Veterinary inventory management: FEFO and reorder points

Expired medication in the cabinet is wasted money, and a stock-out at the wrong moment puts a patient at risk. Most of the waste clinics experience comes down to two fixable habits: rotating stock correctly and knowing when to reorder before a shelf goes bare.

What FEFO means and why it matters

FEFO stands for first-expired, first-out. It is the veterinary equivalent of the grocery-store rule of pulling the oldest milk to the front. When a new vaccine shipment arrives, the vials with the nearest expiry dates go to the front of the fridge; the new stock goes behind them.

The alternative — stacking new stock in front of older stock because it is the path of least resistance — is how short-dated product gets buried and found expired months later. FEFO is not complicated, but it requires a physical habit and a team that knows why it matters. A brief explanation at onboarding and a visible label on each storage area (“oldest to front”) is usually enough.

Set reorder points, then stop relying on memory

A reorder point is a minimum quantity that triggers a purchase order automatically — or at least flags the item on a purchasing list. Without one, ordering is reactive: someone notices you are nearly out of flea prevention at 4 p.m. on a Friday.

Setting reorder points takes some initial work. Look at how much of each item you use in a typical week, then add a buffer for your supplier’s lead time. A product you use five units of per week with a three-day lead time needs a reorder point somewhere around ten to twelve units, depending on how much safety stock makes sense for your clinic’s risk tolerance.

Many clinics find that the reorder points they set in year one need revision in year two as patient volume changes. Build a quarterly review into your calendar.

Running a stock count that people will actually do

A perpetual inventory — where every dispensing transaction updates the count in real time — is the ideal, but it only works if the team records usage consistently. In practice, most clinics complement their software records with a physical count once a month or once a quarter.

Keep stock counts short and focused. Counting everything in one session is exhausting and error-prone. Instead, cycle through categories: vaccines one week, controlled substances the next, consumables after that. When a count reveals a significant discrepancy, investigate before accepting it as a correction — shrinkage, recording errors, and supplier short-ships are all possible explanations.

Where software fits in

A practice-management system that tracks inventory at the point of dispensing removes most of the manual tally work. When a vet prescribes a medication and the invoice is generated, the stock count drops automatically. The gaps in the count then become visible without anyone having to remember to write it down.

Activet tracks inventory in real time with FEFO batch support, so you can see which batch expires first and set reorder alerts that fire before a shelf goes critical. For clinics running controlled substances logs alongside regular stock, keeping everything in one system also simplifies the end-of-day reconciliation — more on that in our guide to day-end reconciliation.

Reducing waste before it starts

The most effective waste-reduction move is buying in quantities matched to your actual usage. A generous bulk discount is not a saving if a third of the product expires before it is used.

Review your supplier invoices alongside your dispensing records quarterly. If you are consistently expiring product in a category, either reduce your order quantity or negotiate a tighter delivery cadence. If a product is flying off the shelf faster than you expected, raise the reorder point before you hit a stock-out.

Good inventory habits compound over time. The clinic that runs tight, well-rotated stock carries less cash in unsaleable product, spends less time on emergency orders, and has a cleaner controlled substances log come audit time.

See how Activet handles inventory, billing, and reporting in one place — explore the features.