The Purchase Order Optimiser

The Purchase Order Optimiser is a  powerful tool designed to enhance how your practice places orders. Instead of simply choosing the cheapest option, it considers what really makes an order cost-effective for your specific needs.  

This function is available to Primary client account users. If your account does not include this functionality please get in touch with your Support Manager. 

1. What Is the Optimiser?

The Optimiser intelligently enhances your draft orders using a wide range of factors to build a more efficient and tailored purchase.

It evaluates:

• Best prices across all suppliers
• Delivery fees charged by certain suppliers
• NHS profit margins (when relevant)
• Product attributes, with options to match on pack sizes, colour, material, dimensions and so on
• Items you’ve excluded
• Your custom preferences, including preferred brands

The result? 

An order that truly saves time and money. 

2. How to Use the Optimiser

Once your draft purchase order is ready and you are in your proforma purchase order:

• Click
  the “Optimise” button.

• The system analyses your selection and creates a suggested version which can then be compared to your original proforma purchase order on your purchase order Comparison page.

3. How to use the Comparison page 

• The optimised version of your purchase order can be compared side-by-side to your original purchase order.

• To do this, select the Compare to Original button at the top of your page. 

• On the Comparison page that appears you can then review and adjust every system suggested change. 

• If the changes are not of interest you can click the View Original button (at the top right) to return to your original proforma purchase order.

• The Comparison page allows you to customize your view using the filters at the top left of the items list. You can view products by item, grouped by supplier or only changed items. 

• You are also able to refine alternative suggestions by restricting variations or excluding them entirely. This is done by using check boxes under the original product description, found on the left side of the Comparison page.

• Adjustments are immediately displayed as you make them, shown on the Optimised version on the right side of the page. 

• You can always proceed with your original or accept the suggested Optimised order.

The Optimiser works with your selections, not against them, giving you the final say.

4. Keep an item from being changed in the optimised results

If you want to keep a product you originally selected without it being optimised (for this order only), simply untick the red minus icon.

If you’d like the system to suggest an alternative again, just reselect the red circle. 

The red circle works like the preference selection boxes below each item, but with one key difference:

• Red circle: Keeps all aspects of the product unchanged, but only for the current order.

• Preference boxes: Stay selected until unticked, even when creating future purchases. These can also be managed from the Preferred Products list.

5. Optimiser Savings Summary 

You are also able to see a summary of the savings achieved by clicking on the show details link on the bottom of the comparison page. 

• A processing cost may appear in your show details summary. This processing cost is not a supplier charge, it is an internal cost adjustment, determined and set by your Primary Account Holder

• This figure is intended to indicate the approximate cost of staff time, effort and handling required to process a purchase order.

For more information on managing and setting the processing fee please click here. 

• The net income total appearing in the summary is the difference between NHS Claimable Income and the sum of the total cost of ordered products, delivery charges and your own processing costs. 

Please Note:

Best price alternatives do not always automatically lead to the most optimal purchase order.

• This is due to the complexity of different fees and product variations. For example, sometimes a best price alternative might not be chosen if it results in a delivery charge that increases the overall cost of an order above the alternative cost of an order with a more expensive item cost. 

• To understand reasons why the best hasn't been chosen click the question mark icon that appears for each non-optimal product.  A popup explanation will then appear with the explanation detailed at the top of the popup: