Inventory Management for Veterinary Professionals provides a thorough introduction to the logistics of effective and efficient veterinary inventory management. Designed for any employee of a veterinary practice, the book covers strategies and tactics for all major aspects of inventory management. It provides veterinary professionals with a practical roadmap for this key business operation, with stories drawing on the author’s experience to provide a real-world perspective.
Emphasizing both the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ of developing effective inventory management systems, it’s an indispensable tool for veterinary professionals at every level of practice. Taking a holistic approach to setting up, maintaining, and optimizing an inventory system, the book begins by describing the theory and strategies for inventory management, then discusses how to incorporate this knowledge into practice.
Inventory Management for Veterinary Professionals offers: - Detailed discussion of topics including the flow of inventory through the practice, forecasting, ordering, troubleshooting, and more- Advice on how to receive and restock, organize, price, and sell inventory- Guidance on how to set up an inventory action plan- A chapter on setting and executing inventory management protocols around controlled substances- A companion website with additional tools, resources, and self-assessment questions
Inventory Management for Veterinary Professionals is ideal for any veterinary professional, including practice managers, receptionists, assistants, technicians, and practice owners.
Table of Contents
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
About the Companion Website xix
1 Introduction to Inventory Management 1
1.1 What No One Told You During Your "Training" as an Inventory Manager 3
1.2 Inventory Can Be Hard But It Matters. Here's Why 4
1.3 What is the Impact of Inventory Management on Our Practice? 4
1.4 When Do People Look to Reassess their Inventory System? 7
1.5 Inventory Goals 8
1.6 The Three Mindsets for Inventory Management 10
1.6.1 Mindset Exercise 11
1.7 The Role of an Inventory Manager 12
1.8 Qualities of an Inventory Manager 16
1.9 Creating an Inventory Team 18
1.10 Getting Your Team on Board 19
1.10.1 Co-creating an Inventory Improvement Plan 23
1.11 Best Practice Recap 23
2 Your Inventory Ecosystem and the Flow of Inventory Through your Practice 25
2.1 Your Inventory (and Practice) is an Ecosystem 27
2.2 Introduction to the Flow of Inventory in Your Practice 30
2.3 Communicating with Your Team 33
2.4 Inventory Manager Spotlight 34
3 Introduction to Demand Forecasting and Reorder Points, the Foundation of Our Ecosystem 35
3.1 Author's Note/Story 35
3.2 Introduction to Demand Forecasting 36
3.3 Demand Forecasting and Purchase Planning 37
3.4 Determining When an Item Needs to be Ordered 38
3.5 Utilizing Your Sales and Usage to Forecast Demand 39
3.6 Methods for Calculating Reorder Points 40
3.7 Reorder Point Exceptions 51
3.8 You've Calculated Your Order Points ... Now What? 53
3.9 Calculating Reorder Quantity - How Much to Order? 63
3.10 Calculating the Minimum and Maximum Level 66
3.11 Calculating the Economic Order Quantity 69
3.12 Putting It all Together 70
3.13 A Quick Story from the Author 73
4 Efficient Ordering and Replenishment 75
4.1 The Ordering Process 75
4.2 Replenishment Techniques 76
4.3 Creating an Order Schedule 77
4.4 Ordering Workflow 78
4.5 Strategies for Navigating Backorders 81
4.6 Utilizing Purchase Orders in Your Practice Management System 84
4.7 Special Purchasing Considerations 84
4.8 It's More than Just the Cost of an Item 89
4.9 Choosing and Evaluating Vendors 91
4.10 Creating and Using a Budget 92
5 Receiving and Restocking Your Inventory 99
5.1 Author Note 99
5.2 Receiving Inventory 100
