has been known and trusted in North America for quality products since its inception in 1951. Today, the company continues to offer innovative solutions to help consumers feel and heal their best. Medline is proud to announce that CURAD products are now available at a variety of national drug, club, mass mer- chant and food store locations. This is a huge step forward as the company broad- ens its retail presence to help customers both inside the healthcare setting and at home. In addition, Medline has just launched its new, solution-driven and user-friendly CURAD website, which showcases its broad portfolio of prod- ucts, including the company's newest innovations: Truly Ouchless! ® Flex fabric and plastic back- ing holds tight and lets go easy. S o o t h e & Cool ® : Instant cooling technology cools on contact. QuickStop! ® Flex fabric helps stop minor bleeding fast. Visit the new site at www.curad.com. Consumers can also engage with CURAD social media pages on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CuradBrand and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/curad (@Curad). CROSSMARK BUILDS MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS FOR GROWTH An interview with David Newman, Chief Insights Officer, CROSSMARK. CDD: The dynamics of retailing today are constantly changing as technology advances at almost lightning speed. How is CROSSMARK helping retailers adapt to these changes from a category man- agement perspective? DN: Technology has enabled a level of transparency and speed that empowers us to have a dynamic conversation with our retail partners. CROSSMARK's advanced analytics system includes unmatched data sources, world-class ana- lytic talent, and state-of-the-art tools and technology. With new data blending and visualization tools, we now are able to bring together disparate data sources onto a single canvas and engage in busi- ness planning with a line of 'What-If' questioning along multiple vectors. This allows us to have this conversation in real time to solve for specific issues within the traditional 4Ps. CDD: CROSSMARK is known for tak- ing a 'Thought to Bought' approach to category management and shopper engagement. Explain what this concept means and how it helps retailers capture more sales category by category. DN: CROSSMARK's 'Thought to Bought' concept means having a granular approach to understanding how we con- nect consumer demand to shopper pur- chase. Our unmatched integration of sales and marketing capabilities maxi- mizes growth potential for clients by integrating efforts to more quickly identi- fy opportunities and early watch-outs, deliver ROI-driven plans, streamline development, and ensure clear coordina- tion and linkage from insights to activa- tion. Our ultimate goal is to help our clients create a strategic framework whereby their marketing and sales efforts seamlessly deliver results for retailers. To accomplish this, we do everything we can to get closer to the consumer and shopper through an occasion or need- state framework. CDD: How can the services you provide help retailers create a differentiated brand identity for their stores – an identity that makes their store the go-to place for today's busy shoppers? DN: Our innovative approach of understanding consumer and shopper needs, and having the abil- ity to link those insights to the store-level, combined with our connectivity and influence in the market- place, helps clients grow market penetra- tion, increase speed-to-market, improve on-shelf presence and availability, and connect with consumers and shoppers to drive conversion and brand loyalty. CDD: What is on the near horizon where category management is concerned? Anything you'll be introducing in 2016 that will take category management to the next level for supermarket retailers? DN: This year we restructured CROSS- MARK to deliver on our 'Smarter Way, Faster Growth' tagline. In doing so, we are able to link consumer and shopper needs through occasion-based research and insights, maximizing the traditional 4Ps and driving differentiation at store level. We can identify critical insights to understand and target the right shoppers with the right products, right channels, right locations, right pricing and right message at the right time. For more information, visit www .crossmark.com.