Sustainable Investing in Pharmacies: Renewing Makes Green Sense

Protecting the climate and environment is one of the major challenges of our time demanding sustainability, efficiency as well as economic sense. In pharmacies, the durable APOSTORE picking systems are making big contributions to a sustainable future. The systems can be renewed rather than replaced entirely. They are also energy-efficient thanks to the integration of intelligent technology.

Sustainability has become an overriding factor in consumer purchasing behavior. Many customers today are environmentally conscientious: They want to know whether products are made of reusable materials, whether supply chains are socially fair and eco-friendly and how energy-efficient product production and use are.

Against this backdrop, brick-and-mortar pharmacies have many competitive advantages. Customers can reach local pharmacies on foot and the products supplied to the pharmacy cover shorter distances, resulting in fewer emissions compared to the delivery of products ordered online. The experts working in the local pharmacy offer personal advice, helping customers choose and correctly use OTC products and medicine. This lessens the chance of customers making the wrong choice, which in turn reduces harmful waste. The way pharmacies are organized also offers potential for saving resources and energy in a variety of ways.

Pharmacies can save resources and reduce their ecological footprint in multiple ways by using the appropriate picking systems. They allow environmental protection to be reconciled with high performance and availability. The systems consume less energy and are especially robust, which reduces costs over both the medium and long term.

Beatrix Ullrich, business owner of the Schwarzwald pharmacy in Bad Säckingen, Germany, has first-hand experience: When she was looking for a picking system back in 2010, system durability was top priority.

Beatrix Ullrich’s decision was a good one. So far, the APOSTORE A2000 has run reliably and with ease for more than ten years – and will do so for many years to come. She has recently taken the opportunity to overhaul the entire picking system. This alternative is significantly more sustainable than disposing of the old system and buying a new one after the typical life cycle in the sector has run out. Many APOSTORE picking systems were installed as early as the beginning of the millennium and are still in sound condition today.

The APOSTORE systems are especially durable thanks to high-quality materials and intelligent technologies that maintain the picking systems’ condition even during intense operation. For example, the integrated 400-volt system technology reduces the wear on the motors.

In addition, pharmacists benefit from long-term guarantees for spare parts: Reliable supply of spare parts for the automated picking system is ensured for at least 15 years.

Thanks to its great flexibility, the A2000 was easily adapted to suit the special requirements of the Schwarzwald pharmacy. A special solution with an integrated refrigerator was needed in a form only offered by APOSTORE. Overhauling the entire proven system rules out the necessity of purchasing a new system that has to be painstakingly refitted to meet the pharmacy’s requirements.

Hint: APOSTORE also offers the “Cube” – a light and flexible picking system – which doesn’t have to be replaced even if the pharmacy relocates. The picking system is simply packed up and moved with the pharmacy.

During the overhaul, there was not even one day of interruption to the system, which took place in steps over the course of four nights. This ensured that the Schwarzwald pharmacy could continue to advise and serve customers with no interruptions.

Besides durability, efficient energy use is another aspect of APOSTORE sustainability. The A2000 picking system requires 1.2 kW at full capacity. When the system is ready for operation, it uses only 0.3 kW.

The patented greenline technology makes it possible to drop energy consumption even more: Consumption is decreased to 0.1 kW thanks to the integrated energy manager, which switches the electrical components of the system to standby mode.

For pharmacists, this is beneficial in the long run for two reasons. First, the picking system doesn’t idle during the night or after-hours, which wastes large amounts of energy. Second, even during the day there are phases for which it’s worth switching to standby mode with the greenline.

Example calculations show that the system’s standby potential accounts for up to 60 percent and more of the operating hours each day. For pharmacies open for ten hours, APOSTORE only operates for three hours on average at full capacity. The remaining seven hours include one hour in readiness mode and around six hours in greenline mode. This corresponds to an average power consumption of only 0.45 kW per hour.

Not only is less power consumed, but there is less wear and tear on the electrical components. Sustainability is by no means less efficient: Whenever required, the system can be booted quickly to pick the ordered medicine without delay.

Act responsibly, build a trusting relationship with the customer, operate efficiently and reduce costs: The APOSTORE picking systems help the local pharmacy to achieve these goals. Even if these systems reach their twilight years after many years of proven durability, they are sustainable supporters for pharmacies to the very end – 98 percent of the materials are recyclable and have a new life ahead of them in different products.