Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): A dental practice management emergency preparedness plan

COVID-19 emergency preparedness plan, page 4

7. Confirm supply chain and inventory

There has been a huge demand for infection-control and virus-protection products, such as gloves, masks, hand sanitizer, wipes, alcohol, cleaning products, etc. Communicate with your supply chain companies from which you purchase basic supplies and equipment to determine the availability of products you need. Although we always encourage watching overhead and being lean, it is probably prudent to stock up (without hoarding) in these areas when you find product availability.

Pay attention to your inventory. Make sure you have enough supplies on hand in case your supply chain is disrupted. It is also important to find and secure a backup provider as well. It is likely that companies will experience intermittent shortages of some of the manufactured products. Having multiple sources increases your chances of maintaining the inventory of critical supplies.