Reorder tags can be an incredibly helpful tool for managing inventory within your veterinary practice. Reorder tags serve as a physical reminder or flag that something is running low and needs to be ordered. One of the more common frustrations that I hear is “no one tells me or writes an item down when it’s running low”. One of the challenges of that statement is, what does “low” mean? It’s a very subjective statement because low may mean different things to different team members. When using your team members exclusively to alert you when items are low, you run the risk of a) over-ordering or b) running out.
This is where reorder points and reorder tags can be helpful.
Reorder tags can be especially helpful for hospital supplies or any inventory items that are particularly hard to track within your practice management system. Typically, the process for reorder tags is they are rubber-banded or somehow attached to the box or reorder point. Then, when someone grabs that box/sleeve/item with the reorder tag, the tag is placed in a bin and it’s now an alert to reorder the item.
Some of the things I like to use reorder tags for include:
- Hospital supplies
- Emergency drugs
- Any products that are difficult to track QOH in your practice management system (Panacur granules, etc.)
There are different options for creating reorder tags. Most veterinary distributors offer free reorder tags (contact your reps), you can create your own, or I have created a fillable PDF reorder tag template for you to use. You can download the template by clicking on the button below.
If you need help creating and implementing your reorder tags, check out the Veterinary Inventory Strategy Network. There are classes and workshops on numerous different inventory topics; including reorder tags!
