Spend commitments, rebate deals, supplier locks, and product controls – set once, enforced on every order.
Your contract may require a minimum monthly spend to avoid a surcharge. These surcharges typically run to £300 to £350 a month and appear on the invoice without warning. When ordering decisions are made line by line across a busy pharmacy, spend can drift below target without anyone noticing until it is too late.
A low-spend surcharge triggers automatically if you fall below a contracted monthly minimum. Surcharges of £300 to £350 per month are common. It is invisible at the order screen, so it accumulates without anyone realising until it appears on the invoice.
Create a ranking rule that pushes the products and manufacturers that count toward your target to position one for your mainline wholesaler. Every option remains visible. The right supplier simply appears first on every relevant line.
Spend is directed where it needs to go without asking anyone to remember anything.
| Rank | Supplier | Price | Stock | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supplier A | £29.00 | In stock | Ranked first |
| 2 | Supplier B | £29.32 | In stock | |
| 3 | Supplier C | £29.32 | Limited | |
| 4 | Supplier D | £29.32 | In stock |
You earn a rebate from a supplier based on total monthly spend. That rebate is typically worth £300 to £400 a month, but it settles at statement level, not on individual invoices. Your pharmacy team cannot see it when choosing between suppliers, so they cannot factor it in. Spend goes to the wrong supplier and the rebate goes unclaimed.
A rebate earned on total spend with one supplier can be worth £300 to £400 a month. Without it showing in the comparison, your pharmacy team picks competitors on price. The rebate goes unclaimed because the spend target is never reached.
Apply your rebate percentage as a price adjustment across all products from that supplier. Your pharmacy team now sees the true effective net cost in the comparison, not just the headline invoice price.
Your commercial arrangement is reflected on every order, automatically, without any manual work.
| Supplier | List price | Effective price | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier A | £4.20 | £4.14 -1.50% | In stock |
| Supplier B | £4.08 | £4.08 | In stock |
| Supplier C | £4.35 | £4.35 | Limited |
Certain product lines are managed directly with a supplier outside of Drug Comparison. You need those lines to stay off the ordering comparison to protect the arrangement. Without a rule, an order can be placed through DC and disrupt a deal that took time to build.
A direct supply agreement covers specific manufacturers or product lines. Orders need to go through your agreed channel, not through DC. Any order placed outside that channel risks breaking the terms.
Create a description or category-based block rule for those lines. They remain visible in the comparison so the pharmacy team can see they exist. They are flagged in red and cannot be ordered through DC.
Your direct purchasing arrangement is protected without briefings, reminders, or manual checking.
| Product | Supplier | Price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
LISINOPRIL 10MG TABS 28 PIP 0087622 |
Supplier B | £1.44 | Available |
OMEPRAZOLE 20MG/5ML ORAL SUSP 150ML PIP 0156740 |
Supplier A | £0.92 |
Order directly
|
ATORVASTATIN 20MG TABS 28 PIP 0198744 |
Supplier C | £0.42 | Available |
METFORMIN 500MG TABS 84 PIP 0234891 |
Supplier A | £2.18 | Available |
You have a clear policy on certain types of products. Parallel import products are a common example. When a lower price appears on a PI line, an order can be placed before anyone notices. Policing this consistently across a busy pharmacy, or across multiple branches, is not practical without automation.
PI products, certain manufacturers, or entire product categories may be off-limits for clinical, commercial, or policy reasons. Relying on your pharmacy team to remember and apply this on every line of every order does not work at any scale.
Create a rule targeting any product whose description contains the relevant identifier. Every matching product is blocked across all suppliers, for every order, from the moment the rule goes live.
Your product policy is applied consistently across the whole business, automatically, on every order.
| Product | Supplier | Reason |
|---|---|---|
SERETIDE 250 EVOHALER PI 120 DOSE PIP 0142210 |
Supplier B | PI blocked |
SERETIDE 250 EVOHALER PI 120 DOSE PIP 0142211 |
Supplier D | PI blocked |
SERETIDE 250 EVOHALER PI 120 DOSE PIP 0142215 |
Supplier A | PI blocked |
Some products carry brand support arrangements that are only valid if you order them through a specific supplier. If any branch orders the same product from a competitor, the brand deal is voided. Without a lock rule, that can happen without anyone noticing.
A brand support deal covers a specific product and requires it to be ordered exclusively through your designated supplier. A cheaper price from another supplier appears in the comparison. An order goes there instead. The brand deal is broken and the support is withdrawn.
Lock the product to your designated supplier and PIP code. Every other supplier is blocked for that product across every selected branch. The brand deal is protected on every order without any reliance on individual knowledge or memory.
Your brand support arrangement is honoured on every order, at every branch, automatically.
| Supplier | Price | Stock | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier A | £4.50 | In stock | Locked supplier |
| Supplier B | £4.28 | In stock | Blocked by lock |
| Supplier C | £4.35 | In stock | Blocked by lock |
| Supplier D | £4.42 | Limited | Blocked by lock |
Running multiple branches means the same commercial risks are playing out simultaneously across your whole estate. Product Rules Engine gives head office a single place to create rules and push them to any combination of branches at once. You can also update or remove any rule instantly. If a commercial arrangement changes, your rules change with it.
Create a rule in minutes. From that point forward, the system handles everything on every order.
Match products by keyword in their description, by category, by supplier, or lock a specific product to one supplier only.
Select the products or categories, the supplier it covers, and the branches where the rule should run. Head office applies it to any number of branches at once.
Rank a supplier to position one in the comparison, apply a price or percentage adjustment, or prevent ordering entirely. The rule runs on every order from that moment forward.
You do not need to wait for the launch. Our support team can set up your rules in the backend right now. Get in touch and we will handle it.
Tell us the rules you need and our support team will configure them in the backend. Your rules will be live and running when Product Rules Engine launches in July.
Book a 30-minute demo. See ordering, margin reporting, group control, and how Product Rules Engine fits into how your pharmacy buys stock.
Book a demo