Walt McLaren, president of Koncert IT, said the pilot project’s original end date was Sept. 15 but has been extended to February 2013.
“We got it staffed and this is what I call a very good pilot stage,” McLaren said. “Right now they’re looking at possible infrastructure expansion in the event that it continues to move forward.”
If the pilot project is successful, it would mean Kroger pharmacists will be spending more time with customers to talk about their health and wellness, company officials said.
Rather than taking routine calls for prescription refills in the stores, the call center in Hamilton can handle those calls freeing up the pharmacists for in-store customers, Kroger officials said.
Kroger officials were not available for comment about the project late Monday afternoon.
The company said last spring the pilot project was focused at 14 Kroger pharmacies in the eastern Cincinnati area and would not affect pharmacies in Butler or Warren counties. According to its website, the Kroger Co. operates 1,948 pharmacies in their combination food and drug stores. In the company’s Cincinnati/Dayton Division, there are 103 Kroger pharmacies.
McLaren said are five to six shifts of analysts that work from 8 a.m to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays; and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.
He also said Koncert IT has had “a good success rate with our applicants.”
The jobs pay between $10 and $15 an hour.
McLaren said his company hopes the joint venture will help to drive other customer to Vora Technology Park.
Koncert IT is part of the Vora Group, a collection of companies and investments concentrating on information technology solutions and infrastructure with an international presence.
Vora Group portfolio consists of 12 ventures in the software, services and infrastructure space with annual revenues of more than $100 million (profitable), employing more than 2,100 people worldwide, according to its website.
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