Inventory management in corporate veterinary groups can be a complex challenge. With the scale of multiple locations, balancing the unique needs of each hospital with profitability is a delicate act. When mismanaged, it can lead to high labor costs, waste, supply shortages, and other inefficiencies, all of which can drag down the bottom line, negatively impact team morale and patient care.
Jaclin Madarang, Director of Commercial Operations at EverVet, is no stranger to these intricacies. With over 20 years of experience on both sides of the supply chain, Jaclin has a deep understanding of what it takes to streamline operations in veterinary hospitals. At EverVet, she is responsible for managing vendor relationships and driving profitability across their growing network of over 30 locations. Previously, Jaclin held leadership roles at Elanco, where she oversaw $4 million in business, and Zoetis, where she led a team responsible for over $2.5 million in accounts.
We sat down with Jaclin to discuss how a well-forecasted, predictable inventory can improve financial health and enhance employee experience. She shared insights on change management, red flags to watch for, how inventory management differs in corporate versus private settings, and the value of automation in today’s veterinary practice. We are sharing the conversation in her own words.
“Good medicine and good business can go hand in hand”
At EverVet, I manage our vendor relationships to maximize our contracts and ensure pricing efficiency. This means I spend a lot of time looking at things like cost of goods sold (COGS) and inventory.
My main focus is helping our veterinary teams be as efficient as possible. Whether it’s improving workflows or ensuring they have the right supplies when they need them, my goal is to make their jobs easier. At the end of the day, if we can help our teams work more smoothly, we will have a profitable business. Good medicine and good business really can go hand in hand.
“Poor inventory management can lead to turnover”
Inefficient inventory practices can seriously impact team retention – sometimes even to the point where people quit. We saw this firsthand when, during a few exit interviews, veterinarians mentioned inventory frustrations as one of their reasons for leaving.
The issue was that practice managers, in their efforts to control costs, ended up causing stockouts. This created a lot of stress for veterinarians, as they didn’t have the necessary supplies to do their jobs. Ultimately, we’re here for patient care. If we don’t have what we need to treat our patients, it feels like we’ve failed.
Studies show that replacing a veterinarian costs over $100,000, not to mention the loss of production due to understaffing. We just can’t afford that kind of turnover.
“Without proper tools, even the best efforts can fall short”
This story is partly why we decided to partner with Inventory Ally. As employers, we must equip our team with the tools that simplify their job. We had been offering our team all kinds of tips and strategies to help optimize costs, but there’s only so much education can do.
Without the right tools, even the best efforts fall short. The real key is creating predictability and automating processes with technology.
Inventory Ally checked all the boxes we needed to keep our team properly stocked. It turned inventory management into a more scientific process, instead of relying on gut feelings or paper tags around the clinic. With Inventory Ally, we can set up a regular, efficient ordering schedule, bringing it down to just once or twice a week.
Inventory is the second-largest expense for any veterinary hospital. It’s a huge amount of money flowing through the business. It absolutely needs to be managed, but it must be done carefully and thoughtfully so that we are not stressing people out.
“It’s crucial to show how improving efficiencies directly benefits employees”
Any change requires team buy-in. When I talk to the staff about inventory management, I try to frame it in a way they can relate to – how it directly affects their jobs. If you’re ordering four days a week, that’s time spent placing orders, unpacking boxes, and repeating the cycle. It snowballs. By improving efficiencies, we ensure we have everything we need and free up more time to focus on patients.
Optimizing inventory means we’ll spend less and can reinvest that saved capital back into the practice – raising wages, upgrading the facility, or modernizing equipment. That’s why we try to have transparent conversations with the team about where we can make adjustments and how it all connects.
“The combination of PIMS limitations and human error creates a perfect storm”
Many hospitals use their PIMS to track inventory, but the system has its limitations – partly due to the PIMS itself and partly because of how it’s used. People get busy, and sometimes inventory isn’t received or entered correctly, if at all. This can throw off your counts. Injectables, for example, often aren’t recorded properly, leading to incorrect stock levels.
We’ve seen cases where hospitals’ PIMS showed they had 40,000 gallons of euthanasia solution. It was never subtracted from inventory. It just kept adding up. These kinds of mistakes can really skew your numbers.
The benefit of Inventory Ally is that it works from both sides. It pulls data from Vetcove to see what you’ve ordered and uses your PIMS to track what you’ve sold, giving a more accurate picture of your inventory on hand.
PIMS was never really designed for inventory management. Combine that with possibly little to no training for staff, and it’s the perfect storm for mistakes. That’s why I like Inventory Ally – it takes the human factor off the table.
“Keep an eye out for red flags in your financials and processes”
If your hospital is struggling, here are the warning signs to watch for:
- COGS is too high – you’re likely overspending and need to reevaluate ordering practices.
- Frequent product expirations – you’re ordering too much, and it’s just sitting on the shelf.
- Stockouts – if you’re constantly running out of supplies, you need better forecasting and planning.
- Shrinkage – you notice many products disappearing or being lost.
Take a close look at your process. Are you regularly running out of items or throwing things out because they’ve expired? That’s a good place to start. Who’s responsible for ordering and unpacking? Are they feeling stressed?
Think about how many products you really need in each category. Do you need that many SKUs? Is there a way to make the process more efficient and predictable?
“Having solid data gives you leverage to negotiate better pricing”
Efficient inventory management is even more critical for private practices than for corporate groups. Single practitioners often don’t have the buying power to negotiate better contracts, so they aren’t getting the same deals. This makes it essential to run a tight ship with inventory and seek predictability.
Knowing exactly what you’re going to order year over year, quarter over quarter, helps in contract negotiations. You can go to vendors and say, “Hey, we purchased X amount of Simparica Trio. Here’s our historical data.” With Inventory Ally, you can be very specific during negotiations and get better pricing because you have that solid data.
“Start small and find an ambassador”
EverVet is a very collaborative group. When new hospitals join, it’s truly a partnership. Our goal is always to make their lives easier, allowing them to focus on practicing great medicine without getting bogged down by back-office headaches.
No one got into veterinary medicine for the paperwork and inventory management – that’s where the headaches are. Our job is to take that burden off their plate, and partnering with Inventory Ally helps us do just that.
One of our hospitals has fully embraced Inventory Ally, and now their manager spends just 30 to 45 minutes a week on inventory. They’re not running out of products, no one’s frustrated, and he can focus on other things. That’s my dream for every location.
My advice to other multi-site hospitals: If you’re looking to implement something new, start with a couple of pilot practices. Find ambassadors to champion the system and help drive adoption across the entire network.
Three signs you’ve got a problem with inventory management:
- Sense of overwhelm, spending excessive time on inventory
- Stubborn COGS
- Reactive ordering
