5 Ways to Save Money on Your Dental Practice Supply Ordering
Updated: Jul 1, 2022
On average, dental supply expenses should take up 5-7% of your practice’s turnover.
That may not sound like much, but having a good handle on all your expenses is a fundamental part of a well-run practice.
Follow these five easy tips to stay within that 5% to 7% range and save money on dental supplies without giving up quality.
1. Stick With a Handful of Trusted Suppliers
Sticking with a handful of trusted suppliers (say, three or four suppliers) provides your dental business with higher levels of service while helping you free up time and reduce ordering expenses.
This means you are able to allocate more resources to fewer suppliers so you can get better prices for supplies.
Freight charges and handling fees will reduce in cost as well.
Here at Invedent, we’ve created the dental industry’s first ordering platform that makes placing and receiving orders a simple, easy, and quick process.
Once you’ve chosen a few trusted suppliers, Invedent’s shop enables you to browse through thousands of products from all of your favourite suppliers all from a single platform allowing you to place an order within minutes.
2. Take Control of Your Stock Management
Inefficient, manual stock processes often lead to overstocking, which, in turn, ties up your capital as inventory sitting on a shelf isn’t moving.
There are also cases where you carry too little inventory so you need to make up for it by placing last-minute orders.
In that case, you are likely to pay higher fees for faster shipping. Not to mention, purchasing smaller quantities means less opportunity for bulk orders and related discounts - all of which is negatively impacting your practice’s profit.
To help you manage your inventory efficiently, we’ve integrated Invedent's shop with a stock management system.
The platform gives you full visibility into inventory levels so you can know exactly what you need to order and have the right amount of stock in the right place at the right time.
This is one of the most efficient ways to save money on supplies as you purchase only what your practice needs, without the extra amount of stock that cripples your profits.
3. Negotiate Prices with Suppliers
Once you’ve picked up a few trusted suppliers, your next step is to reach out to them and try to negotiate for a good price.
Think - how much time and money would you save if you were able to negotiate prices with suppliers for the whole year vs. shopping around for the best prices from week to week?
We have the answer for you - Your practice can save up to $7000 per dental chair per year and 8 hours per week on ordering and stock management (because that’s exactly what Invedent has done for hundreds of practices).
For successful supplier negotiations, Invedent will forecast estimated stock expenditure and usage so you are able to negotiate prices with suppliers in advance and protect your practice’s bottom line with conscious spending.
4. Match Items to Invoices
When done accurately, invoice matching helps you keep an eye on your bottom line and prevents the risk of financial losses.
Unfortunately, doing it manually comes with challenges that may hamper the accuracy of the process.
In fact, manual invoice matching is highly labour-intensive, error-prone, time-consuming, and even more expensive as you need to pay a staff member to get the work done.
Invedent’s ordering platform enables you to remove manual, paper-based invoice matching and enjoy fast, error-free invoice processing.
The system was specifically designed to help you confirm quantities that have arrived at the practice in a simple reconciliation process while also tracking partial orders and backorders.
This means you can reap significant cost savings as you are able to spot mistakes and avoid paying for items you did not receive or did not order.
5. Review Your Budget and Spending History
Ideally, you should review your budget on a quarterly basis to look for any issues in your spending habits and make appropriate adjustments where necessary.
With a regular review process in place, you are better able to control supply expenses and stick to your budget.
If this is your first time doing this, start by having a look at how much your practice has spent on supplies for the past six months or even one year.
This can help you identify any bulk orders that led to a surplus stock you’re still working through.
Invedent’s ordering platform comes with special features that allow you to set a monthly budget goal based on a percentage of your practice's turnover or a fixed amount.
By providing you with access to historical data, the system helps you stick to your budget and keep your practice’s finances on track.
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