Check out these inventory hacks from AAHA MARKETLink/MWI Animal Health, which is celebrating its 20^th anniversary.

Big thinking is great, but sometimes you just need a creative solution to a nagging problem. The truth is that good inventory management doesn’t come from one big thing. In the reality of daily veterinary practice, good inventory management comes from countless small but important strategies that help your team keep a solid handle on inventory that’s coming in and going out each day.

Rubber band an index card to big bottles full of tiny pills. It’s a great way to keep a working tally of how many pills have been pulled for prescriptions and how many are left in the bottle. Rather than counting and recounting lots of tiny pills at inventory time, you can simply look at the running count on the index card and move onto the next big bottle full of tiny pills.

Buy bottles that match your most common dispensing counts. Rather than counting out the same number of pills each time you fill a prescription, consider buying bottles that match your most common dispensing counts and dosages. That way, you can simply print out a prescription label, slap it on the right-size bottle, and send clients on their way.

Save time when you place orders with online templates. Also called “saved shopping carts,” templates let you save several lists of items you purchase regularly into your online account. The next time you need to order, simply open the template, enter the quantity you need, and go straight to checkout. It’s a little bit like having grocery shopping lists that match a week’s menu. When you know what you order and when, you can create weekly or monthly—or even seasonal—online order templates that speed things along when it’s time to order again.

If you use Cornerstone practice management software, you can gain greater ordering efficiency by using SmartOrder. This real-time and direct connection to AAHA MARKETLink/MWI Animal Health makes ordering faster and easier. Plus, SmartOrder includes many reports that let you keep better inventory counts, accounting, and accountability.

Being in regular contact with so many practices over so many years, AAHA MARKETLink/MWI Animal Health has seen all kinds of creative solutions to common inventory pain points. If your team has developed a great inventory hack, let your AAHA MARKETLink/MWI Animal Health  contacts know about it. We’d love to hear your ideas.

Learn more about inventory management strategies from AAHA MARKETLink/MWI Animal Health's online archive of articles. In November 2016, AAHA MARKETLink/MWI Animal Health celebrates 20 years of serving the veterinary profession through strategic support, collaborative education, and exclusive programs.

This content was provided by AAHA MARKETLink/MWI Animal Health.

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