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LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT F or every ambulance on the street there is a store somewhere containing equip- ment and possibly medications to fill up that vehicle when it returns from its run. The management of this store, whether it looks after one ambulance or 100, can be the cause of financial hemorrhage and litigation risk without tight logistics management. While preparation and planning is always encour- aged, when it comes to expensive medical equipment and supplies, stock on the shelf represents hard cash. If such equipment and supplies spend their entire shelf lives on the shelf, then you might as well throw your dollars away. The key to good stock control is the creation of a system and processes that ensure efficiency and accountability are maintained at all times. After payroll, medical stock and equipment is one of the largest expenses an organization has to deal with, so constant attention is required. Where to Begin To best manage your stock, you need to understand usage and flow from the store, or point of ordering, onto the ambulance or into the med pack, and how it is dispensed during the patient episode. This understanding identifies the par, or stock level required to keep the organization moving. Moving is a key term, as analysis of stores consumed identifies items that move through the logistics system faster than others and consequently must be replenished more frequently. Once the par is identified, the time it takes a sup- plier to go from order received to stock on the shelf must be factored in. Par levels may need to be adjusted or stores ordered once they hit a certain level in order to maintain system flow. Having identified all of the above, a scientific approach to stock control can be adopted with the goal of having enough in stock to deal with normal operations, but not so much that you risk it going out Just-in-Time Stock Control A well organized logistics system keeps your agency moving and equipped By Elizabeth Papelino, NRP, & Rob Lawrence Photos by Jennifer Shelton, R A A 24 OCTOBER 2015 | EMSWORLD.com