Pharmacy reorder: Should you buy an extra carton or split the delivery?

Your wholesaler now takes seven days to deliver instead of two. You find out just after ordering 100 packs. There are 30 left on the shelf, and you sell ten a day. By the time you open on day four, you expect the last pack to be gone.

Two calls give you a choice. A second supplier can deliver a full carton of 60 packs before you open on day four. Your usual wholesaler can meet the same deadline by sending 40 packs from your existing order and putting the other 60 on the regular delivery, due before opening on day eight.

You ask both suppliers for the batch expiry dates. All the incoming packs have the same last eligible selling day, day 13. You expect demand to hold at ten packs a day throughout.

Buy the emergency carton

Your first 30 packs cover days one to three. From day four through day seven, you sell 40 packs from the emergency carton. That leaves 20 on the shelf when the original 100 arrive.

You now have 120 packs and six selling days left. At ten a day, you can sell another 60. You cover every day of demand, but expect 60 packs to remain at the cutoff. Unless you can arrange a return or transfer to a branch that can use them in time, those packs are at risk of going to waste.

Split the order you already placed

The first 40 arrive before opening on day four and cover the four days until the regular delivery. The remaining 60 arrive on day eight. Six selling days remain, enough to sell all 60 by closing on day 13.

Both deliveries keep the product available. The split order leaves zero packs at the cutoff under the same demand forecast. Its weakness is timing. If the first shipment arrives a day late, the shelf will already be empty.

What to ask before you buy

Choose the split delivery if the wholesaler confirms the first 40 will be ready to sell before you open on day four. Have the order confirmation show 40 early and 60 later so the warehouse knows exactly how many to dispatch each time.

For the next buying cycle, review the reorder point. With daily stock checks, seven days of demand at ten packs a day requires 70 packs of cover. If you want to keep ten in reserve, review the order when your stock position reaches 80 packs. For today, the more useful question to ask your wholesaler is simply, “How much of the order I’ve already placed can you get here before we run out?”