From Supply Closet to Smartphone

Inventory Ally’s new platform makes veterinary practice inventory a mobile experience.

Inventory management for veterinary practices happens at an often hurried pace. “Inventory isn’t something that comes to the desk; managing it requires moving through treatment areas, supply rooms, and storage closets throughout the day,” said Emmitt Nantz, MBA, co-founder of Inventory Ally.

As such, Inventory Ally recently announced it has released its new mobile version, enabling veterinary teams to manage inventory tasks directly from their phones.

“We wanted to meet teams where they are, literally,” said Nantz said.

With the mobile version, users can add items to the Want List, update quantities during walkthroughs, and use the built-in Pill Counter – all from their phone. Whether standing in front of a fridge or scanning a QR code in an exam room, they can act in real time without needing to return to a workstation. The data syncs with the desktop dashboard, so updates made on the floor are reflected instantly across the system.

Additional enhancements already in development are barcode scanning, offline mode, and expanded cycle count capabilities.

“What’s exciting is seeing how this new functionality is genuinely easing the day-to-day for inventory managers,” said Nantz. Managing inventory from a phone or tablet fits naturally into the flow of their work – it doesn’t interrupt it. “At the end of the day, our mission is to make inventory easier, faster, and more predictable for hospitals, and this is a meaningful step in that direction.”

One of the main features is the Pill Counter, a native tool built entirely in-house specifically for veterinary workflows. It is powered by a machine learning model and trained on thousands of pill images to recognize and estimate quantities based on a single photo. It learns from different pill types, lighting conditions, and container shapes, improving over time.

From a workflow standpoint, the difference is immediate, Nantz said. Many clinics previously relied on manual methods – counting pills by hand or measuring them out five at a time with a spoon. That’s not just time-consuming; it introduces a lot of room for human error. With the Pill Counter, teams can simply take a photo and get a fast, accurate estimate, which is especially useful during cycle counts and inventory walkthroughs.

“While it’s early days, the response has been enthusiastic,” Nantz said. Clinics appreciate the speed, precision and overall simplicity of the mobile experience. Additionally, many hospitals used to pay for third-party pill counting tools just to get this kind of functionality.

No more back and forth

Being able to manage inventory from a mobile device on the go naturally makes inventory tasks more efficient. When staff no longer have to go back and forth between storage areas and their desk just to record numbers or carry around paper notes, things move a lot faster.

“Imagine a practice manager walking down the hall thinking about 10 other things, and someone calls out, ‘We’re out of syringe caps!’” Nantz said. Now you’ve got to remember to add it to the list later, and whatever you were doing gets dropped in the process.

With Inventory Ally on mobile, clinics can simply place QR codes in treatment rooms and supply areas, so team members can scan and add items to the Want List the moment they notice something’s running low. No more chasing down the inventory manager or leaving post-its everywhere – it just gets logged right then and there.

“One client shared that they used to come in on a day off to complete full hospital counts,” Nantz said. “Now, with Inventory Ally, that same task takes just a couple of hours after work. That’s probably the best part of what we’re building – hearing how teams are getting time back and feeling less stressed during the day.”

The Pill Counter

The Pill Counter is not only built natively into Inventory Ally, but also available as a free standalone app that anyone can use, no subscription required.

It can be downloaded for free from the App Store or Google Play

Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Inventory Ally