Page 18 - P4304.1-V98_PS-Magazine-June 2024 PRINT READY

Going stockless.
By Caroline Pond
I’m guessing you have all realised
how keen I am on reducing
stock levels. From a commercial
perspective it simply makes sense
to have your cash in the bank rather
than tied up on the shelves in the
dispensary. Unless you are a very big
dispensing business, where buying
in bulk affords extra discounts, then
you probably just incur loss when
you pile the shelves high.
For those of you who have worked in a
pharmacy chain in the last 10 or so years,
you may well be familiar with the concept
of minimal stock holding as a way of
working. Many large chain pharmacies
have worked this way for years. Why?
Because it is the most profitable way of
running a dispensary, no other reason.
Stock management is time consuming
and tedious.
• ‘First in and first out’ requires discipline
amongst the whole dispensary team to
avoid stock going out of date and date
checking is a job enjoyed by nobody as
far as I can see.
• Avoiding Drug Tariff devaluation of
generics at the end of each month is a
gamble unless you are really on the ball.
• Stock waste is a financial waste
that none of us can afford in today’s
financial climate so having stock expire
hurts.
18 P S M a g a z i n e | G o i n g s t o ck l e ss .
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But just how can we avoid this happening
if we are to meet the pressure of getting
prescriptions dispensed in a timely fashion?
Let me try and paint a picture and talk
you through the process of moving to a
stockless dispensary. (A caveat here before
you all panic – you will still carry some stock
to fill clinic prescriptions, so chill!)
First let’s imagine the dispensary without
all the stock. Just think about all the space
you will have! Well, this can be your reality
if you rethink the prescription management
process in your dispensary. Trust me it is
possible, and the new way of working is a
marked improvement for all, once you get
there.
So how do we get there? Well basically
you just need to stop ordering anything
you don’t need for a prescription already in
hand. Simple! You might need to do a bit of
preparation but once that’s done it really is
just as simple as that. Order to prescription.
So how do we prepare for
this new way of working?
First you will need the team to agree to
working this way and I can guarantee that
when you suggest this way of running
the dispensary, you are going to get push
back. I understand the fear of a new way
of working which just seems so far from
the current ‘try and stock everything’
philosophy but at the end of the day, if
you give it a go and it doesn’t work for
you, you can soon restock your shelves.
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22/05/2024 13:53:48
22/05/2024 13:53:48