POSitec Solutions | Canada Point-of-Sale for Pharmacies and Retail

June 27, 2019

How POSitec Solutions can help your Pharmacy save thousands annually with Inventory Management

We have come a long way from the days of inventory cards, monthly labour-intensive counting of products and manually inputting, only to be repeated the following month. Today, with the use of a Skorpio mobile computer and the Finestra Inventory Management software, you can see in real time the inventory level of every product in your store by simply scanning the product.

Why is this important?

Knowing and analyzing inventory levels is key to managing any business. Inventory costs money, moving inventory around your store costs time and wages. Every time your staff deals with inventory, it adds to the cost of the product.  That terrific deal you got on those 24 boxes of product that are still on the shelf 6 months later are now costing you money that you could instead be using to purchase new inventory to sell.

Using the Skorpio will help manage your inventory and SAVE time and money. Studies have shown that utilizing an Inventory Management system could potentially reduce your store inventory by up to 25% within a year. So, a store with $30,000 in inventory could potentially save up to $7,500 with the Finestra Inventory Management System!

Let’s explore the ROI (return on investment) in utilizing the Skorpio mobile computer:

Manual Ordering:

Employee goes to the sales floor and manually notes the UPCs of every product to order. Employee must check all areas of the store i.e. overstock area, back room, drawers to avoid ordering items already in store but not readily seen on the shelf. Employee then manually keys in each UPC into the Wholesaler’s site to order product.
Average time to complete – 3-4 hours

Skorpio Ordering:

Employee can simply go to sales floor, scan item(s) to be ordered and then upload order from POS system to Wholesaler.  When scanning, software will show current inventory level of item so no need to check all areas of the store.
SAVINGS: 1-2 wage hours or $15-$30 every ordering day or approximately $1500-$3000 per year.

Manual Receiving:

Order arrives from Wholesaler and employee reconciles the items in the boxes against the list of items on the invoice(s).  Retails must be calculated and noted for each item on invoice.  Once all items are reconciled, price stickers must be done and placed on items prior to merchandising on the shelf.
Average time to complete – 4-6 hours.

Skorpio Receiving:

Order arrives from Wholesaler. Store scans each item which reconciles against invoice. Order is received into inventory.  No requirement for price stickers. System will generate new price shelf labels if new retail is required.
SAVINGS: 2-4 wage hours or $30-$60 every receiving day or approximately $3000-$6300 per year.

Pricing with a Skorpio:

Ensuring that your store has accurate pricing and labeling is another benefit to having a Skorpio.  The Skorpio allows staff to review pricing on the sales floor. By simply scanning the product on the shelf, the software will display current pricing. Changes can be done immediately and in doing so, a new pricing label is ordered and added to the printing queue.

Data Build with a Skorpio:

For new stores that need to input their current data/inventory into the POS system, having the Skorpio makes the job quicker and more efficient. From the sales floor you can scan the item, input the retail your store currently uses as well as the on-hand inventory quantity. This keeps your system updated and current.

Without the Skorpio, each item is brought to the POS main screen and input there. To do this, stores often use 2 staff, one to input and one to be the “runner” going back and forth to the sales floor with the product.

Savings using the Skorpio about 50% in the wage dollar cost for this function or about $120.00 per day. 

*Note: It takes on average about 30 minutes per 4ft section to Data Build with a Skorpio.

Inventory Counts with a Skorpio:

It is recommended that stores with or without a POS system having an annual inventory count of their store. This best practice KPI (Key Performing Indicator) is important to calculate your COGS (Cost of Goods) and may be required for tax purposes. Using a Skorpio mobile computer and the Finestra Inventory Management software can help make this task easier, i.e. data building, cycle counts, or full inventory counts can be done right from the sales floor.

For stores without a mobile computer, counting can be a daunting task…and…the option of having a professional company do your count can cost thousands of dollars! Regular counting of your store’s inventory will help measure “shrinkage” – damaged goods, theft and receiving errors – another important measurement of your store’s financial health.

Managing the inventory in your store requires many tasks but if they are done correctly and frequently, it will go a long way to ensure the long-term viability of your business. The Skorpio is an affordable tool to help you with those tasks and an investment that will pay for itself many times over!

*Note: Labour productivity and wage savings based on feedback from a random sample of mid-sized POSitec customers’ stores.  Results may differ depending on individual store size and employee support.