I am always on the hunt for inventory tools to help out; especially when it comes to your time and efforts. I recently came across a website called Vetcove, and I looked into it and I want to share some of the awesome benefits.
We have talked before about the effects and implications of price checking, and how the indirect labor costs probably outweigh any savings you may receive. But, on the flip side, it is important to ensure you are not getting outrageous prices. Vetcove has flawlessly answered this dilemma!
Earlier this week, one of their fabulous associates walked me through the program. In a nutshell, Vetcove allows seamless integration of all of your vendors (and your specific pricing) so you can view the pricing for each item from all of your vendors. The search function is more advanced than many of the distributors so you can actually find what you are looking for (whhatttt?!?). You can immediately view a comparison of prices from all of your vendors. Below is a sample of the search results page that you’ll see. Note that on the left-hand side offers many different filter options. As of right now, the only compounding pharmacy they integrate with is Wedgewood, so you’ll notice that you can toggle on or off if you would like to see compounded results in your searches.
Vetcove has made the process for integrating your vendors very painless and easy. You simply pick which suppliers that you work with and enter your account information. Once this process is complete, you will see YOUR pricing, not just their generic pricing. So, if you have special group rates and so forth, that will be reflected. In addition to showing the price information, Vetcove will also list item details (very helpful if you are researching a new medication), similar items (SUPER helpful if an item you are looking at is having backorder issues), as well as other very helpful information.
Once you have found the item you are looking for, and the vendor with the best price, you can simply add to the cart. Vetcove will keep track of all of your carts with your different distributors. Many distributors have a minimum free shipping limit, and this will be monitored as well! Whoop whoop!! I’m a super visual person, so the carts layout is super helpful for me because I can see exactly what I’m getting from where! Another thing to note about the carts feature of Vetcove; once you are finished and hit checkout, it will take you directly to your distributor’s checkout page. They will not know that you used Vetcove to compile your order, and your representative will still receive their commission as they normally would. I love all of my reps, so I was worried about this! Below you’ll see an example of what the Cart page looks like.
One of my favorite features of Vetcove is the very powerful analytics! You can view analytics based on individual items, distributors, orders… basically anything you can think of! I especially like how customizable the graphs and charts are so you can view trends and different data relationships over a specific time period. Below is an example of some of the analytics that you can view.
So now I’m sure you wondering, how much does this cost?? The best part… it’s FREE for privately owned hospitals!! Whattttt?!? It is 100% free, no catch, no funny business!
So let’s review the benefits that I really see with utilizing Vetcove:
- The ability to price match, without the labor costs that normally outweigh any cost savings
- You can view all promotions from all distributors and manufacturers in one place
- It integrates all of your specific hospital’s pricing to view in one place
- If an item is on backorder, you can easily view alternative products
- You can view analytics for a specific item across all distributors, allowing a more accurate purchasing history
- Once your vendors and distributors are integrated, it also imports a 2-year purchase history so you can immediately utilize any “history” viewing
- They have AMAZING customer service, and their entire team is very helpful
- They have an anonymous forum to ask questions or find out more information
- Vetcove’s website is incredibly user-friendly, fast, and has many features
If you are interested in learning more about Vetcove or want to sign up, you can check out their website at www.vetcove.com, or email me if you have questions and I can try to answer them.
Please note: I am not involved with Vetcove in any way, I just like sharing tools that will help you and your hospital.
