Practical guides for connected pharmacy operations.

In general warehousing, First-In, First-Out (FIFO) assumes that the earliest received merchandise should be sold first. However, in pharmaceuticals, supplier delivery dates do not always correlate with remaining shelf life. A distributor might deliver Batch B with a 12-month expiry today, while Batch A received last month has an 18-month shelf life.

First-Expiry, First-Out (FEFO) ensures that medicines with the nearest expiration dates are allocated and dispensed first, regardless of when they entered the stockroom. Applying FEFO prevents expired stock from sitting at the back of shelves and directly reduces expiry write-offs.

Many community pharmacies dispense both whole boxes and individual blister strips or tablets. When software only tracks boxes as integers, cashiers are forced to perform manual mental math or record loose sales under generic miscellaneous codes, destroying stock integrity.

The solution is dual-unit stock recording. By defining a fixed pack multiplier (e.g. 1 Pack = 20 Tablets), the system tracks all inventory at the fundamental unit level while allowing the counter operator to enter sales as either packs, loose units, or both simultaneously (e.g., 2 packs + 3 loose tablets = 23 units).

Before committing to a pharmacy management system, request a live demonstration testing these essential counter scenarios:

• 1. Barcode scanner latency: Test auto-focus search when scanning items in rapid succession without needing to click the input field with a mouse.
• 2. Loose tablet deduction: Verify that selling loose units deducts from the correct batch and reflects accurately in the reorder stock alerts.
• 3. Thermal receipt formatting: Confirm that receipts render cleanly on 58mm or 80mm ESC/POS printers with correct paper cutting triggers.
• 4. Purchase GRN with bonus units: Test entering incoming supplier invoices that include free or bonus items without distorting unit cost formulas.

Transitioning to a new pharmacy system goes smoothly when medicine master data is structured beforehand. The key columns to organize in your spreadsheet include: