Veterinary Inventory Makeover: Cutting Costs and Reclaiming Space

Veterinary inventory isn’t flashy or exciting for most veterinary professionals, and when it’s going well, the team is unlikely to think about it. However, when inventory systems don’t work, the entire clinic suffers. Stockouts frustrate team members, overstocking wastes money and space, and inventory managers become easily overwhelmed. If this sounds like your veterinary hospital, an overhaul of your inventory systems could help you get back on track.

Veterinary System Services offers inventory consulting that transforms clinics and relieves stress on overworked team members. To illustrate how a few key changes can lead to significant improvements in cost control, space usage, and staff morale, here is the story of a clinic in Lone Tree, Colorado, that partnered with VSS to overcome its inventory challenges.

The problem
Clinic leadership contacted the VSS inventory consulting team after hiring a new team member who had previously used our service. Like many hospitals, their approach to veterinary inventory management wasn’t working for them. The practice spent more than 23% of its revenue on the cost of goods sold (COGS). The practice owner, Dr. Smith, wanted to see this number come down and had tried some tips they had heard about, with no success.

Inventory management fell to Sara, a senior technician. Sara preferred working with patients, but she was reluctantly saddled with inventory responsibilities. For her, the job was thankless, and it clearly caused her mental distress. The team was constantly frustrated about stockouts, and Dr. Smith was unhappy with spending. Although they had plenty of storage space, including an entire basement food room, they never seemed to have what they needed.

The solution
After evaluating the practice’s veterinary inventory management systems, our recommendations included:

Conducting a complete count of existing stock

Using practice management software to track inventory

Setting reorder points based on actual usage

Transitioning food sales to an online platform

Discontinuing retail extras, such as leashes, toys, and collars

Some of the associate veterinarians were reluctant to give up in-house food sales, and Dr. Smith was concerned about losing revenue from retail items. Jane, the practice manager, worried about the disruption to business that a full inventory count would cause. It took some time, but the team overcame these hesitations and made the recommended changes.

The results
A year after our consultation with the Colorado clinic, we checked in on their progress. On arrival, we were greeted with Sara’s smile; she looked like an entirely different person with a weight lifted from her shoulders. She told us that costs were down, stockouts now rarely occurred, and that she finally got to spend more time with patients and less time putting out inventory fires.

During a tour of the hospital, we saw that the retail section had been reduced to a few handmade specialty items that clients couldn’t get elsewhere, and most of the space was dedicated to a streamlined display of prescription diet starter bags. A new controlled substances cabinet, the first in a planned series of organizational solutions, was in place.

As recommended, the hospital moved food sales online, which freed up the basement food storage room for a cat boarding area that generated monthly revenue. The team streamlined inventory so much that one of the stock closets had been transformed into a new exam room, creating further revenue opportunities. Overall, the practice decreased COGS by nearly 10 percentage points, an impressive feat for any hospital.

Lessons learned
Changes to veterinary inventory can be difficult to implement. Teams get stuck in inefficient patterns and feel too overwhelmed to institute change. But this real-life story is proof that impactful change is possible, and it doesn’t have to disrupt operations or tax already overworked team members.

The changes this clinic made allowed a reluctant inventory manager to offload some of her duties and return to what she loved: caring for patients. Plus, the practice became more profitable, more efficient, and a better place to work.

Contact us to learn more about VSS inventory consulting , medical-grade laundry , relief staffing, and placement services that help veterinary practices spend less and stress less.

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