The future is here at Direct Chemist Outlet Gympie, as a robot joins their ranks behind the counter to fulfil the needs of the community.
Aptly named Spencer the dispenser by the community through an online vote, the dispensing robot has an array of features useful to the local pharmacy, staff and customers.
Stock can be emptied into the robot and it will automatically sort and date items before putting the stock away ready for it to be dispensed.
Instead of staff spending hours handling stock, the robot speeds up the process by optimising the whole process in one machine.
Stock is emptied, sorted, dated and organised by the robot as it picks up the barcodes of items.
Then staff are able to appropriately select what is needed for the customer at the touch of a button.
The machine has a total of five chutes that are used to transport stock around the machine and it connects directly to the store’s software for ease of use.
The addition of Spencer the dispenser is appreciated by the busy pharmacy and for customers who now receive shorter wait times and improved service due to staff having more time to focus on their needs rather than stock.
The robot took three days to build and required the roof to be pulled apart, as Spencer is three metres tall.
A day was spent training staff to use the robot.
Construction began on Tuesday 6 February and Spenser is now in full action.
After the upgrade, future considerations for the store include a checkpoint where customers will be able to pick up scripts after hours.
