How to Launch Online Ordering and Delivery for a Pharmacy

Where to start

A pharmacy customer looks for a specific medicine and wants to know one thing: is it available nearby and what does it cost. So the foundation of online ordering is not a pretty storefront but a catalog connected to the pharmacy's inventory system that shows stock per branch.

A sensible launch order:

1. Catalog with search and live stock.
2. Reservation and pickup, the simplest flow, with no couriers needed.
3. Online payment via Payme and Click.
4. Delivery, with your own couriers or a delivery service.
5. A mobile app or Telegram bot once the website works.

A catalog with stock per branch

Key requirements:

• Sync with the inventory system: prices and stock update automatically instead of a manual daily export.
• Stock per branch, not just chain-wide: customers care where exactly they can pick the item up.
• Search by INN and synonyms: people search by brand name, by active ingredient and with typos.
• Alternatives: when an item is out of stock, offer products with the same active ingredient and form, without pushy medical advice.
• A product page with dosage form, strength, manufacturer, dispensing conditions and the leaflet.

It helps to show stock with a small safety buffer: the last pack may already have been sold in store. For example, show "in stock" only above a set threshold and "check availability" below it.

Reservation and pickup

The reservation flow is simple and covers much of the demand:

1. The customer picks items and a branch.
2. The system creates a reservation in that branch's inventory.
3. The customer gets an SMS or Telegram message with the order number and how long it will be held.
4. The pharmacist assembles the order; the customer pays at the till or online and collects it.
5. If the order is not collected in time, the reservation is released automatically.

The reservation must actually reduce available stock, otherwise the same pack gets sold twice.

Delivery

Things to plan:

• delivery zones and fees, minimum order value;
• which branch fulfils the order: the nearest one with full availability;
• storage conditions: refrigerated medicines cannot travel like an ordinary parcel;
• order statuses for the customer and notifications on every change;
• age or document checks if rules require them for certain categories.

Prescription drugs

This is the most sensitive part. Rules for remote sale of prescription medicines are set by the regulator and they change, so check the current requirements in your country before launch. Technically the system should be able to:

• tag products by dispensing category (OTC, prescription, specially controlled);
• disable delivery for prescription items and allow reservation only, if the rules say so;
• accept an e-prescription or check the paper prescription at handover when needed;
• fully exclude categories that may not be sold online.

Keep these restrictions as attributes of the product record rather than hard-coding them for individual items.

Payment via Payme and Click

Payme and Click are the familiar payment methods in Uzbekistan. A typical integration works like this:

• the website creates an order and redirects the customer to the payment page or opens payment in the app;
• the payment system calls your server to verify the order and amount, then confirms the payment;
• once confirmed, the order becomes "paid" and goes to assembly;
• if the order is cancelled or an item is missing, a refund is issued.

Also plan for fiscal receipts, reconciliation of payments with the inventory system and the case where an item runs out after payment: decide in advance whether you offer a substitute or a refund.

Common mistakes

• Stock updates once a day, so customers arrive for items that are gone.
• A reservation does not reduce available stock.
• Search does not understand active ingredients or typos.
• Prescription drugs go through the general cart with no restrictions.
• There is no shared order status for customer, pharmacist and courier.