Pharmacy Inventory Management- A Guide to Manage Inventory for Your Pharmacy Store

Everyday, the pharmacy business is evolving. It gives mankind an assurance of patient life safety, quick drug delivery, and smartly handles any pandemic like situation. But keeping control of the drugs available and sold, along with managing the complex drug stock is important for pharmacy store. This can only be attained by having the right system for inventory management and monitoring.

What is Inventory Management in a Pharmacy?

Inventory management in a pharmacy is vast, complex, and covers many aspects of the pharmacy retail business. You need to have the right solution that helps you in analyzing inventory forecasting, pricing, cost of storing inventory and replenishing exhausted goods, managing space to store inventory, shipping and return/exchange processes and policies, demand and sales forecasting, and inventory status.

Pharmacy inventory management is the system of managing the inventory of a pharmacy effectively. It helps the pharmacists reduce costs, improve operational efficiency, and minimize overstocking and opportunity loss. Also, it gives store owner a complete visibility of the current stock, have estimates of the stock on hold, and have future demand projections. 

Why is the Pharmacy Inventory Management System Important? 

Inventory is a critical component of pharmacy store. This is not limited to just giving the correct medication to the patient; it also ensures that a steady drug supply is made within the required time and the stock is completely available. In this context, the whole supply chain plays a vital role in the process of delivering medicine to the end customers.

However, this is still challenges that how to manage a pharmacy???

The answer is integrating your business with a stock management system.

Inventory management, a challenging and time-consuming process, is often one of the top priorities for decision-makers in the pharmacy retail industry.

• Effective inventory management lowers purchased pharmaceutical products’ costs and related operational costs, increasing gross and net profits.
• By improving inventory control in pharmacy, we prevent the system from devolving into chaos.
• We can use cost-cutting techniques and a deeper understanding of market trends.
• It aids in the creation of precise demand predictions for the foreseeable future.
• It can provide vital information about what will sell in the future.
• Accurate shelved stocks and prices are maintained with the aid of a strong inventory management system.
• When less expensive things are bought and stored, cash flow will increase.

Features of Inventory Management Software for Pharmacy

Inventory management software has advanced feature sets that help pharmacies to manage their business well and maintain continuous drug supply.

Manage Inventory based on E-prescription

E-prescriptions are available to patients to prevent patient confusion. Prescription management software feature facilitates quicker drug distribution and reduces mistakes. An effective inventory management for medical store manages stocks based on the customer’s demand and related prescriptions.

Salt Management

With the salt management feature of the pharmacy software, you can save drugs on your inventory. It gives you a quick result based on matching drug salt. This way, you can say that the software helps the pharmacy find the appropriate salt based on your prescription. It increases client trust by offering them a different drug alternative.

Restricted Drug Management

Restricted drug management is another beneficial feature of inventory handling. It organizes each restricted drug description by giving information about banned drugs by the government. This way, you can avoid penalties.

Generic Products Handling

The pharmacy software for stock handling gives pharmacy stores the ability to manage generic medicine data. This reduces the costs of generic medicine research, development, marketing, and promotion and enhances the awareness of using generic medication.           

Remote/Centralized Work Facility

A software feature that gives you access to data handling remotely or centrally ensures that there is no restriction geographically. You can have access to your data anytime, anywhere.

Multi-store and multi-location support

This feature of pharmacy inventory software allows users to manage stores at multiple locations. It will enable users of a single inventory management software to access and exchange electronic data on stock levels, sales, and returns from different stores.

User management

User management in drug store management solutions gives restricted access to various users. It helps businesses to secure inventory items from theft and breaches by restricting the roles of the users. Staff needs proper authentication to view buying and selling medicines, list the medication, consider the stock, and perform other tasks.

Expiry management

A mandatory feature for Pharmacy stock inventory system is expiry management. It saves the business from huge losses due to expired products. You can easily track the drug expiry dates of each medicine and keep them on the appropriate shelves. Learn more on how does pharmacy software deals with expired drugs or medicines?

Re-order management

Re-order management is another essential feature of an effective inventory management system. It refers to learning when to refill the stock, which product performs better in the inventory, and so on. The software can indicate when the stock reaches the minimum level and when it is time to re-order the supplies. It is helpful for pharmacists to stay organized and informed.

Reporting

The software provides comprehensive reports for the entire stores or store chains, which gives the user a comprehensive view of profit, loss, stock levels, etc. The software offers various reports, which are as follows:

• Group Product Wise Report – Group product-wise reports help to keep accurate data. Users can view this report Group name and Product names whenever needed.


