RAKUS is the first hospital to use Telema EDI

In December, 2019 Telema and RAKUS signed a contract of Telema EDI services. RAKUS (Rīgas Austrumu Klīniskā Univeristātes slimnīca) is the biggest hospital group in Latvia uniting 5 hospitals. They are the first hospital to adopt EDI in Latvia. The use of EDI orders and EDI invoices is part of their bigger supply chain optimisation project.

RAKUS has more than 500 suppliers and is annually exchanging almost 100 000 documents. Establishing direct EDI connections with each supplier was not an option. Telema SIA Sales Director Valdis Zītars explains: “RAKUS was looking for a service provider with a long-term experience in EDI. Telema with its 20 years EDI experience and large network (4500 shops and 1200 suppliers) was a good fit.”

RAKUS’ Chief Accountant Andris Kaktabulis explains: “Sending electronic orders to suppliers and receiving e-invoices is part of a larger supply chain optimisation project. EDI will help us to eliminate mistakes and provide feedback about goods received vs goods ordered much sooner than today. Getting an e-invoice that will be automatically transferred to bookkeeping system is an extra bonus.”

Valdis Zītars from Telema comments further: “In FMCG market, not receiving all ordered products or receiving incomplete quantity is quite common. However, this is not acceptable in the healthcare sector. Getting fast feedback about any supply shortages is critical in order to start looking for substitutes. In this case, EDI is providing great value – information can move back and forth in minutes instead of hours or days.”

The system will be built in tight cooperation with RGP SIA, one of the largest Horizon ERP support companies in Latvia. RGP SIA director Jānis Priedītis comments: “We see RAKUS project as the first step towards “edification” of Latvian healthcare providers. The operational benefits and increased speed in transaction processing are very compelling reasons to adopt EDI. We are ready to support all Horizon users in EDI projects.”

RAKUS’ Chief Accountant Andris Kaktabulis addresses the healthcare sector suppliers: “Our aim is to edify over 50% of our orders and invoices by the end of 2020, bringing the level to 95% in three years. We believe our suppliers see the benefits and are eager to move on to this higher level of communication as soon as possible”.

Hospitals across Europe are increasingly taking several initiatives due to high pressure for healthcare cost reduction in the current dynamic environment. Supply chain costs are in the focus of cost optimization strategies in hospitals across Europe. The EDI penetration rate is highest in U.K (over 80%), followed by France, Benelux, Denmark, and Germany. ORDERS, ORDERSP, DESADV, RECADV, and INVOICE are the most popular healthcare EDI transactions in Europe.

RAKUS is the biggest hospital group in Latvia that unites 5 hospitals dedicated to different healthcare services under one alliance. Altogether they are treating up to 100,000 patients annually.

Telema is the leading EDI and e-invoicing operator in the Baltics, offering IT solutions for automated data flow in supply chain. There are over 4,400 shops and over 1,200 suppliers using the Telema network. Annually more than 18 million documents are exchanged.

RGP is one of the most known Horizon ERP distributors and business process optimisation companies in Latvia. The company has broad experience in servicing clients both in public and private sector.