In Africa, pharmacies face many challenges including access to finance but inventory management is among the biggest challenges. Currently there is no clear data on demand, what to stock and how much pharmaceutical retailers need to stock in a given period of time. This increases the risk of stocking more or less of what is needed and could lead to sale of expiry drugs.
Field Intelligence was in founded in 2015, Nigeria to digitize this supply-chain process and help African pharmacies sell better. The company initially was government-focused and tried to tackle the challenges facing the public health supply chain in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja. Their SaaS platform was used to manage complex and large-scale pharmaceutical distribution for the government. They later decided to branch into private space after the Co-founder and CEO Michael Moreland noticed that independent pharmacies in Abuja faced similar challenges to the government-owned ones.
In 2017 Field Intelligence launched Shelf Life as the standalone product to handle this transition. Up until now, they had operations in Abuja, Lagos and Nairobi and they hope to solve inventory problems in as many African cities as possible. By today, they have so far expanded in as many as 11 cities across Nigeria and Kenya.
ShelfLife has seen immense success from the time it was launched. They now serve over 700 pharmacies across Nigeria and Kenya. By next year, Field Intelligence plans to surpass 2,000 Shelf Life pharmacies and drugstores. By 2025, the company is targeting 12,000 pharmacies and drugstores.
Mooreland hopes that in the long run, the company is effectively solving the finance problem by providing cheaper financing solution that saves Pharmacies money.
