Special feature
Q
First off, what will set ABB
Optical apart from other
contact lens suppliers in Canada?
A. ABB Optical is truly a partner
to the eye care professional. The
company is based in a non-direct
manner, meaning we do not go in and
we benchmark against retail pricing
that’s going on within their area, so
it gives them some insight into how
they can improve their position.
Q
What products will be
available in Canada through
influence a decision of which contact ABB Optical?
lenses the ECP buys. We go in and be A. We have a contractual obligation
the single-source supplier. So what with the four contact lens providers
does that mean? Today, ECPs order – CooperVision, Alcon, Johnson &
from four contact lens providers and Johnson and Bausch & Lomb.
they receive multiple parcels in a day
or two or three, depending where
these items come from because many
do not ship from Canada. Many of the
contact lens companies ship directly
from the U.S., so it’s a bit of a compli-
cated operation today.
What ABB Optical does is we bundle
all of that. You can order everything
from us, including the trial lenses with
many orders delivered either the same
day or next day. How we add a lot of
Q
ABB Optical’s distribution centre
In addition to contact lens
distribution, ABB Optical
in Delta, B.C.
you tell us more about this service? Q
A. Let’s talk about how a store or us about this important tool?
has also brought ABB Analyze, Pow-
ered by GLIMPSE to Canada. Can
practice runs their day. They receive
customers for eye exams, they sell
contact lenses, they sell eyeglasses,
they have opticians on staff.
You also mentioned that ABB
Optical is planning to bring
ABB Verify to Canada. Can you tell
A. ABB Verify is a powerful tool in
the U.S. What it does is it analyzes
your practice management system
and determines what vision benefits
value to all that is, first of all, you’ve ABB Analyze, Powered by GLIMPSE the patient/consumer still has and it
saved a lot of time in your ordering. is a total dashboard of a practice’s provides insight to the owner.
Second, the time it takes to unpack activities for a day. So everything that your order is drastically reduced due happens, you turn on a computer the to receiving one shipment with all of next morning, it tells you exactly what’s your products. And the last part is, we transpired and it gives you an idea of work to get a complete view of what how the company’s performing – both the ECP buys – the overall purchasing in sales and in margin, how many peo- portfolio – and we do a business review ple came through, the productivity and with them. the performance of the people working
Q
in terms of what they’ve been selling,
Can you tell us more about
this business review?
doing and working on.
For example, are there people that
haven’t been to a practice in two or
three years that potentially have dol-
lars and unused benefits left in their
insurance plan that probably need
an eye exam or could be sold contact
lenses or glasses? It gives the owner
insight, prior to anybody walking into
their store or practice, so they have an
opportunity to pre-plan what’s going
And it gives insight to the owner on to happen because they know the pa-
A. We examine three clear aspects. how they can manage their business tient/consumer still has benefits that
One, how is their business in contact more effectively because every day now are unused. This is a tremendous tool.
lenses doing? Two, do we have an op- they have this single dashboard and It works very well in the U.S. and we
portunity to suggest that they could from there they can drill down to get look forward to bringing this program
use more dailies rather than month- more detail on what’s happening. With to Canada in the future. OP
lies, for example, because that could ABB Analyze, ECPs can make better in- enhance their business? And, three, formed decisions about their practice.
Optical Prism | March 2020 27