I am looking for another contact lens distributor.

[jrumbaug]

I currently use OOGP and ABB.

I am looking for recommendations for other contact lens distributors.

Thank you in advance

Jim Rumbaugh

See You There Optical

[kittyeyes]

I used to use ABB. Try Fait out of Wisconsin-better service and same price.

[Sledzinator]

We were thinking about signing up with ABB. What problems are they having?

[kittyeyes]

ABB came to stand for Always Back-ordered Baby.
Fait Distribution has better customer service and better inventory-less delay on orders. They sell uncuts at a good price too.

[Uilleann]

Fait doesn't do RGP/specialty/sclerals I believe. So if that is a large part of your practice, they may not be a great option (that's what we found anyway.) Their pricing was not competitive at all to ABBs either when we looked into them a couple weeks ago. I know a lot of the "supply chain disruption" line we're getting seems to actually stem from the manufacturers themselves, though none are giving honest answers as to what the crap happened to them all about 6 months back, nor - and far more importantly - what they're doing to fix things and get back to the normal in-stock and ship times that patients have come to expect.

[kittyeyes]

For me it came down to service. My back orders would be removed from their website back order list I was using to track those orders and no one at ABB could explain why that happened or how to fix that problem

[Elvis Is Alive]

While we still have an ABB account, I have found CL pricing far cheaper ordering direct from the manufacturers.

[Kwill212]

While we still have an ABB account, I have found CL pricing far cheaper ordering direct from the manufacturers.

This is what I have always done.

[jrumbaug]

Thank you for the replies. OOGP has been my main source. I would go to ABB when I had backorders from OOGP. Now I read that some have experienced backorders from ABB. I will look into FAIT, as suggested. I am surprised to not hear other recommendations. Are there only 3 CL distributors at this time? (OOGP, ABB, and FAIT)

[optical24/7]

Look at your shipping costs. Many times it’s where the real difference in price is.

[NAICITPO]

While we still have an ABB account, I have found CL pricing far cheaper ordering direct from the manufacturers.

+1

[Matthew]

It is crazy how CL prices are going up like crazy.....

[iD]

Has anybody noticed that the Manufacturers are now providing their own special portal to order CL's. Johnson and Johnson and Alcon/Marlow*

[Kwill212]

Has anybody noticed that the Manufacturers are now providing their own special portal to order CL's. Johnson and Johnson and Alcon/Marlow*

Do you mean for patients to order directly from manufacturers?

[AngeHamm]

Do you mean for patients to order directly from manufacturers?

They do allow patients to order from manufacturers, but the money still comes to our office.

[Elvis Is Alive]

Alcon has Marlo. Free shipping direct to patient. Office receives payment as Andrew said. You setup their profile and script in the portal and enter their email address and they can order direct. Far too often, pt's want us to place the order unfortunately. You can still do this in Marlo and get free shipping to pt's address and click the button that says payment was received in office.

[Jordanfoster]

We have started ordering direct with most CL manufactures. We did try E-Dr for sometime but customer services was poor (similar to ABB) Ordering direct thus far has been wonderful except with B&L and all their back orders/delays.

[AngeHamm]

Alcon has Marlo. Free shipping direct to patient. Office receives payment as Andrew said. You setup their profile and script in the portal and enter their email address and they can order direct. Far too often, pt's want us to place the order unfortunately. You can still do this in Marlo and get free shipping to pt's address and click the button that says payment was received in office.

I actually prefer ordering for our patients, and we don't actively encourage patients to use the direct-order feature. Us doing the work is a value-add benefit for them, and every direct patient-to-office interaction is an opportunity to sell glasses or sunglasses.

[Kwill212]

I'll never link my patients directly to manufacturers. That's just a short road to cutting you out of the process completely. Not that there is any money in contacts anyway, but as Andrew said more direct contact with the patient the better. I will order directly though the vendor portals for EPCs, and ship direct to the patients. Every now and then I order a "direct to patient delivery" to the office to see what kind of propaganda they are putting in the boxes. If they start promoting their own ordering systems to my patients, I'll stop ordering their lenses and switch patients to a different brand.

