Have you ever tried to make an educated decision, only to find that there are so many options that it actually becomes harder to make the right one?
Think about something as simple as deciding what to eat for dinner.
Or picking a Gatorade flavor.
Or scrolling through Netflix for 30 minutes trying to decide what to watch.
More choices don't always lead to better decisions.
Sometimes, too many choices just create more noise.
The same thing can happen when you're managing your pharmacy's drug supplier portfolio.
It can be tempting to open accounts with more suppliers, constantly compare prices and chase every opportunity that comes across your desk.
But at some point, the number of options becomes a problem.
You spend more time searching, managing accounts, meeting requirements and reconciling invoices—and less time actually running your pharmacy.
The goal shouldn't be to have the most suppliers.
The goal should be to have the right suppliers working together.
Here are five things to consider when building your primary and secondary wholesaler strategy.
Every additional supplier adds another variable to the equation.
If you're constantly moving purchases around to find a slightly better price, you may unintentionally make it harder to meet your primary wholesaler or buying group requirements.
That can put rebates, discounts and other contract benefits at risk.
The cheapest price on one NDC doesn't necessarily mean it's the best purchase for your pharmacy.
You have to look at the bigger picture.
Secondary suppliers can be valuable, especially when you're dealing with shortages, availability issues or significant price differences.
But having too many accounts can create another problem:
Fragmented purchasing.
If you're placing small orders across multiple suppliers, you may find yourself struggling to meet minimum shipping requirements or paying more in freight than you anticipated.
Sometimes, consolidating purchases with the right supplier can be more valuable than chasing the lowest individual price.
Your buying group may have already done some of the work for you.
Many groups establish relationships with secondary suppliers specifically to help their members address shortages, cost pressures and access to inventory.
Before opening another account, ask whether there is already a preferred relationship available to you—and whether there is an advantage to using it.
Not every supplier relationship needs to be reinvented.
Here's one that doesn't always show up on a spreadsheet.
If you open accounts with 10, 15 or even 20 different suppliers, what happens next?
You may end up on 20 different sales reps' call lists.
Now you're answering emails, taking calls, reviewing offers and fielding questions from suppliers trying to earn your business.
That takes time.
And time is one of the most expensive resources in a pharmacy.
Before opening another account, ask yourself whether the expected savings are actually worth the additional management and interruption.
Every supplier creates another set of invoices, payment terms, statements, credits, returns and reconciliation requirements.
The purchasing decision doesn't end when you place the order.
Someone still has to manage everything that comes afterward.
If you are adding suppliers faster than you are adding efficiency, you may be creating more work instead of saving money.
At Pharmacy Marketplace, we believe there is a better way to approach purchasing.
We don't view pharmacy purchasing as simply a matter of finding the lowest price.
We consider ourselves a purchasing intelligence platform, not a traditional price-shopping tool.
Our goal is to help pharmacies understand the bigger picture—how supplier pricing, availability, primary wholesaler requirements, buying group relationships and secondary opportunities fit together.
Our proprietary algorithms and supplier relationships help identify where opportunities exist without creating unnecessary complexity.
Because sometimes the answer isn't adding another supplier.
Sometimes the answer is getting more intelligence out of the suppliers you already have.
We believe a pharmacy can have a smaller, stronger supplier portfolio and still take advantage of the opportunities available in the market.
The right combination of relationships, technology and purchasing intelligence can help reduce unnecessary work while protecting the economics of the pharmacy.
Better decisions are better.
If you're spending too much time searching for the next deal, managing too many supplier relationships or wondering whether your purchasing strategy is actually working for your bottom line, we'd like to show you another approach.
Schedule a demo with Pharmacy Marketplace and see how we can help you save time, reduce purchasing complexity and improve the economics of your pharmacy.