By CDMV
Updated on August 1, 2024

When you are preparing to work on inventory, fear of losing time is of particular concern. But if you are well organized, you have everything to gain! A well-managed inventory not only saves time, but also quickly translates into savings and reduced losses. It should therefore be seen as an essential exercise, especially considering that inventory management is the second largest expense in veterinary practices!
 

Here are five suggestions for managing your inventory with maximum efficiency that you can apply right away:

1. Work as a team

For inventory management to be effective, it must be rigorous. For that reason, it is important to make sure all of your co-workers are aware of the costs in time and money of carelessness. The process must involve the participation of the entire team, with, of course, one person being in charge of follow-up.

Monthly and annual inventory operations are carried out within a specific period of time, but on a day-to-day basis, the discipline of each team member makes all the difference. To avoid waste and overuse, get into the habit of putting everything back in its place and checking before opening a product if it is not in use elsewhere in the establishment.

2. Use the Inventory program within your veterinary practice management software

You already have a great tool at your disposal for managing your inventory efficiently, because no matter what software you use in your practice, it offers an inventory management feature. Take advantage of this tool by listing each product its quantity and expiration date, while taking care to specify minimum and maximum stock quantities for each one. Once everything is set up, you will no longer need to place approximate orders because time is running out. Your orders will be placed in just a few minutes and errors will be minimized. Your software will do the job for you in no time!

3. Speed up monthly inventory

Performing a complete inventory every month is not necessary; it takes a lot of time that could be better invested in care. To facilitate the process, divide your stock into separate categories for food, medication, medical supplies, etc.

Identify your top sellers for each category, as these will be the subject of the monthly inventory. For the remaining items, you can check the inventory of some products each week and thus complete a full inventory after a few months. By spreading the task over several weeks, a more accurate inventory is maintained.

4. First-in, first-out

How to reduce the number of products that expire on your shelves?  Apply the FIFO method, for “first-in, first-out”! First, you need to define the categories, then place each category in clearly defined spaces in your premises. Take a few extra minutes to place your newer merchandise behind items that are already on the shelves so that the older items are at the front and will be sold first. Don't forget to do the same thing for food, even for your best sellers!

5. Colour code medications

Having to dispose of.expired drugs leads to potentially heavy financial losses, but it is something that can almost always be avoided. To prevent this as much as possible and to ensure the integrity of medications, upon entering your storage area, at first glance, you should be able to visualize products with a "close" expiration date. To do this, it is recommended that you use removable coloured stickers to clearly identify medications that:

• expire this year

• expire next year

• expire in two years