• Current Stock/Category Wise Report – With this report, you can better handle your on-hand reports with the available product category. It is done based on similarity in behavior.


• MRP Wise Stock Report – Through this report, the pharmacist can see the stock according to the MRP of the drug and maintain it. It provides complete details about a particular stock product. The details include Purchase rate, Sale rate, MRP, available products name, group names, and so on.
• 
  Product List MRP Wise Stock Report – This report is an option for users to view details like – products name, batch number, expiry date, purchase rate, sale rate, lot number, etc.


• Schedule Generic Wise Stock Report – With this report section, the user can view/generate the product report with the generic name.


• Batch Wise Report – Every pharmacy product has a batch number, uniquely identifying numbers for each item to manage a group of items. The Batch Wise Report gives information based on the product group name, product name, code number, expiry date, purchase rate, sale rate, current stock, etc.


• Re-order Report – Users must view inventory Re-Order Reports Compared with Minimum stock, Compare With Last Sale, and Compare With Given Quantity.


• Excess Stock Report – With the excess report facility, the user can view the reports of Excess Stocks compared with the Given Quantity/Last Sale/Maximum Sale.


• Short Item List Report – With a short item report, the user can view the reports of short Stocks compared with the given criteria.


• Shelf Product Wise Report – Shelf-wise stock report records batch numbers, expiry dates, and all other products. It helps to identify quickly and locate the products.


• Dump Stock Report – Dump Stock is a stock that has not been used for a long time. With the Dump Stock report, the user can view the dump stock list and take necessary action to dispense it.


• Ageing Analysis of Stock Report – The inventory Ageing Report gives a rundown of the days you have been holding stock. It helps identify slow-moving and sale goods.

With these various reports, you can analyze when you need more stock, when your stock items are going to finish/expiry, when they need to be reduced, and get a complete analysis of the stock. Learn more – Why business reporting is important for business success.

What Steps do Pharmacists Take to Master their Inventory Management?

Know What you have in your store

Most pharmacists know their drug inventory well but must be aware of their future inventory requirements. It makes them tune to orders, keep the latest stocks, and identify any issues with shrinkage. With proper inventory management, staff can manage the pharmacy store and ensure that the store is capable enough to deal with market demands.

Identify Customer Demands

As a pharmacist, you must take care of customers’ demands on an extra level of importance. You must understand customers’ demand behavior and communicate clearly with the drug suppliers. Smart inventory management in pharmacies can reduce complex inventory handling and monitor stock levels and customer demands. With the customer’s needs in mind, this way, you can prioritize which drug to have in stock and match the demand.

Handling of Medicines in entire supply chain

Handling drugs in the whole pharmacy supply chain is essential. You have to know drug rules and regulations that minimize and dispute with the government and you can run your business smoothly without harming your pharmacy reputation. With effective inventory management, you will achieve a safety guarantee of the medical supply chain.

Need to Avoid Overstock

Too much stock is always more dangerous than too little stock. Pharmacies must manage relationships at both ends of the supply chain to avoid overstock. They must have an accurate understanding of demand and be able to communicate store requirements with the vendors. This aim minimizes waste throughout the chain and reduces the overall inventory holding cost.

Manage Repeat Prescriptions

Repeat prescriptions are common in pharmacy management. There are many customers who can collect the same medication on a regular basis. Thus, it has to be the duty of pharmacist to have a system that manages repetitive prescriptions. Pharmacy software helps business owners in streamline store processes, saves prescriptions, time and money. It gives a proactive approach that enhances the overall drug shopping experience.

Real-Time Stock Visibility

Real-time visibility of stocks is vital to achieving a smooth drug distribution system. It gives a competitive advantage and lessens the burden of handling drug stocks. The pharmacist can get a certain level of accuracy using the pharmacy software, which increases productivity, lowers costs, and identifies the potential for revenue growth.

Technology Use that Ensures Accuracy

Every pharmacist must integrate with advanced pharmacy software based on the current market situation. The software solution gives the business an intelligent ordering and delivery system with accurate billing. This way, you can deliver the right medicine, to the right people, at the right time.

Manage Store Risks Wisely

As pharmacy is directly related to patient lives, it should be necessary for pharmacy owners to know the risks associated with the pharmacy business and have the proper solution to avoid them. Inventory software for pharmacy stores can give real-time visibility and track to the owner, and with its reporting feature, you will have accurate risk analysis.