[AngeHamm]

I'll never link my patients directly to manufacturers. That's just a short road to cutting you out of the process completely. Not that there is any money in contacts anyway, but as Andrew said more direct contact with the patient the better. I will order directly though the vendor portals for EPCs, and ship direct to the patients. Every now and then I order a "direct to patient delivery" to the office to see what kind of propaganda they are putting in the boxes. If they start promoting their own ordering systems to my patients, I'll stop ordering their lenses and switch patients to a different brand.

100%. I am very suspicious of these companies collecting direct-marketing information from our patients.

[NAICITPO]

I understand the suspicion, I do. I've even been tracking our orders that come in when a patient orders a 6 month supply and then orders more contacts when they run out directly from Alcon. Every order I've seen we got the credit for the sale.

I don't think J&J or Alcon is going to start their own eye exam company like 1-800 contacts does and try to completely steal patients/customers from us. So what do I think they intend to do with the direct-marketing information?

1) I believe that they want to remind customers when they should be out of contacts if they are replacing them correctly so they can make more money. Which is fine with me, better compliance with wearing schedule and more money to us and no additional work for me.

2) I think they are going to use the information to tell customers about new products. Put the bug into the ears of the customer so they can ask their eye doctor.

Maybe I just have too much faith?

[Jordanfoster]

I'll never link my patients directly to manufacturers. That's just a short road to cutting you out of the process completely. Not that there is any money in contacts anyway, but as Andrew said more direct contact with the patient the better. I will order directly though the vendor portals for EPCs, and ship direct to the patients. Every now and then I order a "direct to patient delivery" to the office to see what kind of propaganda they are putting in the boxes. If they start promoting their own ordering systems to my patients, I'll stop ordering their lenses and switch patients to a different brand.

We are still very much the middle man. We do utilize marlo and their ability to help in regards to the convenience they offer our Alcon patients. With our B&L and J&J patients we use their direct ordering, so for J&J we use their Shop program and etc..We do not remove ourselves from the equation completely. Pricing has been very competitive and it removes the distributor from being another hoop to jump through when trying to get CL in a rush and with back ordered lenses etc…

[Kwill212]

Maybe I just have too much faith?

Certainly for my taste, but to each their own. I'll be forever the skeptic, especially of corporations. I don't think they will try anything nefarious like hide orders without giving offices credit. But I would not be surprised if they sometime down the road they sell direct to consumers, and reduce the office credit to a "dispensing fee". Your patient buys a year supply, here's your 10 bucks doc, thanks. They already see offices willing to do it with vision plans like VSP, this takes even less effort. They already have the logistics and infrastructure in place.

[NAICITPO]

Certainly for my taste, but to each their own. I'll be forever the skeptic, especially of corporations. I don't think they will try anything nefarious like hide orders without giving offices credit. But I would not be surprised if they sometime down the road they sell direct to consumers, and reduce the office credit to a "dispensing fee". Your patient buys a year supply, here's your 10 bucks doc, thanks. They already see offices willing to do it with vision plans like VSP, this takes even less effort. They already have the logistics and infrastructure in place.

I would be pretty surprised if they ever did this, they are making money hand over fist so why would they disrupt the golden goose? The minute Alcon or J&J ever did this doctors all over the world are dropping them.

[Kwill212]

I would be pretty surprised if they ever did this, they are making money hand over fist so why would they disrupt the golden goose?

Because they can?

The minute Alcon or J&J ever did this doctors all over the world are dropping them.

And do what? If Alcon does it, J&J, and B&L will be right in lock step with them. What alternatives are there? Doc's are going to start fitting Hubble? Especially when the contact lens companies telling the patients directly to go to their doctor and get these lenses. Patients are going to tell the doc "I need this lens because xyz." doc says "no try ours instead", "no thanks doc give me the ones I want or I'll go somewhere that will." Also you are putting way to much faith in docs to do something in their own best interest. Again, look no further than the shafting many of them are willing to take from VCPs already.