Inventory Management System Slashes Time Spent on Stock Control

The new cobas® Inventory Management System (cIMS) from Roche, installed at the Royal Preston Hospital in October 2007, has resulted in significant time savings and increased efficiency in the management of analyser reagents at the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Since cIMS was installed in the laboratory at the Royal Preston Hospital, the number of man hours spent on inventory duties has been reduced from 5-6 hours to less that one hour per week, allowing staff to make better use of their time. A satellite laboratory at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital is also being connected to cIMS, which will enable inventory to be tracked at both sites on a single database and will simplify stock transfer between sites.

Unlike other inventory management systems, cIMS is a web-based application, enabling data to be shared effortlessly between different networks and allowing the system to be distributed easily across various sites within an organisation. With the ability to record reagent usage for all analysers, Roche or otherwise, cIMS manages stock by lot number and expiry date, thus minimising waste, and produces a wide range of reports, including stock status and usage patterns. Furthermore, since it provides a valuable audit trail, cIMS facilitates adherence to laboratory accreditation requirements.

New reagent shipments are automatically uploaded onto the system in seconds, saving valuable staff time in the logging in of supplies. Individual products are then scanned out at the point of use using a remote handheld scanner. An automatic alert warns users when a preset reorder limit is reached and the system will generate a suggested order list. Each cIMS installation comes complete with the provision and maintenance of handheld scanners, full installation training, hotline technical support, system updates and data storage.