Advice needed on creating stock lens inventory

[ilanh]

I currently order stock uncut lenses to be used for non-VSP jobs and whenever the parameters apply. The lenses are ordered from K-Mars and sent to my regular lab where they are edged and mounted into the frames. The problem has been the logistics. Therefore, I was considering buying an inventory for my optical shop and sending the stock lenses with the frame directly from the optical shop. Anyone have any advice regarding how to create and maintain such an inventory? Is it logical to do it this way?

[spartus]

It seems like a rather complicated step to save money on K-Mars' stock lens pricing versus the lab's. You would save somewhat on shipping by keeping some stock lenses on hand, but does the additional capital cost of doing that justify it? Do you have the storage space? Someone who can keep it organized? What about adding an on-site finishing lab?

One question raises ten more, unfortunately.

[Jacqui]

When I set up our lens stock room it was decided to have an over supply of almost everything. Boy am I happy we did it that way. The first few days work were odd balls that most places don't stock. We had (and still have) them and sold them, and delivered fast.

[For-Life]

I do not carry a large supply of stock lenses in my store. I can usually get them over night. I usually have the more popular powers in SRC, but have been thinking of just supplying Alize and Airwear AS Alize. The idea behind this is I get too many people in a rush and they forgo the thinner lens and AR. What I have actually done is do the pair in SRC to hold them over and then order the AR or whatever and charge them only for the premium product.

Additionally, if someone comes into the store looking for lenses in a hurry I think it is best that you give them a premium as long as you are not jerking them.


So my idea would be to stock up when there is a deal available and replace them only then.

[ilanh]

Spartus,

The cost differential between using stock lenses or asking the lab to do it is enormous. The big difference appears to be in the AR coating. The stock lenses come with AR coating for almost free. The lab charges hefty premiums for even factory AR coating. This leads to a differential as much as 5X.

With regard to the shipping that you mentioned...that is not the issue at all. I use a courier since the stock lens company is close by. The main issue is that currently I am having the stock lenses sent directly from the stock lens company to the lab. They seem to mess it up a good percentage of the time. I get calls from the lab saying "your frames are here but the stock lenses haven't arrived." Or, "the wrong lens arrived." I'm thinking of having all the stock lenses sent directly to me in the future and I will simply add them to the frame and ship the whole think off to the lab. Or keep an inventory.

Ilan

[spartus]

Ah. That makes more sense. It's still complicated, but certainly worth it for what you'll save on the other end.

As for the AR, the "generic" AR that Nassau/K-Mars uses is certainly inexpensive, but it doesn't hold up nearly as well as a more premium (and significantly more expensive) AR coated stock lens.

We looked at going that route a few months ago--offering a "budget" AR for patients who didn't want to swallow the rather stiff charge for Alize. I looked at the economics of it, and it just didn't make sense. Yeah, you can offer a cheaper AR for patients, but half the point of using a super-duper hydrophobic, oleophobic, agoraphobic, kleptomaniac anti-reflective is that it'll last longer, stay quite a bit cleaner, and generally give better performance that one of the generics.

I gave a Nassau cheapo AR lens and an Alize lens to one of our ODs, just to compare cleanability and look and feel of the two, and he managed to scratch (albeit slightly) the Nassau lens' coat almost immediately. What do you tell a patient when, two weeks after they get their new spiffy glasses, that you have to redo the lens?

Or, as our office manager succinctly put it, "I just got these people back in to AR by promising that this is the 'good stuff'. We can't downgrade them."

But this is neither here nor there. What I was getting at initially was that, if you've got the volume to justify it, and the office space to be able to do it, setting up an in-house finishing lab would ease your logistical headaches a bit. You'd be able to serve your patients better, setting them up with same-day single vision for quite a few patients with a fairly modest supply of stock lenses. The initial expense is something you'd have to swallow hard over, but if you're in it for the long haul, why not?

[Johns]

Spartus,

I agree with your office manager. Why sell "almost good enough" products?

[CME4SPECS]

I stock 75 mm Scratch resistant lenses -4.00 to -2.00 cyl, no plus. It seems to fill the need for emergencies. I get stock lenses overnight so, I can't see stocking any other lenses. You can tie up a lot of dollars in lens inventory, if you're not carefull. If you are doing enough volume to stock lenses, then you need your own finish lab.
I am really surprised that a lab edges lenses that you supply to them.

[ilanh]

The lab may not make a fortune edging lenses but they also get a lot of peripheral orders from jobs that can't be done with stock uncuts. So for example, we may send them a simple single vision job to be edged (for a minimal fee) and at the same time we'll ask them to do another job for a bifocal polarized AR etc.


Ilan

[cgonsi]

To Ilanh: You mentioned you ordered your stock lenses from K-Mars? K-Mars just recently opened a full profile lab. And i agree that it is much more cost effective to use stock lenses then to get lab generated rx. craig.

[MarcE]

I just set up our stock inventory last year. This is what I did: I stocked up to a combined power of -6.00 up to a -2.00 cyl. I stocked one pair in each combination up to -1.00 cyl and 1/2 pair up to -2.00 cyl. Seemed to work out well until we got a little busier and needed 2 full pairs in spheres and -0.25 and -0.50 cyls.
On the plus side, I only stock up to +4.00, to a -2.00 cyl.

I agree with the previous posts on AR. Can't afford to stock 300 pair in the good stuff, and don't want to sell the cheap stuff.

