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Taking Stock by Mari Sawtelle

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Categories: Practice Management, HR and Accounting;
Taking Stock 

It’s essential to maximize how your practice handles inventory and supplies

by Mari Sawtelle

The orthodontic industry is constantly changing, with more and more manufacturers and products to consider and assess—new aligner companies, scanners, 3D printers, materials for attachments, types of plastic, software and technology, all moving at lightning speed.

With all these choices and so many products being private-labeled, it can be difficult for offices to know which products are good quality and where they come from. Focusing solely on price can be dangerous; it is critical to vet suppliers and ensure you’re avoiding inferior or gray-market products that even in the best-case scenario could cost you money, and in the worst case create a legal liability for your practice.

As the founder of the Mari’s List members forum and buying group, I’ve spent more than a decade immersed in assessing which products and services offer the highest quality and best value for orthodontists. When I speak with orthodontic teams about how to maximize how they inventory and organize the products in their practices, I’m often surprised by how many of them aren’t familiar with these simple but often-missed tips.


Create a formulary.
Your practice needs a complete list of everything you buy, sorted by company. Google Sheets works nicely for creating a list with item descriptions, including quantity in each package, part number and current price.


Organize your restock areas.
There should be three stock areas to focus on: chairs, “on deck” storage and the storeroom. Invest the time to get this correct from the start, because it will be much easier to maintain. First, ensure all chairs are fully stocked. Second, move to on-deck storage, which is all the storage and drawers around the chairs. Finally, stock your main storeroom. Use all your space and get rid of anything expired or that you don’t use, so the space you have is dedicated to active inventory. This is vital, because many offices don’t restock every week but is one of the top reasons offices accidentally run out of supplies.


Regularly rotate your stock.
Pick a consistent day to restock—for example, Friday at noon. Each assistant should have the responsibility of stocking their chair or assigned areas. Pull from “on deck” to stock chairs, and the front of the storeroom to replenish what was removed from on deck. As new supplies come in, place them in the back of their section in the storeroom. This way, you’re always rotating inventory and never have items like adhesives, elastomerics, chain or gloves expiring or degrading.


Find the right frequency for ordering.
When I was director of purchasing and business development for an eight-office orthodontic practice, we knew it was time to reorder a product when its supply reached the halfway point in the storeroom. Our practice had enough storage that we could place orders once a month; practices with even more space might be able to move to quarterly ordering, which saves on labor and shipping costs. If your practice doesn’t have the space to store three months’ worth of bulky items you use large quantities of—things like gloves and wipes—set them up on a monthly auto-ship. Some companies give extra discounts on auto-shipments, which can be adjusted if you need more or are getting ahead of yourself with too much on hand.


Time your orders.
We find midweek works best for ordering supplies, because many offices tend to order on Monday or Friday and vendors can get swamped on those days. If a company doesn’t provide online ordering on its website, use email instead of calling so you have a record of communication. Some offices prefer to use ordering software, especially if they have multiple locations. It can save the ordering person time and give them more history and the ability to run reports.


Always check your invoices for accuracy.
The time spent making sure all details are correct will pay dividends whenever a mistake is found. We recommend double-checking price, shipping information and especially your bracket and tube slot sizes and prescriptions. Companies can make keying and pulling errors, and mixing the wrong product into your inventory can be a nightmare.


Hire the right person.
When hiring, choose someone who is organized and thorough to oversee inventory and ordering. Give them time to do the job properly. (Many offices include downtime for this when the doctor is out.)


Be open to change.
Many practices have been ordering from the same places for decades, but as new companies have emerged, many are more competitive and selling the same items private-label with other names.


If it seems too good to be true, it is.
Companies—and even authorized dealers—will try to throw out cost-plus-5% deals, but they can’t sustain a business with margins this low for very long. You may get the deal for a few months, after which the pricing will change without any notice given. This is called “price creep,” and if you aren’t watching closely, six or 12 months later, you may be shocked at what you’re suddenly paying for the same supplies. We saw that a lot in the field when analyzing practices and invoices.


