March 2015
Newsletter for theWestern Canadian Veterinary Industry
December 2015
From the staff and
management team
here at your center I
would like to take
this opportunity to
wish all our mem-
bers a very Merry
Christmas and all
the best in the New
Year.
As we are nearing
the half way point
of our fiscal year it
has definitely been an interesting ride to
date. The large animal side of the
business tends to be a bit of a wild card
but this year it was a little wilder than
normal. We started our fiscal year with
drought conditions in most of Alberta
and Saskatchewan and predictions of a
very early and condensed calf run. Then
finally, late rains came followed by very
mild fall conditions, which if anything,
has pushed season out a bit farther than
normal. So after the roller coaster ride, it
looks like the large animal business is up
approximately 8.5% and the companion
animal business is up 10% at the half
way point of our fiscal year. Expenses
are running below budget and below last
year’s actual. So providing that we can
maintain this present trajectory for the
last half of the year we should surpass
$200,000,000 in annual sales and be in a
position to deliver a better than planned
return to our members.
Typically in December you will see a
number of manufactures put through
pricing increases normally in line with
cost of living (~2-3%) and where it
makes sense, we will buy up some addi-
tional inventory. However this year, we
are seeing significant price increases
(+6%) being put through by some of the
pet food companies and thankfully we
have space due to our recent expansion
to accommodate this. With one supplier
alone we have ordered in an additional
41 semi-trailer loads (equates to 2,132
pallets) of product. So even though most
members do not have the physical space
to buy up inventory, this is something
we routinely do on your behalf and then
return this back to the members in the
form of increased dividends.
Beyond the financial responsibilities of
managing your distribution facility the
staff and management team have been
working on the following initiatives
since the last newsletter:
Extended Order Cut-offs
One of the benefits of the new ware-
house management system that we
installed is that it automatically sched-
ules the release of orders based upon the
pickup times of the outbound trucking
companies. This has allowed us to
extend the clinics order cut off for
Edmonton and surrounding to 8pm,
Calgary and surrounding to 6pm,
Lethbridge and Medicine Hat to 4pm,
Winnipeg and surrounding to 4pm; all
with a next day delivery on our ambient
temperature controlled fleet.
Member Website
One of the latest features we have rolled
out on the member website is the ability
select clinic sales data for any date range
you choose. This is particularly useful
for tracking purchases for supplier
rebates. Other features include a report
showing the most recent website orders
submitted to WDDC, preventing dupli-
cation of product. Soon to be released
the site will offer a detailed summary
explaining why items are temporarily
backordered or placed on long term
backorder.
Today, 91% of all orders come into the
center through the web site and due to
the high utilization we have one
programmer dedicated to constantly
enhancing it.
Cornerstone Ordering Bridge
Roughly three years ago we developed
an ordering bridge that would allow clin-
ics using Avimark to place orders with
us through their practice management
system. This past summer we started
beta testing an ordering bridge with
Cornerstone. This is now available to
any Cornerstone user that has version 8.4
NEXT. Our field representatives can
show your staff how to get this function
setup and explain how the bridge saves
the clinic significant time placing and
receiving orders.
PracticeVantage
We have recently developed our own
practice management system that
performs all the same basic functions as
Avimark or Cornerstone but where it
really stands out is on the tight ordering
and inventory control features, medical
records and templates, the appointment
scheduler, messaging and text features.
We presently have the software installed
in 30 member clinics. This software is
provided at no charge to members who
are purchasing the majority of their
supplies through WDDC. Our field
representative can explain the features of
the software further and arrange for
software demos if you are interested.
AdVantage
We developed the AdVantage program 4
years ago and we presently have 140
clinics utilizing it in their lobbies and
exam rooms to inform and educate
clients. To date we have over 280 educa-
tional slides and templates developed, 50
various supplier videos, 22 EVantage
videos and on top of this, the program
easily allows the clinics the ability to
create their own slides that are unique to
their practice. Over the past year we
have enhanced the program to allow for
playing videos, scheduling of playlists
and the ability to run uninterrupted
during internet failures.
Like always, if you find yourself in the
Edmonton area, stop by, we would love
to introduce you to the team and tour
you through your distribution facility. If
that doesn’t work, we will also have
representatives at the Bovine Practition-
ers meeting January 14-16 and the
CenCan Conference February 5th to the
7th. Have a fabulous and safe festive
session and look forward to seeing you
at one of these events in the New Year.
Sincerely,
Greg Hall
President & CEO
Greg Hall
President & CEO
