Inventory Flashcards
what is the goal of the pharmacy?
to keep inventory at a minimum
why is maintaining a vet pharmacy helpful?
prevent drug shortages at the clinic, efficient use of time, decrease cost, decrease stress
hidden costs of a pharmacy
storage, expiration, spoilage, bookkeeping, breakage, appearance that product is undesirable because on the shelf for a long time
turnover rate
number of times inventory is depleted and replenished each year
how can you calculate turnover rate?
yearly inventory expense / average cost of inventory on hand
higher number is better
bulk ordering
special deals offered by vendors may save money
good for decreasing ordering frequency and minimizing handling fees
but…
difficult to predict use of some products, have to use before drug expires, and some items have a minimum order amount
direct marketing
drug is purchased directly from manufacturer of drug
pros: decreased handling fees
cons: larger time commitment- each product ordered from different company, larger inventories- must purchase large quantities to receive best price, need more storage space- to account for larger orders
distributors/wholesalers
agencies that purchase drugs from the manufacturing company and resell to vets
pros: many items can be purchased from 1 source, decreased costs, faster purchasing process
cons: may require minimum size or weight of purchase order, handling fees may be higher
3rd party
companies who offer drugs directly to client
other vet practices (for buying meds)
used in time of crisis
buying groups
decreased drug cost by bulk purchasing
pharmacies
good for not commonly used drugs and human-approved drugs
different methods of record keeping
manual, computerized
types of inventory systems
reorder log, purchase order records, individual inventory records, inventory master list, vendor files
reorder point
level to which an item can be depleted before reordering
dependent on if drug is critical to have and how easily it can be obtained
