Purchasing & replenishment · Medical & dental supply
Never let a DC line go short.
Across thousands of SKUs, reorder points cross quietly and the buyer doesn't see it until days of supply hit zero. Then the manufacturer comes back on allocation.
The reality
A missed reorder point becomes a customer backorder.
On-hand for a single-use surgical kit drops below its reorder point, the manufacturer's 855 comes back item-backordered on allocation, and by the time the buyer notices in the replenishment report there are three days of supply left against a full book of open customer orders. Sourcing the alternate means checking the contract, confirming the equivalent SKU is approved, and getting a PO out — under time pressure, manually.
The operator owns replenishment. It watches on-hand and days of supply against real demand, issues the 850 the moment a reorder point is crossed, and when the manufacturer can't fill it sources the approved equivalent on contract and escalates the shortage — so the line stays in stock and customer fill rate holds before anyone notices it was at risk.
How the operator runs purchasing & replenishment
Item SK-4420 · Stock monitor
monitoring- Single-use kit — ROP 40, on-hand 11
- Demand 6/day, 2 days of supply left
- Below reorder point — replenish now
01Detect the reorder point
Tracks on-hand against the reorder point and projects days of supply before the line runs short.
PO MD-7710 · Primary manufacturer
submitting- Reorder qty 60 to ROP + safety stock
- Contract pricing applied
- 850 sent — 855 acknowledgment pending
02Issue the PO
Builds the 850 to the primary manufacturer on contract and submits it to bring stock back above the reorder point.
Shortage SK-4420 · Alternate
escalating- 855 item-backordered — allocation, partial fill
- Approved equivalent found on contract
- PO split, shortage escalated to rep
03Source the alternate
When the 855 comes back backordered on allocation, sources the approved equivalent on contract and escalates the shortage.
The outcome
55% less buyer time on routine replenishment
Stock available without interruption, customer fill rate held
- Reorder points caught on projected days of supply, not after the line goes short
- Approved equivalents sourced on contract when the manufacturer is on allocation
- Buyers work shortages and exceptions, not routine reorders
Common questions
Purchasing & replenishment
- What does the Purchasing & replenishment operator do?
- The operator owns replenishment. It watches on-hand and days of supply against real demand, issues the 850 the moment a reorder point is crossed, and when the manufacturer can't fill it sources the approved equivalent on contract and escalates the shortage — so the line stays in stock and customer fill rate holds before anyone notices it was at risk.
- What impact does the Purchasing & replenishment operator have?
- 55% less buyer time on routine replenishment. Stock available without interruption, customer fill rate held
- How does the Purchasing & replenishment operator work?
- Tracks on-hand against the reorder point and projects days of supply before the line runs short. Builds the 850 to the primary manufacturer on contract and submits it to bring stock back above the reorder point. When the 855 comes back backordered on allocation, sources the approved equivalent on contract and escalates the shortage.
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