The basics:

• Wakefern will open centralized pharmacy fulfillment center in Jamesburg
• Facility will serve 149 ShopRite, 2 The Fresh Grocer pharmacies
• Partnership with iA aims to improve efficiency, patient care
• Will create new jobs to operate 12,000-square-foot facility

Wakefern Food Corp. is taking steps to streamline prescription dispensing and backend operations at pharmacy departments in more than 150 supermarkets across the Northeast.

The Keasbey-based retailer-owned cooperative is working with pharmacy fulfillment solutions provider iA, according to a July 27 announcement. Wakefern says the goal is to allow for even more personalized patient care.

As part of the collaboration, the partners will launch a 12,000-square-foot centralized fulfillment center. The hub will fill thousands of prescriptions daily at 149 ShopRite stores and two The Fresh Grocer locations.

According to iA, more than 70% of the ShopRite store pharmacies it will service under the new central fulfillment facility are located in New Jersey.

The site is set to open next year at a Wakefern facility in Jamesburg. Its technology will work in tandem with the co-op’s digital tools that help customers manage prescriptions, request refills and stay connected to their local pharmacy.

As retail pharmacies continue to face pressures like reimbursement challenges, rising prescription volumes and increasing operational complexity, enhanced centralized fulfillment models have emerged as a way to enable more scalable and efficient service, Binghamton-headquartered iA said.

The company said the approach also empowers pharmacy teams to focus more on patient-facing care. The arrangement frees them up to spend time consulting with customers, answering questions and connecting them with wellness-related resources.

Commercial retail pharmacies, health systems and government pharmacy operations use iA’s automated prescription fulfillment systems and software. Partners include Publix Pharmacy, Premier Inc. and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

‘More personalized care’

iA CEO Tom Utech said, “We’re proud to partner with Wakefern as they advance their ShopRite Pharmacy operations through a centralized fulfillment model. This approach combines intelligent software and data-driven insights to enhance consistency, improve efficiency and give pharmacy teams more time to focus on what matters most — caring for their patients.”

According to the partners, they will hire new team members to run Wakefern’s centralized pharmacy fulfillment center.

Wakefern Vice President of Pharmacy & Wellness Aaron Sapp said, “Our ShopRite Pharmacies sit at a unique intersection of medicine and food — two essential drivers of everyday health. This centralized fulfillment system will help better coordinate our behind-the-scenes pharmacy operations, allowing our pharmacy teams to focus on delivering more personalized care to the customers we serve in stores every day.”

The partnership spans Wakefern’s entire in-store network of 151 pharmacies. Besides ShopRite and The Fresh Grocer, the cooperative’s banners include:

• Price Rite Marketplace
• Dearborn Market
• Gourmet Garage
• Fairway Market
• Di Bruno Bros.
• Morton Williams