Nicole Follert, Purchasing Manager
Introduction
Knight Dental Group, a Leixir Group Company, is passionate about providing best-in-class restorations to their clients. As a member of Leixir’s network of dental labs, a prominent focus on advanced technology and digital solutions is at the forefront of delivering highly advanced and quality products.
As dental implant restorations have become more of the norm in recent years, the management of implant inventory has become a priority for dental labs. Knight was determined to find the right solution to their growing implant inventory to securely store, track, and accurately forecast purchasing for these components.
Zimbis proved to be both efficient in the automation of purchasing forecasts and of FDA lot number tracing, as well as providing the ability to securely house materials and ensure they are accurately accounted for and allocated to the correct cases.
Inventory management goals included:
– Reduce excess inventory on-hand
– Reduce labor associated with inventory management
– Improve the efficiency of FDA lot # tracking
The evidence
The Zimbis LabPlus was installed in the implant department in August 2020 to manage these very needs. This case study examines a six-month period ending in March 2021.
Less on-hand inventory equals enhanced cash flow
For the parts managed through Zimbis, the on-hand inventory
decreased by $7,088 or 32%, from $22,000 to $14,912 for the 6-months ending March
2021. These savings directly impacting cash flow in a positive manner.
Material Usage
Nicole Follert, Purchasing Manager at Knight Dental Lab, stated, “We experienced great success in the reporting of used materials and identifying slow moving components allowing us to more accurately forecast purchasing requirements in turn decreasing our spend. We believe the accountability that Zimbis adds to our process plays a big role in that everything is accounted for with steady turnover and less waste and inventory of the slower moving parts.”
Labor savings by time reallocation
As labs are tracking what they use manually, it puts a drain on resources. As a result of Zimbis’ automated processes, Knight Dental Group
eliminated 1-2 hours per day of manual documenting by highly paid technicians. This allowed these technicians to reallocate their focus on essential job duties; completing more complex cases that positively impact revenue.
Automated reporting available from Zimbis also made a significant impact on management’s time as it provides an accurate purchasing forecast based on usage.
FDA compliance improvements
It can be difficult to measure or quantify everything that matters. For example, an extraordinarily positive byproduct of Zimbis solutions is increased efficiency in regulatory compliance.
The automated lot number tracking that the Zimbis plus incorporates not only helps ensure components with lot numbers are accurately logged to each case, it eliminates the need for manual entry of these details into each case. In addition to providing this increase efficiency in lot number tracing, The Zimbis cloud-based software allows for easy reporting on lot numbers both by case and individual lot number, ensuring compliance and accountability.
Does it cost, or does it pay?
Almost immediately, productivity and efficiency improved, and Knight Dental Group saw a significant reduction in on-hand inventory and time spent managing inventory and compliance. Looking purely at labor reallocation savings, the system pays for itself in 3 years.
This study clearly demonstrates the investment in Zimbis led to increased profitability. Additionally, security, accountability, and regulatory compliance proved to be excellent ancillary benefits.
Click the link download the complete case study: Knight Dental Group – Case Study