Enhancement of Pharmacy Inventory Control System Thesis: Introduction

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INTRODUCTION

Effective inventory management is an important part of a manager’s job. Managers are tasked to make consistent, reliable, and timely decisions under the challenges of uncertainty, pressure, and lack of information. It is often that managers do not have enough time or information to make a perfect decision but they are forced to solve problems using resources within their control.

Effective inventory control requires managers to ensure inventories of the right items in the correct quantities. When an organization overstocks, money is wasted since procuring, storing, and accounting for unneeded items require time, space, and money which could have been used on more critical assets. Likewise, when understocking occurs the organization will more likely to only partly meet their mission or possibly not meet the mission at all. Also, a weak inventory control system is more prone to errors and fraud. These are some of the problems of Malijan Diabetes Center (MDC), the research client.

MDC is a specialty clinic affiliated with St. Cosmas & St. Damian Multi-Specialty Clinics. Established in 2008, MDC is an out-patient diagnostic clinic which aims to provide pediatric and diabetes treatment for the residents of Sto. Tomas, Batangas and its neighboring towns. It is a family-owned business where a group of medical practitioners contribute their specialties in the medical field to treat patients. The clinic has a laboratory that does certain tests for their patients. A pharmacy inside the building where the clinic is located is also available where patients can conveniently buy their needed medications. The pharmacy maintains the supply of medicines and supplies for the laboratory through a manual inventory system. This research will aim to recommend an enhanced inventory control system to be used by the clinic’s pharmacy.