San Sebastián, (EFE).- Gipuzkoa’s pharmaceutical distribution is automated. This Friday it inaugurated its new warehouse in San Sebastián, a facility from which it distributes 20 million medicines to 360 pharmacies every year.
Improves pharmaceutical distribution in Gipuzkoa
The opening ceremony took place in the new 10,200 square meter building with the assistance of the Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu. The Ministers of Health and Economic Promotion, Gotzone Sagardui and Arantxa Tapia, the General Deputy of Gipuzkoa, Markel Olano, and the Mayor of San Sebastian, Eneko Goia, also attended.
Urkullu has assured that the objective of the institutions “is to improve people’s quality of life and to continue taking steps to achieve it” and has highlighted the logistical work carried out by DGF.
Artificial intelligence
DFG, part of the Unnefar Group, has invested 25 million euros in the pavilion, which incorporates OSR Schuttle technology. It is a system used by companies such as Amazon and Zara and has a 26-story robot that houses 87% of the merchandise that arrives from the laboratories.
This system uses artificial intelligence and decides where to keep the medicines. Later, he introduces 5,000 buckets per day into the boxes containing the orders from each pharmacy.
The warehouse distributes between 70,000 and 100,000 units of medicines per day and has 147 direct employees and almost 50 indirect ones.
The distribution quota in Euskadi
DFG has a pharmaceutical distribution share of 85.3% in Gipuzkoa, 6.2% in Bizkaia and 1.4 in Álava.
During his speech, the president of DFG, Fernando Echeveste, stated that with this installation the largest distribution company in the Basque Country and its decision-making center in San Sebastián are maintained.
“Meanwhile, other companies in the sector are disappearing or being absorbed by multinationals.” he has pointed out.
reach small places
He stressed that the DFG model allows pharmacies located in small towns whose distribution would be deficient to benefit from the speed and frequency of DFG distribution.
The project has been developed in a complicated context in which the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the shortage of components and medicines have come together, which has ended in success, he indicated.
Piera has influenced the “health mission” of the center whose objective is to supply patients in the Basque Country. She recalled that the company was established 122 years ago and was the first dedicated to the distribution of medicines nationwide.
Grow at 40%
“Technology is what allows when a patient goes to the pharmacy and does not have the medicine they request, we can be there in two hours,” he explained.
The center also provides service to all the needs of the pharmacy through 15 technicians dedicated to answering questions, Piera pointed out.
The company has a plan with the goal of growing by 40% and offering more services.
Guarantee against shortages
The DFG flag is a guarantee that shortages will not occur, although there have been problems with laboratories that often do not send the required quantity.
In this sense, Piera has conveyed a message of calm because most of the missing medications can be replaced, but there are problems with some.
“In some cases they are manufacturing problems and other economic ones, since prices in Spain are cheap and there are laboratories that are interested in selling in other countries,” he stated.
For this reason, they work with institutions such as the Basque Government. They have an agreement with other distributors in the north of Spain whereby medicines are brought daily from Pamplona, Zaragoza, Asturias so that they do not run out of supplies.