From Pioneer to International Market Leader

Our Milestones Since 1953

Founded as one of the very first mail-order companies for medical products, Praxisdienst has developed into a successful international supplier of medical products for human, dental and veterinary medicine. Our customers consist of general practitioners, hospitals, naturopaths, physiotherapists and rescue services as well as sports clubs and production facilities; not only in German-speaking communities, but also throughout Europe.

Pioneer as a Nationwide Shipper of Medical Products

In 1953, Praxisdienst was founded in Wuppertal, Germany. A market pioneer, they were the first medical product mail order company to operate nationwide. Unlike other suppliers who were exclusively active in local, on-site retail, Praxisdienst provided products for the entire country. Doctors, hospitals and care facilities from Hamburg to Munich could now conveniently acquire everything from syringes to complete surgery furnishings from a single source.

Relocation

In 1978, the company headquarters were relocated to Longuich near Trier. The geographical proximity to France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg paved the way for the company's expansion throughout central Europe. Furthermore in the following years, the assortment was continuously expanded and adapted to the requirements of the time and progress in medical technology.

Continuation of the Classic Catalogue Business

Praxisdienst became indispensable as a mail order company for medical products in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Four annual catalogues offered a large, up-to-date assortment of medical supplies. Advising our customers with a personal touch is a concept to which we remain true, even today. The competent and friendly support from our trained medical product advisors is an important aspect of our success.

Pioneer as an Online Medical Shop

Launched back in 1953 with the then innovative concept of a nationwide medical mail order company, Praxisdienst remained true to its innovative spirit almost 55 years later, going online in 2007 with its web shop - one of the first specialised shops for medical products. Customers now had the choice between placing a classic catalogue order (discontinued in 2019) or a modern online order.

The Praxisdienst Online Shop Goes International

The success in the core countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland inspired us to branch out into new markets. To begin, the Dutch shop went live in 2008 as the first of our non-German language shops online. The start was promising and not long after, we extended our offer to include English and French. Polish, Spanish and Italian followed swiftly upon that and are being continuously expanded.

Creation of the Veterinary Shop

In response to growing market demand, we launched the Praxisdienst Veterinary Shop in 2009. The comprehensive assortment for veterinary medicine consists of a wide spectrum of products from consumables to diagnostic supplies and instruments. Veterinarians can now conveniently order everything for their clinic needs online.

Construction of the New Logistics Centre in Longuich

The rapidly increasing number of orders presented us with new logistical challenges. A modern warehouse with more capacity was required. The opening took place in the summer of 2013. The complete logistics process is now quicker and more efficient, while new environmental and sustainability standards have been set.

Opening of the Dental Shop

In May of 2014 we opened our Praxisdienst Dental Shop to strengthen our reputation as a reliable partner for dentists. We have dental professionals working on our team, helping to expand our assortment of dental products in order to satisfy the needs of dentists and dental labs.

Construction of the New Company Headquarters in Longuich

Increasing success means more work and a corresponding increase in the number of employees. The old company headquarters were no longer big enough and plans for larger offices were conceived. The new, modern offices and spaces were inaugurated in the autumn of 2015.

Praxisdienst Receives a New Brand Identity

Classic catalogue business, online shops serving domestic and foreign markets, products for human, dental and veterinary medicine, the expansion of business divisions as well as geographical expansion - all this progression called for a whole new look. In 2016, we decided on a new logo whose blue and green colours embody Praxisdienst's brand identity. In this way, we are easliy recognizable for our customers and manufacturers.

Distinguished with the Shop Usability Award

Our continuous efforts to make the Praxisdienst online shop more user friendly through innovative features, such as the order alarm or emergency configurator, found official recognition in 2017 when Praxisdienst received the Shop Usability Award in the B2B category. This distinction is the most important E-Commerce prize in German-speaking communities and was awarded to an online medical shop for the first time. To us, this prize simultaneously serves as recognition and incentive. It was also the year that Praxisdienst generated the majority of its revenue online for the first time.

Expansion of the Logistics Centre

The continuous sales growth, the overall positive development of our international shops and the ever-growing number of orders made an expansion of our logistic centre necessary. By increasing our capacity, we created the basis for further growth, high product availability and continuously high standards in delivery reliability.

Introduction of the PLUS Programme

The satisfaction of our returning customers has always been important to us. With Praxisdienst PLUS, we began a programme that offers members countless benefits: PLUS customers receive an immediate 5% discount, collect loyalty points and benefit from priority processing of their orders. The programme was very well received and quickly became a great success.

The Praxisdienst Order App

The goal at Praxisdienst is to make the order process as efficient and simple as possible. Therefore, we engaged select returning customers to develop an application that turns your smartphone into a barcode scanner. Customers scan their items directly in their store room, save time and avoid order mistakes. This unique app is a real first in the industry and offers a functionality that was previously exclusive to hospitals and large medical facilities.

Commissioning of the Photovoltaic System

Praxisdienst took another step toward sustainability and energy independence. Under optimal conditions, the new photovoltaic system installed on the roof of the logistics building generates enough energy to supply the entire logistics infrastructure. And we are thinking ahead: the technical requirements for expanding the solar power system have already been met. We also improved our sustainabilty in terms of distribution, through the discontinuation of the classic catalogue business, and the shift to a purely online shop.

