It’s time to stop trekking alone in the “inventory wilderness” and start feeling confident in your new role.
Your guide to surviving and thriving as a new inventory manager in your first 60 days
Most of the time, when you take on the role of inventory manager, it feels like you’ve been thrown to the wolves.
It becomes very overwhelming very quickly, but there’s a way to mitigate it…
If inventory management has you feeling:
- Like a deer in headlights every time you hear the word dexmeditoma-what?
- Stressed every time you walk into the pharmacy over what does and doesn’t need to be ordered
- Inadequate when you order the wrong quantity or forget to refrigerate the in-house lab rotors
- Overwhelmed by the “mess” you inherited that leads to inventory constantly running out
What if you had all the resources you needed to thrive as an inventory manager, and knew exactly what products to order & when?
Other inventory managers, and I, have all been in your shoes
It also felt like we were trying to learn ancient hieroglyphics when trying to remember the names of medications! Oh, and let’s not forget the 3am panic of questioning if you actually placed an order for the medicine you can’t remember the name of.
“Was it prednisolone or prednisone?” *queue spiral into a pint of Ben & Jerry’s*
I know how anxiety-inducing it can be to want to do right by your team and have everything your patients need, but feel lost on what to do to get there.
Trust me when I say, you’re the furthest thing from alone in this daunting overwhelm you feel in your new position!
It’s more than possible with the right training, systems, and structure (and I’m not talking about the current system that says you have 8,543 tablets when in reality, you have 11 dusty ¼ tables at the bottom of a bottle 😵💫).
Inventory management is an extremely important job, and you want to do it right, but it feels like you keep dropping bottles of isoflurane over and over.
(Which now you have to count & reorder, btw 😅)
Inventory might not have been your first choice, and even if it was, it’s still a hard role to take on…
It can oftentimes feel like you’re just the “order person,” but you’re not! The work you do is so crucial and important to keeping your hospital running, and we both know there is an immense amount of effort that goes into managing inventory, and yet, it often feels very under-appreciated.
Without an inventory manager, we wouldn’t be able to care for our patients — what you’re doing matters so much. Even if items are constantly running out, orders are being placed daily, and your best SOP right now is to, “shake a bottle, and when it feels low, order it.”
It’s normal that this role feels beyond anything you expected (or were prepared for), and feels like a daunting task you can never get ahead of.
Especially when 75% of your order is on backorder with no estimated fulfillment date — but don’t worry, they’ll make up for it with one tootsie roll when it finally arrives.
Right now, it might feel like you’re alone out in the “inventory wilderness,” but this course (and Ranger Tank) are here to take you step-by-step and lead you through the Pro Pectalin dust!
Tank
The Initial Inventory Expedition
Your Roadmap to Success as a New Inventory Manager
Dealing with endless backstock issues, feeling like the permanent “Out of Stock” Alternative Finder, and uncovering a million “can we order…” stickies on your desk can make you want to hide in the breakroom for your entire work day.
That’s why Ranger Tank, my pup and your trusty course guide, is coming to your rescue faster than the overnight vaccine delivery to show you the way to become the best inventory manager your hospital has ever seen!
The material inside this course will take you further faster than Facebook groups, Googling, or trying to piece different fragments of advice together.
By the end of your first 60-days, you’ll walk away with the confidence to shine in this new role and a Compass Guidebook to continually refer back to.
Initial Inventory Expedition is a comprehensive, all-encompassing resource to survive your first 60-days (and beyond) — PACKED with short, actionable videos and resources to allow you to finally unlock success and create systems as a new inventory manager!
With the Initial Inventory Expedition, you will:
Not only survive, but thrive through your first 60-days as an inventory manager
Identify your top 20 products and what they’re used for, know their vendors, where it’s stored, and how to support your patients and team with the most-needed inventory
Gain confidence in yourself in your new role and feel hopeful about future possibilities
Create your own Compass Guidebook that you can continuously refer back to as an inventory manager
Know when anything is running low and how exactly to place an order
The truth is, your brain isn't meant to remember everything, that’s why you’ll have this self-paced course to refer back to again and again. And hopefully, you'll lose a little less sleep at night knowing you’re truly doing your best.
Let Ranger Tank walk you through your upcoming voyage
It’s time to get acquainted with your tour guide, Ranger Tank, and we’ll walk through your 60-day roadmap, so you gain the confidence to face the list of vaccines on backorder and stop waking up to Cerenia haunting you in your sleep.
Welcome
Inventory management can feel like you’ve been fed to the wolves, so it’s time to set yourself up for success in this course and in your new role! We’ll cover how to set expectations with your supervisor and set the tone for a successful working relationship with your practice team.
Expectations
Products
Vendors
Teams
EXPLORE
TREK
Wrap-up
Before you can move past the “growing pains” of this position, it’s important to first familiarize yourself with your inventory! I’ll walk you through how to get to know the physical layout of your inventory, along with the current inventory policies, your top 20 products, and how to use various inventory equipment. This is how you’ll never run out of certain emergency meds that should always be on hand.
