Let’s talk about dual keying and stock management.
“My team and I have found in the past that stock management systems are isolated and end up needing dual keying. Is this the case?”
We were recently asked a question about our stock management system, and what that means in relation to dual keying.
Not whether systems can integrate in theory, but whether, in practice, teams still end up entering the same information more than once.
It’s a reasonable query to raise, especially when the typical stock management process in a lot of healthcare orgs tends to look like this:
A system is introduced to improve stock management, but it only handles part of the process. So, an order gets recorded internally, then re-entered into a supplier portal. Pricing is checked in one place, confirmed in another… Over time, that becomes the normal way of working, and it’s just not efficient.
But, the issue isn’t usually a lack of systems. It’s that the process is split across them. Each part works in isolation, and the responsibility for connecting them sits with the person using them.
That’s where duplication tends to occur.
When we think about this as we’re bringing our stock management solution to a new department or organisation, we don’t start with integration as a label. We start with the flow of the process.
If someone places an order, what happens next? Where does that information go? At what point would they need to re-enter it, if at all?
Our subsequent aim is to make sure our solution keeps that flow intact. Which, from what we’ve seen with our current customers, it consistently does.
With CentrixConnect, products, pricing and ordering are connected so that once an order is placed, it moves through the process without needing to be recreated elsewhere. Updates, whether that’s pricing changes or supplier information, are reflected back into the platform rather than being maintained separately.
That removes a step that a lot of teams have become used to.
In particular, we’ve seen it quite beneficial in pathology environments. In pathology environments, teams often maintain records in one system for tracking and audit, then go elsewhere to actually complete the order. It works, but it adds time and creates more points where something can be missed. So, really, that’s no solution at all! But with CentrixConnect, they’ve been able to get full alignment across the board.
Our platform isn’t just about connecting systems for the sake of it. It’s about reducing the number of steps the department needs to stay involved in.
For most teams, that’s where the difference is felt. Less duplication, fewer touchpoints, and a process that holds together from start to finish.
If you’ve worked with systems before that increased admin rather than reducing it, this is an area worth digging into properly.
If you want to go through how that would look in your setup, we’re happy to talk it through.