There is an unwritten rule where a dental office is generally encouraged not to spend more than 6% of their annual expenditure on dental supplies, according to dental supplies website GPSDent. Many of us start out sticking to this percentage, but often other things get in the way and we don’t look around for the best deals and the costs slowly creep up over time. Before you know it, the supplies expenditure can go above 10%, which will impact your profitability. Here are the main reasons why practices are spending too much on their dental supplies.
Hoarding of Supplies
We have a mindset of not wanting to run out of products. This can lead us to store away more products than we actually need. Overbuying is a key reason why dental practices overspend on supplies, so make sure you reign in on your orders. I’ve been known to keep 4 or 5 boxes of gloves in my cupboard for example!
More Than One Person in Charge of Purchasing Supplies
Some practices allow many people to order supplies when they need them. This too leads to over ordering. If you have just one person in charge of purchasing supplies, they will be able to manage and control what is being ordered to ensure over ordering doesn’t occur. If one person is in charge of inventory, this will minimize the problem. You can offer bonuses to the person in charge of purchasing supplies when they meet budgets and don’t order too much.
Not Analyzing Supply Invoices
It can be a chore looking over invoices and seeing where your money is being spent, but, you can save a lot of money just by looking for products or services for which you have been overcharged. You will be surprised how often this occurs.
Non-Dental Specific Products Being Ordered
It can be very expensive to order stationery and other non-dental specific products from dental suppliers, as they will add a big mark up on these products, which you can just buy from Walmart for example. This is a good way to save money, and even little savings mount up over time.
Check out GPSDent
Gone are the days of ordering your dental supplies through a rep who comes to your practice. Start saving money now by using dental supplies websites such as GPSDent.com.
