Section 172(1) statement

 

Employees: All staff and Directors were employed and paid on behalf of the Company by a fellow Group undertaking and the Company is recharged for their services. The Directors consider employee engagement a critical factor in the long-term sustainable success of the Company. The Company has a number of different employee forums with the aim of assessing employee engagement levels and identifying key concerns that have representation of all areas and locations of our business. A number of actions have been implemented during the year including various employee welfare related improvements at the Company's facilities. Development programmes have taken place throughout all sites for first line managers and team members. The Company also has an e-learning platform with an expanding suite of learning modules.

Creating healthier futures starts with the health of team members, and as a purpose-driven company, the health and well-being of team members is fundamental to the Company. The Company is also committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace and treating the people behind the organisation with dignity and respect so that they feel supported, appreciated and valued both inside and outside of work. This aligns to our wider global aspiration of fostering a workplace that values diversity, equity, and inclusion, by creating pathways for every team member to thrive, making a positive impact on our communities. The Company also conducts mandatory learning for every team member to build a foundation of knowledge. The Company continues to support employee resource groups, including the WIN (U.K.) Chapter, which aims to foster an inclusive environment where women and allies can connect, collaborate, learn and support one another in their personal and professional development. Through this network, the Company has strengthened community engagement, supported development opportunities and championed its members.

The Company recognises important events locally that connect with our team members throughout the year such as Pride month, Black History month, Diwali, and International Women’s Day to name a few, so that team members feel connected, supported and proud to be their true, authentic selves in and outside of the workplace.

Customers: The Company places a strong emphasis on putting the customer at the heart of what it does. To do this the Company's ethos is to ensure that we are treating customers with fairness and ensuring their satisfaction by delivering safe, high-quality products and exceptional service. The Directors actively engage with customers through dedicated field-based employees who provide support and assistance to our 20,000+ customer base. The Company values customer feedback and seeks to understand their perspectives through various channels, including the Institute of Customer Service survey, the Healthier Futures Index and other surveys developed internally to gauge customer satisfaction. By incorporating customer insights into decisionmaking processes, the Directors consider the impact of their decisions on customer interests. Having a robust understanding of our customer base ensures that the Company continues to develop and launch products or services that are relevant to our purpose, which is to be united in our responsibility to create healthier futures. Furthermore, the Company continuously enhances its customer services by leveraging digital capabilities that offer easy access to information, streamlined ordering processes, and a range of additional services.

Suppliers: The Directors aim to ensure that the Company operates fairly, transparently and with integrity with its suppliers and views these relationships as of significant importance to the future success of the Company. The Company engages with its suppliers through multiple channels, both formally and informally. These channels include direct bilateral contact through commercial relationships, together with membership of the HDA (Healthcare Distribution Association). Engagement is through a combination of formal activity (procurement, contractual SLA reviews and other contact defined in contracts), and informal activity (ad hoc meetings, strategic reviews, etc.). These engagements provide the Directors with a broad and diverse understanding of supplier priorities and allows them to take into account the interest of suppliers while making decisions.

Communities: The Directors value an open dialogue with the communities in which the business operates. This allows the Directors to understand how these communities view the business and the emerging needs of these communities in our united responsibility to create healthier futures. It also enables the Directors to take into account the impact of their decisions on these communities. The Company, either directly or through its associated companies, engages with the wider community through multiple means which could include social media, charity events, its membership of the Healthcare Distributors Association and its engagement with the associations representing community pharmacy, such as Community Pharmacy England (CPE), The Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA), The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) and The National Pharmacy Association (NPA).

As a purpose led organisation our team members are united in our responsibility to create healthier futures. Alongside other Group companies in the U.K., the Company has raised over £90,000 for Action Medical Research and Theodora Children’s Charity, following sponsored fitness challenges and fundraising events throughout the year. The Company also donated £14,000 to Pharmacist Support as part of its partnership to join forces for a student bursary scheme, reinforcing the Directors' dedication to supporting the future of pharmacy professionals.

Environment: The Company takes its Environmental, Social and Governance responsibility seriously and recognises the impact of its daily operations. The company understands the critical role it plays within the NHS supply chain and is committed to reducing emissions and minimising its impact, while ensuring uninterrupted service to patients.

As part of the journey towards achieving Net Zero, the Company is actively transitioning its fleet of diesel delivery vans to electric. For heavy goods vehicles, it is adopting biofuel as an interim solution, ensuring progress while maintaining operational reliability. Additionally, the Company is investing in renewable energy by installing solar panels across its facilities, further reducing its carbon footprint. Each step of this transition is rigorously tested to ensure that sustainability efforts do not compromise patient care.

The Company is committed to sustainable waste management, reducing waste going to landfill, increasing recycling efforts, and reducing single-use plastics across its operations.

Beyond the Companies own operations, we are supporting our manufacturer partners in their sustainability goals. By providing logistics services for the recycling of specific waste streams, this helps to divert waste from landfills and contribute to a circular economy within the healthcare sector.

The Company is proudly a part of Circularity in Primary Pharmaceutical Packaging Accelerator (CIPPPA) group to further enhance efforts to increase recycling and reduce single-use plastics in the sector.