Mastering Inventory: Strategies to Slash Costs and Optimize Pricing in Veterinary Practices
About the session
Efficient inventory management in veterinary practices isn’t just about keeping shelves stocked — it’s a key factor in maintaining financial health and operational smoothness. Balancing cost control with high-quality service is essential, yet many practices struggle with high Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), stockouts, and the frustrating time drain of managing inventory.
This session will focus on transforming these challenges into opportunities for savings and efficiency. Attendees will explore strategies to prevent excess stock and ensure products are available when needed, adopting a just-in-time approach.
We’ll cover how to understand and accurately calculate COGS, setting realistic and effective targets tailored to your specific hospital’s service and product mix. We’ll explore methods for identifying and controlling cost drivers and strategies to tackle high COGS, such as managing overstock, reducing waste, and enhancing efficiency.
We’ll pay special attention to different pricing models, including markup percentages and margin-based pricing, to help you craft an effective and flexible pricing strategy that aligns with your practice’s goals and economic trends. You’ll learn how to negotiate better pricing and integrate new products into your inventory smoothly, avoiding disruptions to operations. Additionally, we’ll discuss how to use inventory software to streamline this process further, reduce costs, and boost EBITDA.
Gain practical knowledge and essential insights to enhance inventory management and drive financial success in your practice.
This course is RACE approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit for veterinarians and veterinary technicians in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval (RACE 20-1237080). This course is approved by the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA) for 1 hour of CVPM CE credit (24-51).
What you’ll learn
Inventory management essentials
Key principles of inventory management and their impact on your practice's financial health.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
Insights into COGS components and their effect on profitability and pricing strategies.
Pricing models
Various pricing models and their suitability for your practice's services and products.
Cost control techniques
Techniques for managing and controlling inventory costs through effective financial analysis.
Strategic planning
Steps for creating a clear plan to set COGS targets and optimize your inventory processes.
Technology tools
Overview of software tools that simplify inventory management processes.
Our Hosts
Emmitt Nantz, MBA
Emmitt Nantz has been part of the veterinary family for nearly two decades and is driven by a personal mission to make the veterinary domain better. Emmitt spent 12 years working at Banfield, starting out as a single-site hospital manager. Having majored in agriculture business management, he expanded his education to include an MBA, a Black Belt in Six Sigma, and a Project Management Certification.
Emmitt applied these learnings at Banfield and later as a Chief Operating Officer at SmartFlow where he helped hundreds of practices improve their operations. In pursuit of his passion for workflow optimization, Emmitt honed his expertise in a critical area that often plagues hospitals’ bottom lines – inventory management. He co-founded Inventory Ally, an all-in-one cloud software designed to help veterinary professionals reduce inventory costs, streamline processes, and save time.
Nicole Clausen, CSSGB, CCFP, CVBL
Nicole Clausen has over 15 years of experience in the veterinary industry with responsibilities ranging from receptionist, technician assistant, lead receptionist, inventory manager, and operations manager for several different hospitals. She is now the founder and consultant at Veterinary Care Logistics, a consulting firm specializing in inventory management for veterinary professionals. In addition, Nicole is the founder of the Certified Veterinary Inventory Professional program and is a co-founder of Inventory Ally, where she creates strategic, functional inventory systems that reduce costs, increase efficiency, and get back to what matters most to the veterinary team … their patients!
Nicole has authored several publications, including controlled substance management protocols and policy and procedure manuals. Clients include national and regional corporations, hospital groups, and private veterinary hospitals all across the United States. She has spoken at numerous industry-sponsored conferences on inventory management, as well as produced a full suite of online, self-paced inventory management courses. She is also the host of the Inventory Nation Podcast.
Course Reviews
Reviews
Jeff Smith
Great hour of CE dense with needle moving advice