Managing inventory doesn’t have to feel like a chore—especially when you have the perfect recipe! Let’s break them down into three key pieces:
Order History: The Cake Itself
Order History is the cake—the most important part of your inventory success. Without it, there’s nothing to build on.
What it does: Tracks your hospital’s past purchases to set reorder points and frequencies for each product.
Why it matters: Just like the cake is the foundation for icing and decorations, Order History ensures your inventory reflects what your hospital actually needs.
Tip: Upload your order history every week to ensure your inventory trends are accurate and up-to-date!
Approving On-Hand Estimates or Entering Counts: The Cake Filling
The filling is where all the real flavor lives—it’s what brings everything together.
What it does: This is where you either approve estimated quantities on hand or enter your physical count numbers into Inventory Ally. These quantities help determine how much of each product you truly need to order.
Why it matters: Without a strong filling, even the most beautiful cake can collapse. Intermittent cycle counting keeps your inventory accurate and reliable. Inventory Ally uses these approved or entered quantities—along with your order history and PIMS sales information—to calculate true product consumption and make smarter, more precise reorder recommendations.
Tip: Approving estimated quantities can help build your order in minutes. Accuracy builds once the other integrations are live. Keep reading to learn how they all work together.
Shopping Cart/List: The Icing on the Cake
Shopping carts save time and keep things sweet and simple.
What it does: Automatically populates shopping carts on your vendors’ e-commerce sites.
Why it matters: This feature cuts down on manual data entry, minimizes errors, and ensures you’re ordering exactly what you need.
Note: Practices using the shopping cart integration report saving hours each week on their ordering process!
PIMS Transaction Data: The Cherry on Top
Your Practice Management Software (PIMS) transaction data adds that final touch of brilliance.
What it does: Analyzes your sales and usage data to refine on-hand quantity estimates, react quicker to low-stock products and make smarter order recommendations.
Why it matters: You’ll count less often, experience fewer stockouts, and feel more confident in your inventory numbers.
Tip: The more accurate your PIMS data, the better your reorder recommendations will be!
How These Integrations Work Together
Think of these integrations as parts of a recipe:
Order History ensures you have the right base ingredients.
Cake Filling (Approving/Entering On-Hand Quantities) keeps your inventory structure strong and satisfying.
Shopping Cart simplifies putting everything in your virtual basket.
PIMS Data optimizes the mix to avoid waste or running out.
Together, they make your inventory management system efficient, reliable, and stress-free.