I only stock poly lenses. That is what we sell. When we quote a lens price, we just quote our "Thin & Lite" (poly). That was a great business decision and I would suggest it. But our Medicaid pays a little more to dispense poly.

Don't worry about the cost to stock poly vs. CR. I wouldn't sell CR lenses if they were FREE. I would make less money, even if they were given to me.

There is a good reason why LC, Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, Pearl, etc. quote poly as their default lens. They make more $ and the patient percieves better value. Please, all you purists, don't perceive this as an opportunity to bash poly by saying "but abbe blah blah, and abberation blah blah".

You might do better with LBI or Lenstock.com than Nassua especially for reordering after setting up your initial stock.

[Judy Canty]

This thread is a year and a half old.

[cocoisland58]

[quote= Or, as our office manager succinctly put it, "I just got these people back [I]in[/I] to AR by promising that this is the 'good stuff'. We can't downgrade them."
quote]

Exactly, we sell Alize to over 25% of our patients because we think it's a wonderful product, we wear it, we have experienced the generic alternative on our own glasses in the past. I offer both but in all honesty I tell them that if they find Alize completely out of their budget, do not bother with the generic as we both will be disappointed. I would rather lose the money than have an unhappy patient in 12 to 18 months.

[cocoisland58]

Is it logical to do it this way?

Let me get this straight. You order stock lenses from one place, wait for delivery, send them to be cut and edged at another place? How long does this pair of glasses take? And who takes responsibility when you recieve it with a scratch? Why not use a local lab and develop a good relationship with them? There are very good prices to be had. And I would agree with another post that installing a small finish lab would be a great idea.

[Chris Ryser]

................................but half the point of using a super-duper hydrophobic, oleophobic, agoraphobic, kleptomaniac anti-reflective is that it'll last longer, stay quite a bit cleaner, and generally give better performance that one of the generics.

Here again..........why dont you apply the slick coat yourself and you have an even more effective lens than the brand names.

You can get them these days with all the fancy phobias plus an anti-fog added and the cost is a fraction of what you got to pay for the brand names.

One further cost saving is when you apply it after cutting, just before inserting the lenses into the frame. You have no risk of turned axis in the beveledger due to its slick properties.

[FVCCHRIS]

Put in an edger and start cutting your own jobs. Also, I find finished stock lenses above a +2.00 to be unusable, or at least undesirable, due to the finished thickness. Also if you're going to stock a premium a/r product make sure the manufacturer/distributor will exchange your "old" lenses for new stuff when they come out with their "improved" version. Chris..

[Chris Ryser]

Also if you're going to stock a premium a/r product make sure the manufacturer/distributor will exchange your "old" lenses for new stuff when they come out with their "improved" version. Chris..

You also forgot to mention...........to bring back the milk that turned sour in the fridge...........to exchange the car for a new model after a couple of years,,,,,,,,,to exchange the beer you forgot io take out the garage for 4 month and it went stale.

No wonder you guy's pay an arm and a leg for the products that you want to have exchanged if it does not suit you anymore. :hammer:

[FVCCHRIS]

:finger:

No wonder you guy's pay an arm and a leg for the products that you want to have exchanged if it does not suit you anymore. :hammer:

Who said anything about the product not suiting "ME"? What I said was make sure they are willing to replace the 5K worth of lenses they sold you 4 months earlier, not mentioning that the "NEW" version was about to hit the market any time. No matter how advanced our products become, you still "Get what you pay for" these days---as always! Chris. :D

[Framebender]

you folks have had such bad luck with generic ARs. We've had just the opposite experience. We find the stock KMars stuff to be quite durable and don't have anymore remakes than we did when we used a name brand at 10 times the price. We don't get the warranty that we got from the big boys, but we self warrant and make even more money. We find Endura and other in house 2 year ARs hold up just fine on our grinders.

You guys keep pushing the latest and greatest though, it helps our bottom line!!
:cheers:

[Johns]

This thread is a year and a half old.

...and it is still a great thread!

[Judy Canty]

The poster who re-opened the thread was using it as a very thinly veiled advertisement, regardless of the quality of the posts. That's a no-no and I just felt the need to point out it's age.

I'm fairly sure that Dr. H has a good handle on his inventory at this point.

[DocInChina]

The poster who re-opened the thread was using it as a very thinly veiled advertisement, regardless of the quality of the posts. That's a no-no and I just felt the need to point out it's age.
I'm fairly sure that Dr. H has a good handle on his inventory at this point.

His only other post is a less thinly veiled advertisement for the same company.

[Judy Canty]

His only other post is a less thinly veiled advertisement for the same company.

I know and I apologize for trodding on anyone's toes...

[Chris Ryser]

You guys keep pushing the latest and greatest though, it helps our bottom line!!

I like above statement...................ot starts looking like the battle between the brainwashed..........and ........and the ones who step out into the world of new products and then work on facts.

[Johns]

The poster who re-opened the thread was using it as a very thinly veiled advertisement, regardless of the quality of the posts. That's a no-no and I just felt the need to point out it's age.

I'm fairly sure that Dr. H has a good handle on his inventory at this point.

Yes, hopefully, Dr. H has a handle on his lenses, but I'll bet there have been more than 2 or 3 new boarders since then. Who knows, maybe they didn't all go through all the previous threads. I know I don't.

I'm just an optician, and didn't notice that this was a "thinly veiled" battle of the lens manufactures/distributors/labs. :o

Craig: Next time be more obvious about your advertisements, so that innocent bystanders like us don't wander into the lens turf war.:finger: