Every consumable is barcode-scanned out of the cabinet into a live central inventory. When a branch crosses its reorder threshold, Make drafts the purchase order, emails the supplier after the branch manager's one-tap approval, and stockouts have simply stopped happening.
Typical results
0
Stockouts in 6 months
-18%
Supply spend
1 hr/wk
Ordering admin
1 tap
PO approval
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
Five branches tracked gloves, syringes, vaccines, and test kits on paper lists and gut feeling. Nurses discovered empty shelves mid-procedure, emergency courier orders cost triple, and one branch would sit on a year of surplus while another borrowed supplies across town. Nobody could say what the group actually consumed each month.
Before and after
Stockouts per month
−100%Ordering admin per week
−86%Rush courier orders per month
−83%The automation
We put a barcode scanner at every supply cabinet: staff scan items as they take them, and each scan updates a central inventory sheet per branch in real time. A Make scenario watches per-branch reorder thresholds. When stock crosses the line, it generates a purchase order with the right supplier and quantities, sends the branch manager a one-tap WhatsApp approval, and emails the order out the moment it's approved — logging every PO for finance.
How it works
- 01
Scan on take
Staff scan each consumable's barcode as it leaves the cabinet; stock counts update instantly.
- 02
Central sheet
All five branches feed one live inventory sheet with per-item, per-branch levels.
- 03
Threshold crossed
Make checks levels against each branch's reorder point after every scan.
- 04
PO drafted
A purchase order generates with the right supplier, quantities, and delivery branch.
- 05
Approve & send
The branch manager approves in one tap on WhatsApp and the order emails out.
Starts from
- Barcode scans
- Central inventory sheet
Delivers
- Purchase order
- One-tap approval
- Supplier email
The impact
Branches typically stop running out of consumables, and emergency courier orders fall from about six a month to one. Ordering admin drops from seven hours a week to one, supply spend falls about 18% thanks to right-sized orders, and management finally sees consumption per branch in one sheet.
Questions about this automation
How are reorder points set for each branch?
Each branch gets its own reorder point and target quantity per item, stored in the inventory sheet next to the live stock count. The clinic can adjust them at any time, for example before flu season. After every scan, the flow compares the new count with that branch's threshold and drafts a purchase order only when it is crossed.
What does the branch manager actually approve?
The manager receives a WhatsApp message with the drafted purchase order: supplier, items, quantities and delivery branch. One tap approves it and the order is emailed to the supplier, while a reply can hold or edit it. Every approved order is logged in the sheet, so finance sees a full record of what was ordered and when.
What equipment and systems are needed to get started?
A barcode scanner at each supply cabinet, a supplier list with item codes, and a shared Google Sheets inventory or an existing stock system. The flow runs in Make and connects to WhatsApp and email. It is a multi-step build, usually rolled out in stages, often starting with one branch before adding the rest.