It’s about more than price.
Remember, price can’t be the sole determining factor when deciding where to order. Is that low price because it’s a gray-market product that has no manufacturers’ warranty or traceability, may have sat in a warehouse for years or even be counterfeit, and could make you liable for patient issues involving that product?


Is it high quality that will last, or is it low quality
that will soon have to be replaced and cost you far more in the long run? Will the dealer take care of you and keep you in stock with PPE during a crisis like COVID-19? If UPS goes on strike, can you rely on the vendor treating you with the importance you deserve?


Be wary of “free” products and shipping.
  • If a company offers free products based on your band and bracket purchases, remember that the products may be free but shipping is usually not. Keep this in mind when placing such orders, and group them at least monthly. (We’ve seen practices place small “free” orders where the shipping ends up costing more than the value of the free products.)
  • Also be careful when a company advertises “free” shipping, because many times the price is actually built into the cost of the products. An ordering platform may charge an additional 10% or more of the original sales price while claiming to save you time or make your life easier. This convenience comes with a price! We’ve seen many cases where it costs less to order directly from companies and manufacturers who also sell to dealers for white-labeling.

Leverage online groups.
Some doctors dislike social media for personal or professional use, but there are some great orthodontic groups with hundreds of doctors sharing useful and candid information about products, services and their own experiences. You don’t just need to go to meetings to learn from your peers as the industry continues to evolve quickly with 3D technology, aligners and customized brackets that reduce chair time! With more than 8,000 verified members, Orthotown’s online message boards are a great place to seek advice and suggestions. Our private Mari’s List member forum is another great place where orthodontists can discuss products and services and get honest, valuable peer feedback.


Watch your biggest dental supply cost.
Consumables for orthodontists run 53%–58% of your dental supply cost, because you often see patients for up to two years. Most orthodontic practices aren’t aware this is their largest expense category, with hundreds of products, so overspending here adds up more in a year than a big discount on any one item.


Stay on top of warranties.
Use your practice management software to track repairs and warranties and their expiration dates. Having something serviced before the warranty ends can really save you down the road!


Look at your credit card charges.
If you haven’t talked to someone who can help you reduce these charges, we recommend the free analysis available from Merchant Cost Consulting. Whichever vendor you approach for help with this, ask what percentage of savings you keep, because different groups have different negotiations.


Track your bond failures.
If they seem high, review your bonding system with everyone on the team. Bond failures cost you not only in product but also valuable doctor time. Look at where the adhesive is, because it can help isolate the cause.


Take your ordering person to the AAO Annual Session.
Assign them booths to visit and products to research. Have them ask for samples if you haven’t tried something. Give them incentives to save you money! If you’re in a buying group, go by and see if they have promos to show you, along with a map of the AAO floor.


Revisit your ordering list at least yearly with your team.
Know what you’re paying for things and which companies you’re using. Watch your overall dental supply cost, because this is important to know. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to inventory and ordering, but with time you’ll find what works best for your practice. The key is to be consistent in your process so you aren’t running out of supplies and scrambling at the last minute, ordering too often in smaller quantities, or throwing expired products away.

Focus on one-time-use products and consumables. These add up faster than doctors realize and, again, constitute 53%–58% of your supply cost. Seemingly small items or small mistakes can add up to big dollars very quickly in a thriving practice.

Author Bio
Mari Sawtelle Mari Sawtelle, founder of the Mari’s List orthodontic buying group, worked in sales and training positions for companies including The A Company, Ormco and Align Technology before striking out into consultancy focused on inventory control and purchasing. At the 2023 AAO Annual Session in Chicago, Mari’s List was named best orthodontic service provider in recognition of the deals it negotiates with 165 dental and orthodontic vendors on behalf of its members in private practice, who can lower their dental supply cost to as low as 3%–5% of production. Information: marislist.com


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