The Importance of Proper Inventory Management

It's no secret that inventory management is a critical part of any pharmacy. If you don't have the right medications in stock, you can't serve your customers and they will go to another pharmacy. This is why it's so important to have a system in place for managing your inventory. In this blog post, we'll discuss how to improve inventory management and some tools you can use from Total Pharmacy Supply to help with the process.

Why is Proper Inventory Management Important?

There are a few key reasons why inventory management is so important for pharmacies. First, it allows you to keep track of your inventory and know when you need to reorder supplies. This helps to ensure that you always have the medications and other supplies that you need on hand.

Second, proper inventory management can help you save money. By keeping track of your inventory and knowing when to reorder, you can avoid overstocking or ordering too much of something. Recent research shows that having a good inventory management system can improve a pharmacy’s profits by as much as 17%.

Finally, inventory management helps to ensure that your customers always have the medications they need. When your inventory is properly managed, you can be sure that you have the right medications in stock and that they are available when your customers need them.

Some Aspects of Inventory Management to Keep In Mind

One of the most important aspects of inventory management is understanding your inventory turnover. This is a measure of how often you are selling and replenishing inventory. A high turnover rate means that you are selling a lot of products and need to keep more inventory on hand. A low turnover rate means that you are selling less product and can get away with keeping less inventory on hand.

Another important aspect of inventory management is understanding your inventory levels. You need to know how much inventory you have on hand at all times. This can be a challenge, especially if you don't have a system in place for tracking inventory levels.

Tools to Help with Inventory Management

Total Pharmacy Supply offers a variety of tools to help with inventory management. These items include:

• Pharmacy Register/Record Books: These books help you keep track of inventory levels, inventory turnover, and reordering information.
• Reorder Tags: You can create custom labels with reorder dates to help you keep track of inventory levels and remind you when it's time to reorder supplies.
• Shelf Dividers: You can utilize shelf dividers to organize supplies in a way that helps with inventory management. For example, next time you stock an item, turn a small shelf divider sideways or insert a prescription file folder behind it and put a sticky note with the date on it and inventory levels. See how long it takes to cycle through that amount. Take into consideration seasons and times of the year, as there will likely be times of the year when people need more of some medications, like flu season, etc.
• Colored Plastic Baskets: These baskets can be used in a similar way as above to help you create your own inventory management system. For example: place the last few bottles/boxes of medication in one of our colored plastic baskets. Once you reach the basket, you know you need to reorder.

There are also a variety of more advanced inventory management systems, including software programs and barcoding systems. These tools can help you automate the inventory management process and make it easier to keep track of your inventory.

It's also important to have a system in place within your team to make time for checking inventory levels and recording any needed products or supplies. Decide with what frequency you need to be evaluating inventory levels, and assign a specific time and person to perform the task.

If you are looking for a way to improve your inventory management, consider using some of the tools from Total Pharmacy Supply. We can help you keep track of your inventory and make sure that you have the right products in stock at all times. Contact us today to learn more about our inventory management solutions.