Vendors are getting more and more creative on getting animal hospitals to partake in “deals” they are offering. This “temptation” can be very beneficial or it can get you into trouble.
Are you aware when a vendor supplies you with incentives for purchasing products? These incentives can be small such as a $25.00 gift card, but they can also be as big as an iPad or an iPod, etc. The incentive often involves free goods. Do you have a written policy in place as to who gets this incentive, how it is reported, and how is it monitored?
Your inventory person holds a very high position of trust and good moral character. Do you have the right person in place?
There are several reasons to monitor vendor incentive programs. Obviously, theft is the number one reason to make sure that you know, as a hospital manager or owner, what is being offered by your vendors and that it does not disappear, show up on EBay, or at a local swap meet. You also don’t want to have more inventory on hand than what is needed just because your inventory manager wanted an iPod.
Take steps to control your inventory, eliminate theft, and have the right as the practice owner to determine what to do with the incentive.
Your written policy should go over the following points:
1. All vendor incentive deals should require hospital owner approval – tell your vendors.
2. All free goods are to be reported to the hospital owner.
3. Require your vendors to supply a copy of all incentives directly to the hospital owner - incentives they offered and that they shipped. (Can be done via e-mail.)
4. Watch packing slips for free goods that have shipped and make sure they have been entered in your software system as being received and then accounted for by doing a physical count of your inventory.
5. Have job separation of duties, whoever meets with vendors should not be the person responsible for unpacking and putting inventory away.
6. All non-product incentives such as gift cards, iPods, etc., must be turned in to the hospital owner.
We have to have accountability and good communication in order to protect the hospital and keep inventory costs down. A written plan will show the staff that you are aware that there is a system in place and that it is being monitored.