For one North American retail pharmacy chain, skyrocketing energy bills and a lack of centralized HVAC control were more than just financial burdens—they were operational roadblocks. Mysa HQ’s simplicity and scalability helped their facilities team shift from firefighting daily crises to driving measurable value for their organization.
Key Results:
20-36% reduction in annual energy spend
$2.8M+ in projected 5-year net savings
< 1 year payback with national roll-out
Table of Contents
- The Client: National Retail Pharmacy Chain
- The Business Challenges: Reactive HVAC Management
- The Solution: Simple, Scalable Remote HVAC Monitoring + Control
- Implementation: Maximizing Efficiency and Impact
- The Results: Cost Efficiency and Operational Order
- Lessons Learned: Key Insights from the Pilot Roll-out
- About Mysa HQ EMS in a Box
The Client: National Retail Pharmacy Chain
This growing National Retail Pharmacy chain operates over 300 locations across North America, many of which are in remote and rural areas. Their goal is to provide these communities continuity of access to medication by preventing independently-owned pharmacies from closing when owners retire.
The Business Challenge: Reactive HVAC Management
With a small facilities team and locations spread across a vast geography with varying climates, this pharmacy chain was facing significant challenges managing their facilities operations and controlling energy costs.
The pharmacy chain’s facilities manager felt stuck in a reactive cycle of “operational chaos” and constantly putting out fires. Responsible for managing overhead costs while maintaining safe environments across all locations, they struggled to transition from emergency responder to strategic contributor.
Their key challenges included:
- Limited visibility into store conditions and operations across geographically dispersed locations.
- High utility expenses that were drawing negative attention from senior leadership
- No centralized control of HVAC systems, leading to inefficient energy usage.
- Store managers having full control over thermostats, often resulting in systems running constantly regardless of occupancy.
- Difficulty implementing consistent preventative maintenance programs.
- Costly, unnecessary service calls for issues that could be solved remotely.
- Limited facilities staff trying to manage hundreds of locations.
- Too much time spent on reactive fixes rather than strategic planning.
The Solution: Simple, Scalable Remote HVAC Monitoring + Control
The facilities manager partnered with Mysa HQ to implement a connected device solution that would provide remote HVAC monitoring and control capabilities across multiple locations. They chose Mysa HQ because it provided more simplicity, scalability, and speed compared to legacy EMS systems.
Together, Mysa HQ and the pharmacy chain devised a rollout plan that engaged a 3rd party installer, with the goal being to take as much off the already-swamped facility manager’s shoulders as possible.
Better Visibility
The facilities team gained real-time insight into conditions across multiple locations from a central dashboard, solving the “How can I be in as many places at once?” dilemma. They could now monitor ambient temperature and humidity, HVAC units and refrigeration equipment remotely to provide virtual “boots on the ground” and stop relying on store staff to report critical information.
Fast Response Times
The team set up real-time notifications for equipment issues and abnormal conditions so errors and underperforming assets can be identified and addressed quickly before conditions further deteriorate.
Reduced Service Calls
The ability to diagnose issues remotely eliminated unnecessary technician visits, a huge cost savings in remote areas. For example, seeing that a refrigerator door was left open rather than just receiving a temperature alert meant a simple phone call could resolve the issue without dispatching a technician.
Automated Temperature Control
The facilities team could now implement scheduled temperature setbacks during unoccupied hours to reduce energy costs by up to 36%.
Permissions Management
They implemented partial lockouts to give employees some control over thermostat setpoints, ensuring employees and customers stayed comfortable without risking setpoints being hiked up or down, resulting in excess energy use and unnecessary wear and tear on HVAC equipment.
Ready to lower your operating costs with centralized HVAC control of your multi-site retail chain? Request a demo today.
Implementation: Maximizing Efficiency and Impact
They approached implementation strategically, making choices that maximized efficiency and minimized additional workload for the already overwhelmed facilities team.
Cellular Connectivity
Rather than trying to integrate with existing store networks, the team deployed dedicated cellular modems to run the connected devices on. This sped up installation, avoiding pairing challenges, IT complications and firewall issues, and helps to ensure continuous, reliable connectivity, which is not a guarantee when leveraging existing WiFi networks in remote locations.
Pre-Configured Devices
The solution was designed to be plug-and-play, with equipment pre-configured before shipping to minimize installation time and complexity. This approach meant technicians could focus on installation rather than network configuration.
The Results: Cost Efficiency and Operational Order
The Mysa HQ pilot delivered significant measurable benefits:
- Minimum 20% reduction in annual energy spend across pilot locations.
- 7 out of 9 pilot stores achieved 25% average gas savings (up to 50% when normalized for weather).
- $9,000 in cost avoidance over just 11 weeks.
- One specific location achieved a remarkable 36% reduction in winter energy costs, equaling savings of $791 per month. This meant Mysa HQ paid for itself in less than 3 months.
Here are the projected national rollout figures, assuming a minimum 20% savings:
- Less than 1-year payback
- $2.8M+ in 5-year net savings
Lessons Learned: Key Insights from the Pilot Roll-out
While the pilot was a unanimous success, the pharmacy chain still identified several key insights during their implementation that they’ll carry through to further rollouts:
Involve Store Managers
Front-line managers need to be part of the conversation from the beginning and properly trained on new systems so they feel empowered and more supportive of change.
Professional Site Surveys
Initial attempts to have store managers conduct equipment surveys proved ineffective; professional technician assessments were ultimately required.
Cluster Implementations
Grouping nearby stores for implementation reduced travel costs and improved efficiency.
Comprehensive Asset Tagging
Future rollouts will include tagging all equipment during site visits, not just HVAC systems, to maximize the value of every truck roll.
Measure and Report Results
Documenting the savings was critical for securing continued executive support.
Ready to lower your operating costs with centralized HVAC control of your multi-site retail chain? Request a demo today.