1. API Uncovers Cost Savings through
Workforce Management Implementation
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API) is one of the leading service providers
to the pharmacy industry in Australia and New Zealand today. API also owns and
operates the Priceline chain of retail stores. Their workforce consists of more
than 2,800 employees.
Burdened with Manual Award Interpretation
Prior to automating the process the workload associated with manual award
interpretation was enormous. With warehouse staff in every state working
under different awards, manual award interpretation was onerous and
becoming quite error prone. In fact, the number of errors had grown so
much that an adjustment pay run was run each week to rectify the errors
from the previous payroll.
After many years of managing hours worked with outdated bundy cards and
manual timesheets, management realised that efficiencies could be gained
by implementing an automated workforce management system.
Time for Change
John Cooney, Human Resource Operational Excellence Manager,
led the team responsible for sourcing the workforce management
tool that would eliminate the manual elements of their processing
and provide management with up-to-date information to support
informed decision making.
Being a veteran of large scale business software
implementations, John was aware of the pitfalls in
undertaking such an ambitious project. “We looked for a
flexible solution that would be easy to use and require no
customisation. An intuitive graphical user interface was
vital, as was the ability to deliver accurate shift costings
during the scheduling process”, said Mr Cooney.
“Based on the hard
dollar savings we
estimate a six-
month return on
investment.”
John Cooney
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries
“We assembled a committee of eight key stakeholders
representing all areas of the business to make the
final decision based on a short-list of solutions. It
was unanimous – they all chose TimeTEQ for
its ease of use”, said Mr Cooney.

2. The Pilot Begins
API has commenced a TimeTEQ pilot across three Priceline
Stores and one warehouse location. “The pilot is going very
well and feedback from managers is extremely positive – they
find it really easy to use and that it delivers the information they
want in the format they need”, said Mr Cooney. TimeTEQ boasts
extensive filtering capabilities, so managers are able to create
screen views that display the information they need and not
unnecessary data that is not required.
Reporting previously was an issue across the business. When
reports were finally printed and made available, the information
was out of date, especially when shift budgets were already exceeded. “Now the information is available
in real time. When selecting staff for a shift, store managers can see the cost associated with that
selection, and the system alerts them when labour budgets have been exceeded. “With over 100
standard reports within TimeTEQ, there are reports to meet the needs of the finance team. “There is
no need to request the development of custom reports, which can be costly. TimeTEQ has all the
reports we need”, said Mr Cooney.
Sydney Melbourne United Kingdom
(02) 9317 2311 (03) 9854 6239 (20) 7313 5735
www.riteq.com.au www.riteq.co.uk
Cost Savings
Prior to reviewing the market, API conducted a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis to
determine the viability of the project. “Based on the hard dollar savings we estimate a
six-month return on investment. As soon as we go live we will eliminate two full-time
staff at our outsourcing provider and redeploy six internal staff which will be
redeployed to more value add activities” said Mr Cooney.
Time theft is another area where savings may be achieved. Although a little
harder to estimate the savings or include in the initial ROI, API decided upon
biometrics to eliminate buddy swiping and will utilise the PC/POS-based
Kiosk Application with USB fingerprint-reading devices at store level.
They have decided on more robust dedicated time capture devices
for the Warehouses.
The Rollout
The pilot program is nearing completion and the national roll out
will start shortly. API has decided a state-by-state approach
will be the most effective and allow them to address any
change management issues should they arise. “We are
confident we selected the best solution for API. Once the
project is complete, we will have a contemporary
solution to streamline processes, eliminate manual
data entry and provide significant cost savings”,
said Mr Cooney.