Building trust through better issue resolution

When providers have a question, concern, or issue that needs attention from their distribution partner, they're not thinking about organizational structures, workflows, or which team owns the answer. They're trying to solve a problem so they can focus on caring for patients.

Healthcare is complex, and providers understand that issues can arise from time to time. What matters most is having confidence that progress is being made as quickly as possible. When uncertainty enters the picture, the experience matters just as much as the outcome. 

That's why issue resolution has become an important area of focus within Cencora. By examining how inquiries move through the organization, Cencora is working to make support experiences more enriching, connected and expedient.

Confidence comes with visibility

Providers understand that resolving an issue often requires coordination behind the scenes. A question about product availability may involve several teams. A pricing inquiry may require research and validation before a response can be provided. The complexity itself isn't surprising.

What matters is whether they feel informed throughout the process. For Richard Dyke, Director of Pharmacy Business Operations at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, visibility is especially important when it comes to product availability. "We need to know now," he explains, noting that timely information helps the hospital determine whether it needs to pursue alternative suppliers or adjust its plans. That need has helped shape how Cencora approaches issue resolution.

Rather than focusing only on speed, our teams have worked to simplify how inquiries are managed, reduce unnecessary complexity, and create clearer ownership throughout the process. The goal is to make it easier for providers to get answers while providing confidence that progress is being made along the way.

Those efforts have touched 21 process areas across Cencora to-date. By redesigning and simplifying existing processes, teams reduced workflow complexity by 55% and improved average issue resolution speed by more than 80%.*

While the operational metrics are important, the impact is ultimately measured through the provider’s experience. When inquiries reach the right teams faster and move more efficiently toward resolution, providers spend less time following up on status updates and more time focused on their patients and operations. Providers are already seeing the difference. As Kavita Kalra, Physician and Medical Director at Baltimore Oncology and Hematology Associates, describes their experience: "Every time we've needed anything… in a couple hours, the issue is resolved."

Issue resolution is one of the clearest moments where partnership is put into practice. Providers may not remember every routine interaction, but they often remember what happened when something required attention. They remember whether communication was clear and whether someone followed through.

Through the focus on experience enrichment, Cencora continues refining how issues are managed and resolved. The goal is creating an experience that feels easier to navigate and giving providers greater confidence when challenges arise.

*Based on internal data as of September 2026