Medical practices are expected to be digitised nationwide with the help of the newly launched Pay32 Clinic (Pay32), an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered inventory analytics and vendor payment software developed by Singapore-based healthcare supplier Lumiere32. Pay32 aims to address issues that include poor management systems and inventory tracking in clinical settings. These issues have become especially difficult to manage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pay32 offers a robust inventory analytics tool that effectively tracks product expiration dates and availability and allows clinics to optimise their inventory using data from vendor invoices and related memos/delivery orders, resulting in a more accurate record of their bottom lines. The tool provides trend updates to clinics, allowing them to better predict buying patterns before planning their purchases for re-stocking. It is expected to eliminate out-of-stock occurrences for necessary items at clinics.

In addition, the software also offers payment tracking and Buy-Now-Pay-Later capabilities via the Pay32 Wallet. The e-wallet allows clinics to adopt cashless payment options with a flexible payment plan that is hoped to strengthen cashflow overall.

Furthermore, the Pay32 Wallet allows clinics to have a maximum credit of RM100,000 (US$23.9 thousand) per clinic, allowing for the hassle-free purchase of small medical equipment, instruments, consumables, and other supplies without upfront payment.

Pay32 Clinic is now available nationwide: all varied subscription packages to multiple types of clinics are complimentary for 6 months and will include free digitisation of data for up to 3 months.

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What is said to be the Asian region’s first fully digital B2B medical supplies distribution platform, Lumiere32, has entered the Malaysian market, positioning itself for rapid growth throughout Southeast Asia.

According to a study done in 2009 (Supply Chain Management: An International Journal Healthcare supply chain management in Malaysia: a case study by Noorfa Haszlinna Mustaffa, Andrew Potter), in Malaysia, the medical supplies distribution industry is highly fragmented, with hospitals and clinics adopting a largely manual and labour-intensive means of inventory management. The current process requires medical institutions to procure their supplies from a variety of traditional sources – calls and emails, manufacturer’s websites, pharmacies, and e-commerce sites. This resource-heavy task along with the fast-moving e-commerce world we live in has resulted in an unnecessarily cumbersome medical supplies procurement process.

Lumiere32 adds that it is able to eliminate these hassles as orders for highly sought-after medical and dental supplies from multiple brands can be placed on a single site, with shipping consolidated in a single package for added convenience. This will help ease inventory procurement tasks, so hospital and clinic staff are able to focus on providing better service to patients instead.

Beyond this, Lumiere32 is looking to help local SMEs sell their top-of-the-line medical supplies internationally, to countries like Singapore and the US. This is in line with the Malaysian government’s SMEs Go Global initiative, which encourages local brands, inclusive of those in the healthcare sector, to venture into foreign markets.

Leveraging on its existing partnerships with large medical brands such as Kavo Kerr to Johnson & Johnson, Lumiere32 already has a head start as it enters the Malaysian market, with over 250 brands a part of its growing network. This includes over 100 manufacturers and dealers, enabling the platform to positively impact a potential of over 2,000 clinics as it enables the digitisation of their supply procurement process.

Founded in 2016, Lumiere32 started with just three suppliers and ten brands on its platform. In less than five years, the company says it has added over 70 suppliers and more than 300 international brands on their platform, as it envisions a similar trajectory in the Malaysian market.

“We are incredibly pleased to be expanding our footprint to Malaysia. The medical supplies distribution industry is ripe in Malaysia, especially with the COVID-19 situation improving. We have seen a surge in medical suppliers seeking online platforms such as ours by more than five times, enabling them to reach out to more customers. As borders reopen, and with Malaysia well-known as for its medical tourism, we believe that it is an opportune time for Lumiere32 to be making its mark in the local scene,” said Dr. Priti Bhole, Founder /COO of Lumiere32.

As a B2B healthcare procurement start-up, Lumiere32 says it seeks to partner with more local medical equipment brands, medical supplies manufacturers, hospitals and clinics, creating a more connected medical supplies network.

It has an online platform that offers a wide range of medical and dental products. Its recent ventures include supplying up to 3 million pieces of surgical face masks, 500,000 thermometers, and several thousands of highly essential medical equipment to over 900 clinics, 15 hospitals and 100 corporates in Singapore, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.