7 lessons from practices maximizing the benefits of MWI’s sustainable tote delivery program

For many veterinary practices, the idea of moving from frequent deliveries to dedicated delivery days raises understandable questions.

• Will inventory management become more difficult?
• Will urgent needs be harder to accommodate?
• Will staff spend more time planning orders?

Practices participating in MWI's sustainable tote delivery program report improved inventory planning, more predictable deliveries, and fewer workflow disruptions, often with less effort than expected.

1. Improve inventory management with dedicated delivery days

One of the most valuable benefits clinics have discovered wasn't sustainability or packaging reduction—it was predictability.

Dedicated delivery days allow the team to plan inventory tasks and staffing needs.

"One thing that we love is that we have the same courier every time," said Daniel Grove, DVM, President and Owner of West Coast Equine Medicine Inc in Temecula, California. "It's very consistent as far as the timing goes. Having that predictability is very nice versus our parcel carrier, who was all over the place."

Instead of reacting to deliveries arriving at unpredictable times throughout the week, practices can build workflows around a consistent delivery schedule. That predictability makes it easier to:

• assign staff
• organize inventory tasks
• and reduce workflow interruptions

2. Lean into unexpected operational benefits

The program's broader goal is to help veterinary practices reduce waste while simplifying inventory management and freeing staff to focus on higher-value activities.

Several MWI customers joined the sustainable tote delivery program because they wanted to reduce waste within their practice. However, they were surprised by the operational improvements they gained in addition to the environmental improvements,

Cara Blue, Director of Operations and Referral Surgery Director at Brook Hill Road Animal Hospital in Indianapolis, admitted the program delivered additional benefits she hadn't anticipated.

"It's actually helped in ways I was not anticipating," Blue said. "The initial draw was the environmental impact but it equates to less staff time breaking down boxes."

Blue found the delivery experience more dependable than traditional parcel carriers. "The MWI tote program [is] more dependable than other parcel carriers," she said. "We had a pretty rough winter and the MWI orders showed up. No delay, no question.

Sarah Hall, Practice Manager and Inventory Manager for Battlefield Animal Clinic in Manassas, Virginia, reported similar results. "It definitely improves the amount of waste that we produce. We save money because we're not having to have our dumpsters emptied as often," Hall said. "It definitely saves a lot of time."

3. Introduce simple inventory systems to maximize success

Successful practices establish reorder points, create visibility into inventory needs, and develop repeatable ordering routines.

Equine Veterinary Professionals uses minimum inventory thresholds and a shared document that anyone on the team can update. "We have a minimum item count, and once that item falls to that number, it gets put on our list," Dr. Grove explained.

Because team members can access the document from the field, inventory needs are captured immediately. "As soon as they see that that's an issue, they're putting it on there," he said. "That allows me to make sure that I keep it in stock for everybody."

One of the strongest lessons is that successful tote customers don't necessarily carry more inventory. Instead, they create simple systems that make inventory needs visible.

4. Streamline the totes workflow within your clinic

When asked for one piece of advice for veterinary practices getting started with the program, these customers consistently recommended focusing on the basics. "Figure out a placement for all the totes and just have one definite spot so that the courier knows where to pick it up," Hall advised.

Over time, practices often find additional ways to integrate totes into their workflow. Blue described how her team uses empty totes to sort products by department before stocking shelves. "Once they're empty, we reorganize our items to go to the different departments that they're intended for," she explained.

MWI recommends storing empty totes in a clean, dry, and accessible location between deliveries. Gray totes nest together to minimize storage requirements. Blue totes can be placed on top with flaps closed, keeping the insulating liner and lid with the tote for return.

5. Build a relationship with your courier

The courier relationship is another unexpected benefit.

For Grove's practice, having a consistent driver helped create a seamless delivery process. "They're great, they're courteous, very nice, and they come at a very reasonable time," Grove said. "We have not had one single issue with the tote system. It's been great."

Blue offered a different—but equally telling—perspective. "To me, no news is good news," she said when discussing courier performance at her practice.

Even when issues occurred early in implementation, they were easily resolved through communication with MWI representatives.

Remember to keep the insulated liner and lid with your tote to return to the courier.

6. Understand urgent orders can still happen

One of the biggest misconceptions about consolidated deliveries is that practices lose the flexibility of placing an order at any time.

While Battlefield Animal Clinic primarily uses consolidated deliveries, MWI still accommodates its urgent needs. In other words, practices do not have to wait until a scheduled tote delivery day to submit an order. They can continue ordering when products are needed.

Eligible items are consolidated into totes for the next dedicated delivery day. Urgent orders can be sent through a non-consolidated delivery option when timing cannot wait, although practices may incur a fuel surcharge fee.

"Don't overthink it," Blue advised. "You're going to have set delivery days, but that doesn't mean you don't have access outside of those windows because emergencies are always going to come up."

7. Sustainability and efficiency go hand in hand

Reusable totes help reduce cardboard, Styrofoam and disposal needs, while consolidated deliveries made inventory work more predictable.

For many participants, sustainability was the reason to try the program. Efficiency became the reason it worked.

Consolidated deliveries can help practices save up to 40 percent of the time associated with inventory management activities such as unpacking and restocking.1 For inventory leads, that time matters. Less packaging to manage and fewer delivery interruptions can mean more time for creating healthier futures for animals and those who care for them.

For Blue, the transition to totes ultimately required fewer changes than she expected. "Nothing changed with ordering," she said. "Product just started arriving in a more reliable manner and I don't want to go back."

That sentiment may be the strongest lesson of all. Successful sustainable tote delivery program customers don't necessarily work harder to manage inventory. They create more predictable, repeatable systems that make inventory management easier.

<sub>Reference
1. Internal MWI data</sub>