Running out of cannulas or underpads at 2 am is stressful, and emergency buying costs more. Overstocking ties up cash and leads to expired items. A reorder level for each fast-moving item fixes both problems.
Step 1: Know your daily use
Take the last 30 days of issues from the ward register and divide by 30. That is your average daily use. Do it for your top 20 items first. These usually cover most of the spend.
Step 2: Know your lead time
Lead time is the number of days between raising an indent and the stock reaching the ward. Include internal approvals, not only the supplier's delivery time.
Step 3: Set the reorder level
Example: a ward uses 20 IV cannulas a day. Lead time is 2 days, and you want 2 extra days of safety stock. Reorder level = 20 × (2 + 2) = 80 cannulas. When the shelf count drops to 80, raise the indent.
Step 4: Keep it running
Write the reorder level on a label on each shelf. Count fast movers once a week. Use first-expiry, first-out, so older batches are used before newer ones. Review the numbers every quarter, and before seasonal peaks.