Supermarket chain Kroger Co. plans to partner with Koncert IT to create a new consumer affairs pharmacy call center in Hamilton, Ohio. Kroger is the U.S.'s largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume. It's also the second-place general retailer in the country, just after Wal-Mart.
Company officials told Ohio's Middletown Journal it will partner with Hamilton-based Koncert IT on a pilot project that will initially add 45 pharmacy call center-related jobs to the city, and could ultimately grow to 300. If the new pilot program is successful, Kroger pharmacists will be spending more time with customers to talk about their health and wellness, company officials told the newspaper. The program, which will focus on 14 Kroger pharmacies in the eastern Cincinnati area, will begin May 13, according to a Kroger spokeswoman.
The two companies will initially hire 45 consumer affairs pharmacy call analysts. The goal is to bring more convenience to Kroger pharmacy customers.
“This will help with customers who are seeking more one-on-one time with their pharmacists, which is something our customers have said would be more help to them,” said the spokeswoman, Rachel Betzler.
Koncert IT began the hiring process for the pharmacy call analysts this week, the Middletown Journal reported. Half of the employees will begin next week on the joint venture, according to Walt McLaren, president of Koncert IT, part of the Vora Group of companies based at the Vora Technology Park in Hamilton.
Two national Kroger pharmacies were recently named to the top 25 Medication Therapy Management (MTM) centers in the country by Outcomes. One was in West Virginia, the other in Michigan.
Edited by
Braden Becker