Expectations
Products
Vendors
Teams
EXPLORE
TREK
Wrap-up
Most inventory managers experience FORO (fear of running out), and we want to make sure that happens as little as possible — because running out will still happen, it’s inevitable! We’ll walk through identifying your key vendors, including who to contact when you have a question, preferred payment options, and navigating cut-off times and turnaround times for shipping which has become an even more fun task with supply chain issues!
Expectations
Products
Vendors
Teams
EXPLORE
TREK
Wrap-up
One of the hardest parts of this role can be getting your team members on board with your processes since old habits die hard. We’ll cover meshing their preferences with yours, and how to communicate what you need from them effectively. We’ll also cover different departments and how to set your practice up for success.
Expectations
Products
Vendors
Teams
EXPLORE
TREK
Wrap-up
It’s completely normal to feel like you a barely treading water initially in this role, so let’s talk about how to better navigate it! We’ll cover what a “typical” inventory cycle overview looks like, including the day-to-day and a week in the life of an inventory manager. This will help you look at this position holistically (and hopefully realize you’re not doing too bad!)
Peaks + Valleys
DEMAND FORECASTING
ORDERING
ORGANIZATION TIPS
EXPLORE
TREK
Wrap-up
In this module, you’ll learn how to determine when you’re running low on inventory, and why the definition of “low” sometimes varies between practices. You’ll learn to quantify your practice’s unique needs by understanding how much is actually being used and at what frequency. Finally, you’ll learn how to prepare for seasonal exceptions by forecasting emergency meds and specialty surgeries.
PEAKS + VALLEYS
Demand Forecasting
ORDERING
ORGANIZATION TIPS
EXPLORE
TREK
Wrap-up
“How much and when do I order?” This module breaks down every new inventory manager’s biggest question, including what goes into every order, how to place and pay for an order, and best practices to ensure everything goes smoothly. You’ll also learn what to do after an order has been placed — managing, tracking, and processing.
PEAKS + VALLEYS
DEMAND FORECASTING
Ordering
ORGANIZATION TIPS
EXPLORE
TREK
Wrap-up
In this module, you’ll learn how to keep your inventory organized like Marie Kondo, so you can find what you need quickly and easily. We’ll share tips and best practices to help you create and maintain inventory zones so you and the rest of the team can easily find what they’re looking for.
PEAKS + VALLEYS
DEMAND FORECASTING
ORDERING
Organization Tips
EXPLORE
TREK
Wrap-up
Plus, these bonuses to make your expedition even more streamlined!
BONUS 1:
SOS Lesson: Placing an Order
This lesson is an SOS/emergency "quick start" lesson that will help you place an order for the essentials right away. This is perfect for those who don't have a mentor in the practice or those left up to their own devices.
BONUS 1:
SOS Lesson: Placing an Order
BONUS 2:
Introduction to Vetcove
As an inventory manager, one of my favorite tools is Vetcove! It's like Expedia but for veterinary supplies (and free!). It will help see the best price for an item across all your vendors and see who has it in stock and who doesn't. This lesson will give you some tips and tricks and help get you started using Vetcove.
Access all this for just one payment of $247!
Nicole Clausen, Owner & Founder of Veterinary Care Logistics
MEET YOUR GUIDE
I still remember my first day as a beginning inventory manager, left with little instruction, standing in the pharmacy and wondering how I got myself into this situation. At least I had my predecessor to guide me, right?
Until she left the practice two days later.
I created this course to help you skip the messy middle of becoming an inventory manager. Even if you feel like you were thrown into the deep end, you can learn how to navigate this new role with confidence and provide real value to your practice. The Initial Inventory Expedition will show you how!
I’m not going to sugarcoat it — those early days were a struggle. I felt overwhelmed and defeated with no one in my corner to offer support. I had to figure everything out the hard way. Eventually, I was able to piece together a streamlined and efficient inventory system — and now I use those skills to help others do the same.
Since starting Veterinary Care Logistics in 2017, I’ve helped practices from coast to coast streamline their inventory systems and reduce costs, saving upwards of $100,000-500,000 per year.
Even if it feels like you can’t enjoy a moment of peace without something running out, know you won’t have interrupted lunch breaks forever!
Is it possible to leave work without a mile-long to-do list running through your head, and it is possible to go a whole month without running out of anything.
You just need to give yourself grace as you get started!
This course is how you set yourself up for success so you eventually hit the point where you can enjoy your own true wilderness expedition without receiving panicked “SOS out-of-stock” texts from co-workers.
Lingering questions?
You’ll have lifetime access! You can come back to the resources in this course time and time again throughout your career journey.
If you’re not a member of the VISN community, you’ll create a log-in to the Veterinary Inventory Strategy Network and then get instant access. You can start learning right away!
If you’re currently in major “putting out fires” mode and need an immediate dose of knowledge and strategy, I recommend choosing the Inventory 911 Toolkit instead.
After you complete one of these introductory courses, you can move on to the Inventory System Deep Dive!
You may have watched your predecessor struggle through the job, thinking that’s just how it has to be — but this is the easier option.
With the right training and support, you’ll not only survive this new role but thrive in it. The Initial Inventory Expedition provides the training, resources, and community to make your job as an inventory manager easier and more enjoyable.
You no longer have to feel overwhelmed and defeated, there’s a whole crew waiting to lift you up and carry you to the other side of this mountain!
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