Don’t let Drug Expire

For pharmacists, it is essential to monitor their drug inventory to minimize the risk of expiring products. They must have an idea about the product expiry and usage before a pharmacist can’t sell it or can’t return it. It is just money wastage. An accurate inventory management system keeps track of items approaching their expiration date.

Centralized Data Management

With centralized Data Management, pharmacists only need to go to one place to find the data they seek. This way, they save time and utilize it in other important tasks. This gives business data security, integrity, consistency, operational efficiency, and more.

How do you Organize your Pharmacy Inventory? 

Managing pharmacy inventory manually can be daunting, but it can be solved in an organized way- with a pharmacy inventory management system.

A pharmacy management software gives you accurate sales/purchase management, on-time delivery, real time stock visibility, customer trust, and recognition of your pharmacy store as a brand. Hence, integration with pharmacy software is the one-stop solution to organize and avoid excess/little of your stock.

How can Pharmacy Management Software Improve Inventory Management?

• It improves the efficacy of pharmacy management.
• It enhances Inventory Management.
• It keeps the Shelves Stocked and Prices Accurate.
• It makes you understand Key Sales Trends.
• It identifies inventory shrinkage.
• It has a solution for multiple inventory management.
• It maintains and controls the pharmacy inventory.
• It prevents fraud/theft/breach.
• It improves patient health outcomes.

Inventory Management Process for Retail Pharmacy Store

• As a retail pharmacist, the inventory management process starts when you receive a customer’s order and continues until the order final delivery with billing.
• Another approach involved in pharmacy store management is forecasting the demand and then placing orders to vendors.
• Another process includes analyzing sales trends and organizing the storage of products in warehouses.

Pharmacy Stock Management Techniques and Terms

Every development company uses some techniques to improve accuracy in the system. These techniques are used according to need. Some of the techniques are as follows:

• ABC Analysis – This approach finds the most and least preferred stock kinds.
• Batch Tracking – This technique collects comparable items to keep track of expiration dates and find defective products.
• Demand Forecasting – It is a type of predictive analytics that assists in forecasting consumer demand.
• FIFO and LIFO – It refers to the practice of moving the oldest stock first. According to the last in, first out (LIFO) theory, since prices are always rising, the inventory that was most recently purchased is the most expensive and therefore sells first.
• Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) – This module facilitates inventory management, product scheduling, and planning.
• Minimum Order Quantity – In order to keep prices down, a business that relies on minimum order quantities will only purchase the bare minimum of inventory from wholesalers with each order.
• Reorder Point Formula– Businesses use this formula to determine the bare minimum of stock they should have before placing another order, and then manage their inventory accordingly.

Inventory management for Retail Pharmacy Vs. Multi-Location Pharmacy Inventory

Retail inventory is the stocking of products that you sell to consumers. The goal is to ensure you have the right amount of stock to meet consumers’ demands.

Whereas multi-location inventory management manages stock across multiple locations, warehouses, and retail stores or multiple selling channels. With multi-location management, you can keep an eye on stock levels everywhere and manage your inventory to best fill requests.

Inventory Management FAQs for Pharmacy

How to Choose an Inventory Management System?

The primary step in selecting an inventory management system is determining which features your company needs. Do you need to plan to integrate with an inventory management system for your pharmacy???

Keep tabs on trends, track stock movements and position inside a warehouse, or do you need to do both?

Also, it would help if you read this blog content thoroughly.

When evaluating a system, read What Are the Benefits of a Pharmacy Management System? and learn about ways to Increase Pharmacy Products Sales for Independent Pharmacy stores.

Bring the Benefits of Inventory Management to Your Pharmacy Business With SWIL Software Solutions

SWIL develops software for both retail and multi-location pharmacies. Its inventory management system keeps inventory levels optimal and guarantees that drugs are available through various outlets.

SWIL Inventory management offers an integrated, real-time view of all products, inventory, and orders across all locations and marketplaces. Businesses can carry less inventory on hand thanks to this, which frees up capital for use in other company areas. While meeting customer expectations, an inventory management system helps keep inventory costs low.

Software for Retail, Single-Store Pharmacy – SWIL offer SwilERP, a dedicated software solution for retail pharmacy store. It is helpful to meet business usability requirements regardless of size, industry, or target market.

Software for Retail, Wholesale, & Distribution – SWIL offer SwilERP for retail, wholesale, & distribution purpose. It is an all-in-one software solution that allows you to track sales, manage inventory, and make billing easier and faster. It automates all your business processes and provides a fast-paced way of working with efficiency. If you have any queries about finding the best pharmacy inventory management software, kindly book your demo today. We are assuring you of the best product and service guarantee.