The range you stock within pharmacy should be a balance between best-selling products, new product ranges and products necessary for a healthcare environment. Ideally the range you stock should not only sell well but be profitable for the business. Achieving this balance can often be a challenge.

It is important that you give careful consideration to products that may not be typical pharmacy lines. The range you stock should cater for mass markets rather than niche product groups. Of course you will have regular customers who come in for products that you may not sell on a regular basis, but you should consider the amount of shelf space you allocate to such lines, since wasting space on slow selling products will impact profitability.

Independent pharmacies often don't know the detail of what sells or have the time to analyse sales performance. This means that they can find it difficult to know what ranges to stock and might miss brand leaders or be slow to stock new products.

A lack of stock control discipline commonly leads to many pharmacies being over stocked with products that are slow selling. Too many lines creates an untidy image; it is also difficult for the customer to locate and browse appropriate products and categories. Combine this with the cost implications of having redundant stock and the importance of getting your range right really hits home.