From Pioneer to International Market Leader

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

As success grew, so did the workload and the need for additional personnel. The old company headquarters were no longer big enough and plans for larger, more spacious 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 that represents the Praxisdienst brand identity with its blue and green colours. This change enables our customers and manufacturers to easily recognise us.

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 increasing 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 reaches another important milestone on its path toward sustainability and energy neutrality. The photovoltaic system installed on the roof of the new logistics building already generates sufficient electricity under optimal conditions to supply the entire logistics infrastructure. And we are thinking ahead: the technical requirements for expanding the solar power system have already been put in place. Sustainability also in terms of distribution, through the discontinuation of the traditional catalog business and the transition to an exclusively digital sales model.

AutoStore Fully Automatic Warehouse System

In response to ever-growing demands, the AutoStore was implemented during the summer of 2020, resulting in 15,000 additional storage units. The fully automated robot storage system operates in two shifts, contributing significantly to enhanced efficiency. With complete automation, errors and mistakes have become nearly non-existent. An expansion of the automatic, future-oriented system is already being planned.

Continuation of our Environmental Strategy

Our company is dedicated to achieving our objective of maximising resource efficiency in our growth efforts. To this end, we have expanded our photovoltaic system to provide energy for our entire logistics centre, rendering it self-sufficient. Moreover, we have installed an ultra-modern wind turbine on the rooftop of our office premises to generate electricity for our site. Additionally, we are in the process of transitioning our vehicle fleet to electric cars, and we have established an electric vehicle charging station to support 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. To maintain our upward trajectory, we are actively seeking dedicated individuals to fill our vacancies.

100 % LED Lighting in our Logistics Centre

Fluorescent tubes are now a thing of the past. Our logistics site has been equipped with highly efficient LED lighting since its extension, and we have now completed the conversion throughout the entire building. The use of LED technology enables us to save up to 40% in energy. Moreover, the new LED lighting with optimised colour rendering 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.

Courier Service in Luxembourg - Praxisdienst NOW

Our brand new courier service Praxisdienst NOW means our customers can have urgent goods delivered to their desired address in Luxembourg within just 3 hours. The delivery is dispatched immediately after the order is placed, provided that the order is received by us no later than 16.00 on a working day and the item is currently in stock.

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

Since the end of 2021, the Praxisdienst Store Test Centre in Longuich near Trier has been welcoming our customers through its doors. Spanning an area of roughly 300m2 300m2, we offer an extensive range of cutting-edge medical technology from various manufacturers for comprehensive testing. Our team is readily available to address any queries you may have regarding the equipment. Additionally, we offer weekend appointments for unit demonstrations that can be conveniently scheduled via email or phone.

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.

easyOrder App: Quick, Easy & Hassle-Free

The new easyOrder app is compatible with both Apple and Android devices and provides customers with a quicker and more streamlined ordering process. This app not only offers customers a platform tailored to their specialty, but also includes useful features such as practical product and quantity suggestions, a more efficient search function, digital order templates and a customised low stock alert. All products can be added to the shopping cart with just one swipe.

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 the 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

With the implementation of a modern and enhanced conveyor system and cutting-edge robot technology, we have significantly increased our shipping capacities and can send up to 500 parcels per hour. Furthermore, our logistics operations have become entirely paperless. This means that the goods are recorded and managed by barcodes from the moment they arrive in our warehouse until they leave in parcels or on pallets. As a result, we can significantly minimise errors, and we can better document batch and shelf life, which allows us to take immediate action in case of recalls issued by the manufacturers.

Top Innovator 2023

Praxisdienst was awarded the prestigious TOP 100 most innovative companies in Germany award for 2023. This recognition is the result of an independent and scientific selection process that evaluates companies based on their innovative strengths and qualities. Our innovative SSB supplies service, EasyOrder app, and fully automated logistics centre are just a few examples of the qualities that earned us this honour. As a company, we take great pride in being among the TOP 100 in our size category, and we see this award as a catalyst for further development and optimisation of our services. Our goal is to not only meet but exceed customer expectations in the future.

Expansion of Our Logistics Centre

Construction has started on an additional high-bay warehouse in proximity to our existing logistics site.

The new warehouse is expected to be operational by the end of 2024, equipped with state-of-the-art storage technology and the capacity for around 10,000 pallets.

Opening of Our New Logistics Centre

With the opening of our new logistics centre, we now offer approximately 12,000 m² of storage space, providing room for around 15,000 pallets and 50,000 storage locations for small items.

The expanded storage capacity allows us to deliver not only small items but also practice furniture such as operating lights, examination couches, and large medical equipment quickly and without long waiting times.

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 the planning stages and we are in the process of expanding our logistics capabilities. The course for a successful future is set and and we are confident that we will soon achieve our next milestones.