The Ultimate Buying Guide to Smarter Pharmacy Procurement Decisions

Why Pharmacy Procurement Software Matters in Today’s Pharmacy Climate

Pharmacies today face unprecedented challenges that make efficient procurement, inventory management, and compliance more critical than ever. Rising drug costs, ongoing staffing shortages, persistent drug shortages, and increasingly complex DSCSA compliance requirements put immense pressure on pharmacy operations. Without the right tools in place, pharmacies risk overspending, inefficient processes, and potential compliance violations.

Pharmacy procurement software provides a comprehensive solution, allowing pharmacies to streamline procurement, optimize inventory, and ensure compliance. However, not all pharmacy procurement software platforms are equal. To truly maximize cost savings, operational efficiency, and compliance adherence, pharmacies must look for a solution that integrates procurement, inventory, and compliance into a single data-driven system.

Here’s what to look for when selecting pharmacy procurement software, pharmacy inventory management tools, and pharmacy compliance software, including DSCSA compliance.

Pharmacy Procurement Challenges and Solutions to Overcome Them

Choosing Pharmacy Procurement Software

Selecting the right pharmacy procurement software is a critical decision that impacts financial performance, compliance and operational efficiency. A well-chosen pharmacy procurement software should simplify procurement, ensure compliance with vendor agreements and provide visibility into procurement trends.

With so many options available, pharmacies must assess features that align with their specific needs, ensuring they invest in a solution that delivers long-term value.

Vendor and Price Comparison

Pharmacy procurement is a complex and ever-changing landscape, with prices, contracts and availability fluctuating constantly. To stay competitive and maximize savings, pharmacies need a procurement system that consolidates data from multiple vendors and provides a clear, real-time comparison of pricing and compliance impact. Without this capability, pharmacies risk overpaying for products, missing out on rebates or unintentionally violating procurement agreements.

To consistently find the best procurement options and save more, make sure your pharmacy procurement software:

Data-Driven Insights and Reporting

Understanding procurement data is key to making informed strategic decisions that maximize cost savings and operational efficiency. A strong pharmacy procurement software shouldn’t only store procurement data but also analyze and present it in a way that helps pharmacies identify trends, assess spending patterns and optimize procurement strategies.

A pharmacy procurement software shouldn’t only facilitate transactions but also provide meaningful data insights that drive better procurement decisions. It should also include predictive analytics to identify potential drug shortages before they occur and customizable purchasing filters that allow leadership to guide teams toward pre-approved NDCs, boosting compliance and strategy alignment across all locations. Make sure your solution empowers you with:

Integrated Pharmacy Compliance Software

Staying compliant in a highly regulated industry requires more than manual tracking and reactive management. Pharmacies need an integrated system that ensures compliance with vendor agreements, GPO/buying group contracts and DSCSA regulations while proactively identifying potential risks before they become costly issues.

Compliance is about more than just following regulations. It’s about ensuring accountability across your procurement network. Your pharmacy procurement software should include:

Enhanced Pharmacy Inventory Management

Effective inventory management is essential to maintaining optimal stock levels, reducing waste and ensuring medications are available when patients need them. A pharmacy procurement software that integrates procurement with inventory management allows pharmacies to make proactive, data-driven decisions, preventing overstocking and out-of-stocks.

A comprehensive pharmacy procurement software should integrate inventory management, allowing pharmacies to make informed procurement decisions based on real-time stock levels. Look for features such as:

Integrated into Existing Systems

A pharmacy procurement software solution shouldn’t disrupt existing workflows but instead enhance and integrate with them. Ensuring seamless compatibility with pharmacy management systems, accounts payable and wholesaler platforms allows for streamlined operations and more accurate financial and inventory tracking.

Solution Comparison

SureCost is an all-in-one software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution for pharmacy procurement, pharmacy inventory management and pharmacy compliance. SureCost helps over 1,600 pharmacies across the country save, on average, 2% on their COGS annually while reducing time spent on procurement by half and ensuring 100% primary vendor and GPO compliance.

Here’s how SureCost’s capabilities align with the above features. You can use this chart to compare SureCost with other providers you’re considering.

The Definition of a Successful Pharmacy Procurement Software

The right tools can help pharmacies find savings while remaining compliant. A procurement management solution with intelligent automation and configurable real-time reporting is key.

A unified procurement management solution centralizes all vendor agreements under a single interface. It automatically captures vendor agreement terms and analyzes pharmacy purchasing options against vendor contracts, revealing real-time compliance performance and modeling how a potential purchase will affect compliance before submitting a purchase order.

Instead of manual (and error-prone) calculation between different tabs, a single concise dashboard automatically calculates metrics including source ratio compliance, minimum spend requirements and generics ratio.