Effective inventory management is essential within the healthcare industry, as damaged or OOD stock can pose a significant risk to consumers and employees. Therefore, managers need to have a full grasp of their existing stock, as it allows them to reorder at the correct time. Throughout this article, we discuss six methods that you can use to improve inventory management within your healthcare business.
Evaluate Your Current Position
Before making any changes within a business, it’s important to evaluate the current position. In the medical world, this means tracking stock levels and understanding how frequently each line is used. Here are some ways to do this:
- Watch out for premature customer orders.
- List every item, its storage location, and how much it’s used – weigh all items that come in.
- Avoid overstocking around seasonal trends.
- Watch for any known issues with existing products.
Use Appropriate Storage
Medical equipment and medications must be stored correctly to prevent spoiling and having to re-order unnecessarily. Therefore, spend time to understand what conditions each product needs to be stored in, and put measures in place to monitor them. For example, you can use temperature gauges to check that cold-stored products are kept at the right temperature.
Find Cost Reduction Methods
This will go without saying, but you need to constantly search for ways to reduce the cost and effectiveness of inventory. For example, if you’re using cheap medical tech that does the job but costs a fortune to operate, it may be worth upgrading. Additionally, you should constantly check the online medical supply store to find out where the best prices are. If you need to change suppliers several times a year, so be it.
Monitor Emerging Market Trends
Before you implement any new changes, you need to work out if there’s a valid reason for doing it. The first step is to look out for new industry trends, including stock types, and compare them to your existing lines and processes. Typically, if the market is shifting methods, it’s an indication you should too. Secondly, observe your competitors to see what they’re doing. If they’re finding success where you aren’t, why not mimic them?
Introduce Inventory Management Software
The evolution of technology means the healthcare industry can largely say goodbye to paper and pen, and it’s no different when it comes to improving stock management efforts – there’s even a software for it. Having a stock management system allows you to easily keep track of existing levels, place new orders, and retrieve insightful data.
Explore Different Supply Routes
Demand goes through peaks and troughs in the healthcare industry, and your suppliers need to be able to meet any changing needs you have. Typically, your supplier should be close by, always have stock availability, and keep open lines of communication. If they aren’t fulfilling your needs, look elsewhere.
Inventory management within the healthcare industry is essential, as being negligent could lead to serious health issues. When it comes to improving inventory management, many of the processes mimic other industries, so don’t be afraid to “borrow” ideas.
