Pharmacies are a staple to every town, and they have unique demands and struggles. It can be easy getting caught up with the work at hand and forgetting about updating your technology. However, since pharmacy management is a delicate balancing act between providing for patients, managing inventory, and providing proper care, you must invest in technology that eases these burdens.
With the pharmaceutical market expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2023, at a growth rate of 4-5%, it’s more important than ever that your pharmacy is prepared and ready to take on more. This post will look into three reasons why it’s time for you to update your pharmacy’s point of sale inventory management system.
1. It Can Eliminate Stocking Concerns
As previously mentioned, running and operating a pharmacy is a careful balancing act between managing patients and meeting their needs while also working a storefront. Pharmacies must balance these while monitoring a unique global supply chain, stocking challenges, and overarching and strict laws that vary from state to state. It’s the ultimate challenge trying to harmonize medicine and management together.
Whether you’re concerned about overstocking or understocking, a new POS with inventory management software features can help you find the right balance for your pharmacy. Overstocking can waste money and take up valuable space, while understocking leaves you vulnerable to lost sales and not having the products your customers vitally need. To avoid these issues, pharmacies need to manage relationships with both patients and suppliers.
Your pharmacy POS inventory management system can do this by collecting data and estimating the demand of your customers, allowing you and your staff to plan accordingly with manufacturers and suppliers. The POS system’s algorithm tracks customer trends and data to ensure minimal oversupply avoiding issues with expired medications and saving you valuable shelf space. Your POS can even track and predict the need for safety and backup stock. By managing the levels efficiently and avoiding the wastage of more expensive products, an inventory management system can help your pharmacy see a boost in profit.
Auto-Star’s pharmacy POS provides this real-time visibility through replenishment purchasing. It keeps shelves stocked and allows you to optimize your inventory for peak times by calculating purchase orders based on merchandise sold historically over a specified period. Having an efficient inventory management system in place can help pharmacies streamline various processes, including:
- Receiving and stocking
- Pickup and delivery
- Order fulfillment
- Product returns
2. It Can Be Your Tool to Better Customer Satisfaction
With a pharmacy POS, you can use tracking and data, along with a CRM, to identify customer demands. Many of your patrons are repeat customers who rely on you to refill their prescriptions regularly. That’s why an updated POS inventory system that streamlines inventory management can be your ultimate tool in boosting customer satisfaction. The system can help you stock and organize the front of your store with valued items while increasing your business’s accuracy as well as saving you time and money.
When you pair a new inventory management system with our Star-Plus Multi-Store module, you can boost customer satisfaction by offering a uniform and convenient experience at all your pharmacy locations. Utilize your POS system to help staff monitor what prescriptions have been filled and what’s waiting to be picked up—making it easier to call and offer reminders to those who have not yet picked up their prescription. Not only will your clients appreciate the reminder, but you’ll reduce items left in the call bin. Better yet, keep notes of failed pick-ups in your point of sale and properly redistribute and resell the prescription or return them to the manufacturer. Auto-Star POS systems can help you do this through our dispensary integrations.
You can do all this and more with scientific purchasing from Auto-Star. The industry’s most advanced suggested ordering solution that helps you reduce upfront investment costs, storage space, and loss due to spoilage or damages. Streamline your operations with flexible setup and control to schedule orders based on sophisticated algorithms to optimize your inventory.
3. It Can Save Your Staff Time and Improve Operational Efficiency
Pharmacies are growing at a drastic rate across North America, “Not only did the US spend $485 billion on pharmaceuticals in 2018, but pharmaceutical expenditure is also projected to go as high as $655 billion by 2023. Not surprising, considering that prescription drugs account for around 15% of total healthcare expenditure in the US.” As pharmacies continue to grow, your staff won’t have time to waste. With the complexities the pharmaceutical supply chain poses, there’s plenty of room for error. Add your variety of staff and their day-to-day duties and the tight regulations surrounding the supply chain, and you find yourself in a difficult-to-manage spot.
These regulations around handling medicines and prescriptions can take up employees’ time dealing with stocking and transportation issues. An inventory management system can help streamline communication and job duties for employees to ensure your staff follows regulations and keeps in touch with the critical members of your supply chain team.
Another way you can improve efficiency is by using wireless handheld POS hardware. With the ability to carry the device with them when receiving shipments, stocking, and more, you reduce the time staff needs to input new loads and increase the accuracy of data input. These wireless handheld solutions can easily be paired with your traditional POS to help with simple inventory counting and assisting customers with price checks or wireless payments. Handheld devices increase customer satisfaction, reduce wait times, and help staff streamline the receiving and checkout processes.
By eliminating stocking concerns, improving customer satisfaction, and helping your staff save time and improve business operations, your pharmacy can benefit from an upgraded inventory management system.
Auto-Star can help you manage your inventory with a top-of-the-line pharmacy point of sale solution, allowing your team to take advantage of scientific and replenishing purchasing with so much more. Get in contact with an Auto-Star representative to move your pharmacy to the next level.