Start of the Fully Automatic Warehouse System AutoStore

To meet continuously increasing demands, the AutoStore was put into operation in the summer of 2020 and created 15,000 new storage spaces. In addition to the increase in capacity, we achieved a considerable increase in efficiency, thanks to the fully automatic robot storage system in two-shift operation. Thanks to the complete automation, errors and mistakes have become virtually impossible. An expansion of the automatic and future-oriented system is already being planned.

Continuation of our Environmental Strategy

We are consistently pursuing our goal of making the growth of our company as resource-efficient as possible. The photovoltaic system has been expanded to provide the entire logistics centre with energy, thus making it self-sufficient. An ultra-modern wind turbine has been installed on the roof of our office premises, which will be used to generate electricity for the site. Additionally, we are starting to convert our vehicle fleet to electric vehicles. By commissioning an electric vehicle charging station, we are creating the necessary conditions for this goal.

100 Employees at Two Locations for the First Time

When we launched our online shop for medical professionals in 2007, we were one of the pioneers in the industry. The decision we made back then has proven to be spot on and has helped us achieve continuous growth. Today, are proud to exceed the mark of 100 employees at two locations for the first time. In order to continue growing, we are constantly looking for committed employees to fill our vacancies.

100 % LED Lighting in our Logistics Centre

Fluorescent tubes have finally had their day. While the extension of our logistics site has had highly efficient LED lighting from the beginning, the conversion is now complete in all parts of the building. By using LED technology we achieve energy savings of about 40 %. The new LED lighting with optimised colour rendering also creates improved working conditions for our employees.

Awarded with the "German B2B Award 2020/21"

Praxisdienst was awarded 1st place in the customer satisfaction category in the largest Germany-wide B2B ranking in the "Medical Supplies (Online Shops)" sector. The "German B2B Award" is presented by DtGV, the German Association for Consumer Studies. For the independent ranking, 1,370 companies from 100 different industries were evaluated based on a nationwide online customer survey.

The New Praxisdienst Collect Station 

From now on, our customers can choose to have their parcel deposited at the new pick-up station on the premises of our logistics centre in D-54340 Longuich. This not only saves delivery costs, but the goods are ready for collection around the clock. Customers receive the pick-up code for their order by e-mail as soon as it has been processed and deposited.

Innovative Medical Technology at your Fingertips in the PD Store Test Centre

Since the end of 2021, the doors of the Praxisdienst Store Test Centre in Longuich near Trier are open to our customers. On an area of approximately 300m2, we provide a large selection of the most modern and innovative medical technology from various manufacturers for extensive testing and are available to answer any questions you may have about the devices. Even at the weekend, appointments for a presentation of the units are possible and can be arranged either by e-mail or telephone.

Winner of the "Deutscher Gesundheits-Award 2022"

Praxisdienst is one of the leading service providers in the healthcare industry - as confirmed by the award of the "Deutscher Gesundheits-Award 2022" in the category "Medical Technology - Online Shops". Prior to the award ceremony on 1 September 2022, more than 33,000 customer reviews of more than 300 companies were obtained and evaluated.

The news channel n-tv and the German Institute for Service Quality presented the "Deutscher Gesundheits-Award" for the first time.

Easy and Fast Ordering with the easyOrder App

To make the ordering process even faster and easier, customers can now access the new easyOrder ordering app designed for both Apple and Android users. With this app, customers are not only offered a platform tailored to their specialty, but they also receive practical product and quantity suggestions, a more efficient search function, digital order templates and a customised order alert. All products can be added to the shopping cart with just one swipe. The easyOrder App will soon be available in English.

Free SSB Service

Ordering and invoicing SSB supplies (Sprechstundenbedarf, SSB) is an unpopular task in German medical practices and hospitals. It is often unclear whether items can be billed as SSB and, in case of doubt, they are paid out of the practice's own budget.

To save our customers this time-consuming work, we check the orders for SSB items, prepare the prescription and settle with the respective health insurance company. Our SSB supplies service is of course free of charge for our customers. Thanks to our new SSB functions in the online shop, registered customers can also see immediately which items can be billed as SSB supplies. This makes the ordering process much easier. Please note that this service is only available to customers in Germany.

Modernisation & Expansion of our Logistics

In addition to expanding our warehouse capacity to 40,000 storage locations, 25,000 of which are fully automated, we have responded to the steadily growing order volume. The fully automated storage spaces are now serviced by 21 robots, so that orders are ready for dispatch faster.

By recording each individual item using a barcode scanner, we ensure a low potential for error. In addition, all processes in our warehouse can be fully and reliably traced back to the smallest detail. The information collected is transferred to our system so that all relevant data such as batch number, best-before dates and much more is available to everyone.

Looking Towards the Future with Confidence

We regularly improve our online shop with innovative, user-friendly features, the expansion of our company headquarters is in planning and a new expansion of our logistics is underway. The course for a successful future is set and the next milestones are certainly not far away.