In celebration of its 20^th anniversary, AAHA MARKETLink and its team of Business Coaches brainstormed some advice on how to turn common inventory mistakes into big wins.

In most cases, the mistakes involve not using technology to make your life easier. Here’s how to change your thinking and strategies.

1. Use your veterinary software to its full potential. The big practice management software companies design their systems to do all the important things you need day to day, including tracking inventory. Be sure to train your staff as much as you can so that they know how to make full use of the software’s inventory tracking. Little mistakes here and there on the back end, from lack of training, can cause inventory inaccuracies.
2. Make the most of manufacturer rebate programs. Know where the price breaks and rebates fall and order inventory accordingly.
3. Use the price break function rather than creating too many line items for the same product. If you’re going to give clients discounts for buying in quantity, use the price break function in your practice software rather than setting up multiple line items. Using too many line items for the same product (in different sizes) can confuse your practice software, which makes it much harder (if not impossible) to keep an accurate count of what you have on hand.
4. Use sales reports to help you choose reorder points. Base your reorder plan on time and usage data. Instead of shaking bottles to guess at what needs to be ordered or instead of ordering when you open the last bottle of anything, use your practice software reports to determine what a 30-day or 14-day supply looks like for different inventory items.
5. Use point-of-sale scanners. Client checkout and purchases go much faster and are more accurate when you use point-of-sale scanners rather than hunting in your computer system for different products. Scanners are particularly helpful with inventory items that have multiple sizes or multiple flavors.

Being in regular contact with so many practices over so many years, AAHA MARKETLink Business Coaches see all kinds of creative solutions to common inventory pain points. If your team has developed a great inventory hack, let your AAHA MARKETLink Territory Manager know about it. We’d love to hear your ideas.

Learn more about inventory management strategies from AAHA MARKETLink’s online archive of articles. 

In November 2016, AAHA MARKETLink 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

Photo credit: © iStock/andresr