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Management: Controlling Your Inventory<
by: Pamela Moore
How to get everything in its place, for less In corporate America, supply chains are lean and mean. Wal-Mart, for example, is famous for its ability to order just enough of what customers need - not too much - at just the right time, and at the lowest imaginable prices. Compare that to a typical medical practice with an overflowing, messy supply closet, filled with too many syringes and too few bandages, all purchased and stocked haphazardly. Improving a clinic's supply chain can improve efficiency, since everything is on hand where it is supposed to be and restocking is easier. It can also improve cash flow, since items are ordered on an as-needed basis, and the costs are spread out instead of bunched up. Getting those advantages can be as easy as setting a few new rules or as complex as developing direct relationships with suppliers, depending on your specialty and group size. Get organized Most groups will benefit simply from getting better organized. Start by putting a single person, the right person, in charge of supplies. "You have to find a person who loves a bargain, and they have to be able to find the best price... You need someone who will come into a meeting excited because they saved $3," says Donna Weinstock, a consultant with Office Management Solutions in Northbrook, Ill. It is possible to get good deals, but someone has to look for them. "Obviously, the first step in controlling costs is to always check the pricing. A lot of people don't do that. They just order. Just do a comparison of vendors, both local vendors and Internet-based purchasing," advises Reed Tinsley, an accountant and healthcare consultant in Houston. Try getting on promotional e-mail lists from major suppliers, Weinstock suggests. "If you are on everyone's list, you'll start to see that tongue depressors are on sale with Vendor A so you can order there instead of placing your usual order with Vendor B." Also, make an annual project of reviewing your regular shopping list. Are there items you can do without? Is there anything that's been sitting in your supply closet, unused, for at least a year? Get rid of that stuff: Try to get the vendor to give you a refund for any unopened boxes. If the vendor refuses or insists on a restocking fee, consider that an opening to negotiate. It might change its tune, says Jeffrey Denning of Practice Performance Group, if it understands that your continued business could be at stake. Meanwhile, of course, remove those items from your supply list. Can you replace an expensive item with something cheaper without hurting productivity or quality? "Sit down in a staff meeting and say, 'OK, let's talk about the products we use,'" says Weinstock. "The people who use the products know what is working for them." Weinstock likes to reward the entire staff if someone comes up with an efficient money-saving idea. "Have an office-wide reward system if you can order something, keep the quality, and save money. There should be a reward not just for the person who ordered but for everyone, so everyone is working as a team." But remember that some products aren't worth the savings, Weinstock adds: "You know in your house what products you'll use generic and what products you won't." It's not worth saving $3 on cheap dishwashing detergent if the dishes don't get clean. The same principle applies in your practice. Don't nickel and dime It's easy to get carried away cutting costs on supplies. "I tell physicians, 'Please do not step over dimes to pick up nickels,'" Tinsley says. "Instead of sucking it up and strategically [asking], 'How can we move this practice forward?' they nickel and dime. It's a time-waster and morale-killer." Tinsley once spent an hour in a meeting with 10 OB/GYNs discussing whet< |
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