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Clinical Solutions Blog

Stop Wasting Time: 4 Quick Ways to Free Hours Every Month

Posted by Rick Lau on Dec 26, 2014 1:59:00 PM


time is money

Your time is money, so stop wasting it.

Here at Clinic Supplies Canada (CSC) the aim is not just to ‘sell’ you products, the aim is to help you run a highly successful practice. One way we do that is by sharing valuable clinic owner tips that can help you be more efficient – saving you time and money – it’s something we all want right?

More time and more money is an asset to any physiotherapy, chiropractic, or massage therapy clinic.

Something I hear clinics complain of time and time again is the amount of time it takes to organize clinic supplies. They often tell me they don’t have a lot of time but their checklist is massive.

And on top of that, it seems like the need for supplies is never ending. You just ordered something and the next thing you know, you’re out of supplies and needing to do a new order again.

I want you to get out of this ordering rut. So today I’ve got some tips and advice on how you can save 5 hours each month and take ordering supplies from being a hassle, to being a well oiled, organized, efficient machine.

That’s one of the main things we love to share here on the CSC blog – is how to put systems in place. With better systems and processes in place, we can always save valuable time and money.

So let’s dig in and see how we can do it with the task of clinic supplies.

Hours spent ordering supplies  

Let me just lay out a few facts we gathered from a survey we ran:

  • The average monthly spend for supplies is $528.
  • The average number of suppliers is 5.
  • The average monthly time spent on orders is 6 hours.
  • The average estimated cost of doing those orders is $450.

As you can see, the numbers don’t really add up.

You think you’re only spending $528 on clinic supplies, when in actual fact you’re spending $978 – every single month. That’s double what you expected, not to mention the 6 hours of time you or your team could spend doing more productive activities.

If you could cut the amount of time spent down to 1 hour per month, then your cost will get slashed to $603. Plus you’ll have 5 extra hours to spend on more important things in the practice.

That’s exactly what we’re here to talk about today – remember, efficiency means effectiveness.

So where exactly does all that time go?

Think about some of the things you might do to find and order clinic supplies.

Here are a few:

  • Flipping the pages of catalogues of your multiple suppliers
  • Doing online price comparisons
  • Visiting big box retailers
  • Taking visits from suppliers
  • Placing orders with multiple suppliers
  • Bookkeeper entries for multiple suppliers
  • Writing checks for multiple invoices
  • Dealing with returns and exchanges from multiple supplies

When we stack up all those factors we can soon see where the time is wasted. And more importantly I hope you can see something very clearly…

Ordering from multiple suppliers is a clear time and money waster.

If you consolidate all your orders with one supplier that helps you buy everything, you’ve already slashed hours of time from your entire team.  

We’ll talk more about this in a moment, but first let’s talk about something else that happens to many people, and why it’s important to look for things besides low price.

Costs suppliers don’t tell you about

Unfortunately in the clinic supplies industry, there are a lot of suppliers that use bait and switch tactics. If you partner with a good company with a high priority for awesome service then you shouldn’t have to use tactics. But I’m here to tell you that many vendors do.

So what is bait and switch?

It’s a dishonest marketing tactic designed to compel you with lower prices that seem very appealing – the bait.

You’ve probably heard the saying that, “if it’s too good to be true it probably is” – well this is one of those situations.

Once these vendors have you ‘baited’ they ‘switch’, and within a few months their prices increase, often without you being told. So never assume that you got a bargain. Always check your invoice and watch out for price increases.

On top of these bait and switch tactics, vendors such as these have customer service as a low priority, so they never deliver on time, when you call them they won't pick up the phone, and they continually send out sales reps trying to sell you stuff you don’t need. 

All of this adds up to more time and more costs for your team.

You might be nodding your head thinking this sounds like a situation you’ve found yourself in before, or even right now.

Trust me, you’re not alone. Here at CSC many of our customers have shared these types of experiences with us and it’s really a shame to the industry because it doesn’t have to be that way.

So let’s talk about some tips to putting a more efficient and effective system in place for ordering your monthly clinic supplies. 

4 Tips to save time ordering clinic supplies

1) Don’t buy based on price

I think we’ve just covered the reasons why you don’t want to buy simply based on low price. Vendors with low prices often have a low priority on customer service, their delivery is inefficient and never on time, they can have double shipping fees, restocking fees, overweight shipping fees, and any number of things written in ‘fine print’ that you weren’t made aware of upfront.

All of these things add to the frustrations and time of dealing with admin tasks associated with your orders.

2) Choose a supplier that has a high priority on awesome service

In my opinion, customer service should be a high priority for any good vendor.

For example, here at CSC our number one core value is:

Create Magical Experiences 

We love people and our goal is to provide our clients with magical experiences that make them say Wow!“ 

By focusing on providing you with the best experience and service, do you think this will save you time? Absolutely!

Instead of wasting time chasing vendors, you can trust the reliability of working with suppliers who deliver on time and pick up the phone if you need them.

Finding a reliable supplier is more important than finding the cheapest supplier. Don't get trapped going in for price. Your time is worth way more!

3) Ditch the print catalogues & sales pitches

Sales reps might like to bombard you with catalogues and promo sheets but these are outdated, clunky, and static. Oftentimes, catalogues and promo sheets aren't up to date and won’t include any of the recent product changes.

Instead, switch to using an online supply store such as Clinic Supplies Canada. We aim to provide a site that offers all the supplies you need, a site that is user friendly, contains intuitive navigation, search boxes for easy reference, and customer support for assistance.

4) Consolidate and choose just ONE reliable vendor

Once you have found a reliable and trusted supplier, preferably a "one-stop shop" (one like us that offers it all: cleaning, office and rehab supplies), consolidate all your clinic supplies with this vendor.

Wondering how CSC can help save time and simplify your order process?  

 CLICK HERE and get discount pricing for your clinic

The benefits of having one vendor includes:

- Increased purchase power with combining suppliers
- Lower administrative costs, one vendor equals one invoice
- Save time not having to meet with vendors trying to sell you supplies
- Save on multiple shipping fees
- Bulk all your supplies to get free shipping

Your time is money, so stop wasting it.

Acknowledge how much time is spent between BOTH you and the team on flipping catalogues or driving to the big box stores to buy supplies – and start changing it for the better today!

If you use these tips and put them into practice, you will soon cut down 5 hours a month in time, and you’ll have an efficient, effective clinic supplies ordering system that virtually works on autopilot.

Let us help you make the switch.

Call 1-(877)-855-8818 and talk to our friendly customer service team about your supply needs.

And while you’re here, CLICK HERE to subscribe for our blog updates – we’ve always got valuable tips and tricks to help you grow a better practice.

 

Topics: Time Saving Tips

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