The Advanced Planning Module (APM) provides a powerful suite of tools that support these goals, helping pharmacies make smarter, data-driven decisions while optimizing inventory and improving operational workflows.
This module isn’t just about automation—it’s about intelligent planning. By combining historical data analysis, forecasting algorithms, and dynamic inventory management features, the Advanced Planning Module empowers pharmacies to minimize waste, maximize availability, and improve the overall quality of service. Let’s explore the key benefits and features of the Advanced Planning Module and how they directly enhance pharmacy operations.
1. Ensure Critical Products Are Always in Stock
Pharmacies are tasked with ensuring that life-saving medications are always available, especially those considered critical or chronic. Shortages can severely impact patient outcomes and disrupt pharmacy workflows. To combat this, the Chronic Items Factor allows pharmacies to designate and manage essential items more reliably.
How it Works:
Products are marked as “Chronic Items.”
A Chronic Items Factor (a multiplier) is applied to the base quantity for each of these items.
Formula:
Adjusted Quantity = Base Quantity × Chronic Items Factor
For example, if a blood pressure medication is typically ordered in batches of 100 units and has a Chronic Items Factor of 1.5, the system would recommend ordering 150 units to ensure availability.
Operational Benefits:
- Avoids stockouts of essential, high-demand medications.
- Enhances continuity of care for chronic patients.
- Increases customer satisfaction by ensuring reliable availability.
Reduces emergency orders and the operational costs associated with last-minute procurement.
By proactively planning for chronic items, pharmacies can better serve patients with long-term conditions and ensure that mission-critical medications are never in short supply.
2. Make Data-Driven Decisions with Historical Sales Analysis
Understanding past performance is key to predicting future needs. The APM’s Add Sale Column feature gives users the ability to analyze historical sales trends over custom time frames.
How it Works:
Users create custom sales columns with labels such as “Q1 2023” or “Holiday Season 2024.”
- Define the start and end dates for each column.
- Generate multiple columns for side-by-side comparisons using the "+" icon.
This provides a flexible and user-friendly interface to review seasonal trends, compare growth year-over-year, or evaluate the impact of promotions or external events (like a flu outbreak).
Operational Benefits:
- Increases forecasting accuracy based on real, contextual sales data.
- Allows targeted planning for seasonal demand fluctuations.
- Supports strategic decision-making around stock levels and procurement.
- Reduces overstocking or under-ordering based on gut-feeling guesses.
For example, if historical data shows that allergy medications spike in Q2 every year, pharmacies can adjust their inventory ahead of time to match anticipated demand.
3. Improve Forecast Accuracy by Excluding Irregular Sales
Forecasting models are only as good as the data they rely on. Sudden spikes from one-time events, data entry errors, or outlier sales can skew results and lead to inaccurate planning. That’s where the Remove Outliers / Flagged Sales feature becomes invaluable.
How it Works:
Manual Removal: Users can manually flag and remove unusual sales from Point-of-Sale (POS) sessions.
Formula-Based Exclusion: The system can automatically exclude flagged data using the Outlier.org algorithm, refining the "adjusted sold" column for more accurate forecasting.
Operational Benefits:
- Ensures clean, reliable data for forecasting.
- Prevents ordering based on misleading sales figures.
- Avoids surplus stock caused by temporary or artificial demand spikes.
Allows pharmacy managers to trust the planning system without needing constant manual oversight.
For example, a sudden bulk purchase by a hospital for emergency supplies shouldn’t influence the pharmacy's future restocking plans. With this feature, that anomaly can be excluded to maintain forecasting integrity.
4. Forecast More Accurately Using Weighted Averages
Not all sales data carries equal weight. More recent sales often better reflect current consumer behavior, new health trends, or changes in prescribing habits. The Weighted Average feature allows pharmacies to prioritize recent data when generating forecasts.
How it Works:
Users assign custom weights to each day in the analysis period.
For example, Day 1 = Weight 1, Day 30 = Weight 30.
The system then calculates a weighted average, which updates key metrics such as:
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Average Sold
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Forecasted Quantity
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Min/Max Stock Levels
Operational Benefits:
Improves forecast accuracy, especially in volatile or seasonal markets.
Reflects real-time trends more effectively than flat averages.
Enhances responsiveness to changing customer behavior.
Aligns stock levels with current rather than outdated demand patterns.
This approach is especially beneficial for medications tied to seasonal illnesses (like flu antivirals) or new medications that are rapidly gaining popularity.
5. Streamline Replenishment with Flexible Stock Duration
One of the challenges in pharmacy inventory management is balancing availability with cost efficiency. The Moving Window Replenishment feature simplifies this by letting pharmacies define stock levels based on coverage duration instead of static quantity thresholds.
How it Works:
Define Min Days and Max Days of stock for each item.
The system calculates:
Min Quantity = Min Days × Avg Sold
Max Quantity = Max Days × Avg Sold
Replenishment orders are automatically generated within this window.
Operational Benefits:
Reduces the risk of overstocking or understocking.
Ensures appropriate stock coverage without over-investment.
Simplifies ordering by automating complex calculations.
Adapts easily to changes in sales velocity or seasonal shifts.
For instance, if a pharmacy wants a 10–20 day supply of a pain reliever, the system dynamically adjusts reorder quantities as sales volumes rise or fall—eliminating guesswork.
6. Avoid Over-Ordering and Maximize Vendor Deals
Smart procurement involves more than just ordering the right quantity it’s about taking advantage of vendor offers, avoiding duplicate orders, and managing pending purchases effectively. Two features—Consider Quantity from Open POs and Consider Bonus % from Last PO make this easier.
How it Works:
Open POs Consideration: The system checks for open Purchase Orders and subtracts those quantities from upcoming automated orders.
Bonus % Integration: The system factors in vendor promotions (e.g., buy 10, get 2 free) based on past purchase data.
Operational Benefits:
- Avoids duplicate orders that result in excess inventory.
- Takes full advantage of vendor bonus programs.
- Improves procurement efficiency and cost control.
- Enhances visibility into the purchasing pipeline.
For example, if there’s already an open PO for 500 units of a product, and the forecast only requires 700, the system ensures only 200 are ordered—not 700 more.
Conclusion: Smarter Planning for Better Pharmacy Outcomes
The Advanced Planning Module is more than just a technical add-on it’s a strategic asset for modern pharmacy operations. With features that support intelligent forecasting, precise inventory management, and adaptive procurement, this module helps pharmacies:
- Minimize waste and reduce excess stock
- Prevent medication shortages
- Enhance decision-making with accurate, historical data
- Improve patient satisfaction through better service availability
- Boost operational efficiency and reduce manual effort
From the Chronic Items Factor that guarantees essential medications are always on hand, to the Moving Window Replenishment that adapts to fluctuating demand, each feature is designed to deliver practical, measurable benefits.
In an industry where precision and responsiveness directly impact lives, the Advanced Planning Module provides the tools pharmacies need to succeed—ensuring that medications are available when and where they’re needed, while also making operations smarter, leaner, and more resilient.
