There is an unwritten rule which suggest that all dental offices should aim to spend no more than 6% of their annual expenditure on their dental supplies, according to supplies company GPSIDental.
It is often easy to stick to this percentage to begin with, but over time, we often take our eye off the ball and the percentage starts to climb to above 10%. When it gets above this level, it will dramatically impact on your dental office’s overall profitability. Here are some ways that you can prevent this from happening.
Resist the Temptation to Stock Up on Supplies
This is a very easy practice to get in the way of doing. We think that we can cut costs by ensuring we have a good supply of essential supplies, but this is when overspends begin to take place. This often leads to over buying of basic supplies, which in turn increases costs.
Appoint a “Head of Purchasing”
You don’t need to hire someone else to do this job – just make it the responsibility of an existing member of staff. It has been proven that if one person is left in charge of buying supplies for your dental office, it will be easier for them to keep track of all the purchases made in your practice and to ensure budgets are being stuck to.
If more than one person buys supplies on a regular basis, it will be hard to keep track of purchases made and costs will quickly rise to unsustainable levels. If you offer a small bonus to the “Head of Purchasing” for sticking to budgets, this will motivate them to keep to the agreed percentage.
Shop at Superstores
There is often no need to buy essentials from a specialist dental supplies company for equipment that can often be bought in supermarkets such as Walmart at a fraction of the cost. For example, we would recommend that you buy stationary at Walmart. These small savings add up!
Use Online Dental Supplies Websites
There is no need in this day and age for dental reps to come into your dental office to take supply orders when you can order your own online. These dental reps charge a markup percentage on your spend, so you will likely save a lot of money by using dental supplies websites such as GPSDent.com.