cover story POS
AUTOMATE
UP TO 95% OF YOUR PHARM ACY’S
RX VOLUME
Counting Technology
Redefine convention with Innovation’s powerful automation package • Delivers unparalleled dispensing accuracy • Automates your daily put-away process • Reduces inventory carry • Eliminates picking errors • Increases security & eliminates diversion
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ComputerTalk
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vendor’s catalog we carry, even if we have zero on hand.”
Perpetual Motion The desire to run a perpetual inventory was what made a POS system Shiva Maharaj’s top priority when he opened Essex Pharmacy about a year ago. In fact, Maharaj saw POS as so important, he chose his Emporos system first, and only then selected a pharmacy management system from HBS to work with it. The data in his POS means he isn’t taking guesses about what’s happening with his stock. “If I see an empty space on a shelf, I can see if it was sold or if perhaps it was stolen,” he says. “I can also have a running count of exactly how much money I have on the floor at any time.” Maharaj put real effort into getting his perpetual inventory up and running, among all the other demands of opening a new pharmacy. “It was a daunting task, and it took us around two weeks,” he says. “I can see people not wanting to put the time and effort into perpetual inventory because they don’t think it’s worth it. But this level of inventory control has allowed me to monetize every square inch of shelving space, which is particularly important when profits on front-end items can be 28% to 100%.” Running a perpetual inventory also streamlines and automates the ordering process, according to Ritzman’s Janine Black. “When your balance on-hand is accurate,” says Black, “placing an order goes from being something you have to send a clerk out on the floor for, and that takes 30 or 45 minutes, to something that takes a matter of minutes.“
Jon Fiume VP of Retail Operations and Natural Products Janine Black Manager of Retail Operations
Ritzman Pharmacies 20 retail pharmacies in Ohio, including 11 grocery store locations acquired about six months ago. Privately owned and in business since 1950. Specialty in supplements and natural products.
Michael Sprinkle of Weaverville Drug Company, which is using Catapult POS from ECRS, describes in better detail how a perpetual inventory works. “We set the system to automatically replace items that are sold during the day, with the exception to the rule being case items,” he says. “Those are set to a min/max order, so when the in-stock quantity dips to a preset level, Catapult automatically adds a case of that item to our order worksheet. “At the end of the day, Catapult generates a worksheet of what needs to be reordered. We will look through the order, confirm it, and send it to our supplier through ECRS’s Supplier Gateway interface.” The next morning, Sprinkle uses a worksheet transmitted through Gateway by the wholesaler to check the incoming stock. “We push a button,” he says, “and the POS system automatically updates our in-house inventory based on what the suppliers shipped.”