CASE: Creature Care Animal Clinic (A)

It has been three years since Dr. Julia Barr opened Creature Care Animal
Clinic, a suburban veterinary clinic. Dr. Barr thought that by now she would
be enjoying having her own practice. She had spent many years in college
and worked to save money in order to start a business. Instead, she felt
overwhelmed with business problems that were facing the clinic. She
thought to herself: “I don’t produce anything. I just provide a service doing
something I enjoy. How can this be so complicated?” Company Background
Dr. Barr opened Creature Care Animal Clinic as a veterinary clinic
specializing in the care of dogs and cats. The clinic was set to operate
Monday through Friday during regular business hours, with half days on
Saturday and extended hours on Wednesday evening.Dr. Barr hired another
full-time veterinarian, Dr. Gene Yen, a staff of three nurses, an office
manager, and an office assistant. Both doctors were to work during the week
and rotate the shift for Wednesday evenings and Saturdays. A similar
schedule was set up for the nurses. The office manager worked during
regular business hours, and the assistant worked on Wednesday evenings
and Saturdays. Dr. Barr set up this schedule based on a clinic she had
observed as a resident and thought it sounded reasonable.Since the clinic
was small, Dr. Barr did not have a formal system of inventory management.
All physicians and nurses were allowed to place purchase orders based on
need. Initially this system worked well, but after a few months problems
started developing. Frequently, there was excess inventory of certain items,
and in many cases there were multiple brands of the same product.
Sometimes medications passed their expiration dates and had to be thrown
away. At the same time, the clinic often unexpectedly ran out of stock of
certain supplies and rush orders had to be placed. On one occasion, they ran
so low on bandages that the assistant had to be sent to the local drug
store.Dr. Barr continued to rotate with Dr. Yen for coverage on Saturdays and
Wednesday evenings. However, demand was increasing so rapidly on
Saturdays that one doctor was not enough to provide needed coverage. Also,
the Friday afternoon schedule was usually so packed that the staff frequently
had to stay late in the evening. At the same time, there was little demand on
Wednesday evenings and Dr. Barr found herself working on paperwork on
those evenings, while the nurse and office assistant performed menial office
tasks.
Case Questions
 Identify the operations management problems that Dr.Barr is having at
the clinic.
Dr. Barr is dealing with several operational issues that are affecting the
clinic’s smooth running:
 Inventory Problems: There’s no clear system in place to manage inventory,
leading to excess stock of some items and running out of others. Sometimes
medications expire and need to be thrown away, while other times they
urgently need to restock certain items or even buy supplies from local
stores, which is inefficient and costly.
 Inefficient Scheduling: The work schedule isn’t optimized for patient
demand. For example, on Saturdays, there’s a lot of demand, and one
doctor isn’t enough to handle it, while on Wednesday evenings, there are
fewer patients, and Dr. Barr ends up doing paperwork instead of using that
time more productively.
 Overloaded Staff: On Friday afternoons, the clinic is packed, and the staff
often has to stay late, whereas on Wednesday evenings, there’s little to no
work, meaning staff aren’t being fully utilized.
 Lack of Formal Planning: There isn’t a structured plan for the clinic’s day-
to-day operations. Initially, things worked well, but as the clinic grew, the
decisions and systems in place weren’t structured enough for long-term
success.
 Poor Resource Management: The staff is often overworked in some areas,
while other times there are periods of underutilization. There isn’t a good
balance between the workload and the number of people available.

 The schedule Dr. Barr set up worked well at the clinicwhere she was a
resident. What are some of the reasons why it might not be working
here?
The schedule that worked well in her residency clinic isn't suited for her own
practice because of several factors:
 Higher Demand: In Dr. Barr’s clinic, the demand is much higher, especially
on Saturdays, making it impossible for just one veterinarian to cover the
load. The clinic is likely seeing more patients and offering a wider variety of
services than she expected.
 Differences in Size and Operations: The clinic where she did her
residency was probably smaller or had a different structure, so the schedule
she observed might have worked well in that context but doesn’t apply to
her growing practice.
 Lack of Flexibility: The schedule Dr. Barr set up is not flexible enough to
adapt to fluctuating demand. For example, while Wednesday evenings are
slower, Saturdays are much busier than she anticipated. A lack of dynamic
adjustments means resources aren’t being used efficiently.
 Identify some of the reasons why the clinic is having inventory
problems.
There are a few main reasons why the clinic is struggling with inventory:
 No Formal Inventory System: There isn’t a proper system to track
inventory, so staff members order supplies based on what they think they
need. This results in excess stock for some products and running out of
others, leading to inefficiencies.
 No Demand Forecasting: The clinic doesn’t have a system to predict how
much stock they will need based on actual patient demand. This means they
order too much of some items and too little of others, without a way to keep
track.
 Lack of Coordination in Ordering: With various team members (vets and
nurses) placing orders on their own without coordination, there are often
duplicate orders or products that aren’t needed. This leads to an
unorganized inventory.
 No Regular Monitoring: There is no regular check-up on inventory. Without
someone regularly reviewing stock levels, expired products sometimes go
unnoticed and are wasted.

 What should Dr. Barr have done differently to avoid some of the
problems she is currently experiencing?
If Dr. Barr had taken some different steps from the beginning, she might
have avoided many of these problems:

 Implement a Formal Inventory Management System: She should have

set up a system to track stock levels, forecast demand, and place orders
more efficiently. Using an inventory management software would help in
keeping track of what they have, what’s about to expire, and what’s running
low.
 Forecast Demand: Dr. Barr could have anticipated what products they
would need, based on patient history and services offered, to keep inventory
aligned with actual demand.
 Review and Optimize Work Schedules: A flexible work schedule based on
actual demand would have helped avoid situations like overloading staff on
Fridays and underusing them on Wednesdays. She could have balanced
the workload better.
 Create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): It would have been
helpful to have clear procedures in place for all aspects of the clinic’s
operations, from inventory management to scheduling, to ensure everyone
was on the same page and working efficiently.
 Invest in Technology: Using clinic management software could have
streamlined operations, from appointment scheduling to inventory control,
reducing the manual workload and improving accuracy.

5. What suggestions would you make to Dr. Barr now?

 Implement an Automated Inventory System: She should invest in an

inventory management system to help automate the ordering process,
track stock levels, and monitor expiration dates. This would prevent excess
stock and running out of supplies.

 Forecast Demand and Improve Ordering: Implementing a demand

forecasting system would help her understand what supplies will be
needed and when, allowing for more accurate ordering and preventing
shortages or overstocking.
 Review and Adjust Work Schedules: Dr. Barr should regularly review
the schedules based on patient demand. For example, she could schedule
extra doctors or nurses on Saturdays when it's busy and reduce staff on
quieter evenings like Wednesdays.
 Adopt Lean Management Practices: Implementing lean principles to
eliminate waste—such as excessive time spent on administrative tasks or
unnecessary inventory—could greatly improve efficiency and reduce
operational costs.
 Train the Staff: It's important to invest in ongoing training for staff so they
understand how to use the clinic’s tools and resources more effectively. This
will help everyone stay organized and contribute to smoother operations.
 Invest in Automation Technology: Using clinic management software
for not only inventory but also appointment scheduling, patient tracking,
and billing would streamline operations and free up time for the staff to
focus on patient care rather than administrative tasks.