Can you send us a box of these?
Branch A is out of a line. Branch B has plenty. Someone rings, the pack goes into a bag, and the driver drops it on the way to a delivery. It is quick and it helps the patient. It is also invisible.
Branch B's stock is now lower than its system says. Branch A's is higher. Branch B paid for a pack that Branch A dispensed. At stock take, neither figure is right, and nobody can explain why.
Why transfers stay off the books
Recording a transfer properly takes longer than making it. Your PMR or stock system may not have a transfer feature, or it may be awkward. So the fastest route wins: a phone call and a bag.
Controlled drugs and some other items have their own recording requirements, which get followed. Everything else relies on memory, and memory does not write anything down.
Transfers also peak exactly when people are busiest. A shortage hits, one branch managed to buy a few packs, and three others want some. Those are the days when nobody stops to write anything down, and they are the days when the most stock moves.
What invisible transfers cost
| Effect | Where you notice it |
|---|---|
| Stock figures drift | Stock takes do not reconcile at either branch |
| Wrong costs by branch | One branch looks more profitable than it is |
| Items go missing | Nobody can say whether a transfer arrived |
| Repeat requests | Branches ask for the same line again because nobody knows it was sent |
A transfer log that is faster than a phone call
- A request form on a tablet or phone: requesting branch, item, quantity, urgency. The other branches see the request immediately.
- Accept and dispatch by the sending branch, with a scan of the pack if you use barcodes, and a note of how it is travelling.
- Receipt at the other end, confirmed with a tap or scan, so both sides agree what moved.
- Stock updates in each branch's system where it allows an import or API, or a daily list for manual adjustment where it does not.
- Cost allocation, so the value moves from one branch's books to the other's in your monthly reporting.
- Open transfer alerts for anything dispatched but not received after a set time.
Items with their own legal recording requirements continue to follow your existing procedures. The log can hold a reference to those records, but it does not replace them.
Transfers you can account for
A request takes less time than a phone call, and the sending branch sees it without having to answer. Both branches know what moved and when. At month end, each branch's stock and costs reflect what really happened. The occasional missing pack is spotted within a day, not at the next stock take.
The request history turns out to be useful for ordering too. If one branch keeps asking another for the same lines, its ordering levels are wrong, and the log shows you which lines and how often. Fixing that reduces the transfers in the first place.
When a short line is being shared around the group, the log also shows where every pack went, so you can see which branch is holding what without ringing round.
Do transfers happen like this in your group?
- Branches swap stock by phone call and a bag
- Stock takes do not balance and transfers are a likely reason
- You cannot tell which branch actually paid for what was dispensed
- Packs have gone missing between branches
- Your stock system has no easy transfer feature