5.3 Guidelines for Receiving and Restocking 100
5.4 Setting up Your Software to Optimize this Process 106
5.6 Invoice and Statement Processing 108
5.7 Putting It into Practice 110
6 Organizing, Storing, and Protecting Your Inventory 111
6.1 Author's Note 111
6.2 Why a Tidy Inventory and Pharmacy Matters 111
6.3 Organizing Your Pharmacy 113
6.4 Creating a Central Storage or Hospital Supplies Storage Area 114
6.5 (Re)Organizing Areas of Your Practice 115
6.6 Integrating Physical Reorder Points and Inventory Organization 117
6.7 Protecting Your Inventory Investment 124
6.8 Strategies for Safeguarding Your Inventory 128
7 Strategic Pricing for Your Inventory 131
7.1 How Your Practice's Values and Pricing Intersect 131
7.2 Introduction to Pricing Your Inventory 132
7.3 Prescription and Dispensing Fees 134
7.4 Pricing Models 136
7.5 Pricing Formula Overview 142
7.6 Pricing Concept: Flat Fee or "Weight Bucket" Injections 147
7.7 Profit Goals 147
7.8 Pricing with Your Practice Management System 148
7.9 Increasing Prices as Your Costs Increase 149
7.10 Putting It into Practice 150
8 Selling and Consuming Your Inventory Appropriately 155
8.1 Why Selling Your Inventory Appropriately and Accurately Matters 155
8.2 Impact of Missed Charges 155
8.3 Leveraging Your Practice Management System 156
8.4 Auditing Medical Records 159
8.5 Using Barcodes in Your Inventory 161
8.6 Inventory Dispensing Cabinets 162
8.7 Using an Online Pharmacy 164
8.8 Tips for Keeping Your Practice Management System Accurate 164
8.9 Putting It all Together 166
9 Optimizing Your Inventory 169
9.1 What Does It Mean to Optimize Your Inventory? 169
9.2 Evaluating Your Products and Items 169
9.3 Adding New Products 175
9.4 Cycle Counting Your Inventory 176
9.5 Creating a Routine with Your Cycle Counts 182
9.6 Monitoring and Interpreting Discrepancies 183
9.7 End-of-year Counts 185
9.8 Prioritizing Your Inventory and Using an ABC Analysis 187
10 Why the Wheels Come off the Bus and How to Fix It 189
10.1 What is an "Out-of-control" Inventory? 189
10.2 Is "Fixing" Your Inventory Worth It? 190
10.3 Fixing Your Inventory 191
10.4 A Surefire Way to Keep Your Important Items in Stock 195
10.5 Why the Wheels Come off the Bus 197
11 You're Brand New… Now What? How to Set Up Your Inventory 201
11.1 You're a Brand New Inventory Manager ... Now What? 201
11.2 Author's Note 203
11.3 You're a Veterinarian Starting a Brand New Practice …Now What? 204
11.4 Getting Your Inventory Started Overview 205
11.5 Example: Setting Up Your Inventory Action Plan 208
11.6 You Just Purchased an Existing Practice ... Now What? 210
12 An Introduction to Controlled Substances 213
12.1 Author's Note 213
12.2 What is a Controlled Substance? 214
12.3 Controlled Substances and the Cycle of Inventory in Your Practice 215
12.4 Forecast and Purchase Planning 216
12.5 Ordering and Replenishment 217
12.6 Receive and Organize 218
12.7 Strategic Pricing 220
12.8 Appropriate Inventory Sales and Consumption 220
12.9 Biennial Inventory Requirements 222
12.10 Auditing and Reconciling Your Controlled Substance Logs 222
12.11 Other DEA Regulations 224
12.12 What Next Steps Should You Take? 224
12.13 Author's Note 225
13 Maintaining Your Inventory 227
13.1 Author's Note 227
13.2 How to Maintain your Inventory 227
13.3 Creating Standard Operating Procedures 228
13.4 Introduction to Key Performance Indicators 233
13.5 Inventory Key Performance Indicators: Cost of Goods Sold (as a Percentage of Revenue) 237
13.6 Inventory Key Performance Indicators: Inventory Turnover 241
13.7 Inventory Key Performance Indicators: Value of Inventory On Hand 245
13.8 Inventory Key Performance Indicators: Number of Adjustments or Variances in a Time Period 248
13.9 Putting It All Together 248
Appendices 251
References 265
Index 267
