The Ultimate Guide to Dental Inventory Organization and Control – webinar by Dr. Scott Leune
This insightful webinar, The Ultimate Guide to Inventory Organization and Control, was led by Dr. Scott Leune, founder of Breakaway Seminars, and Tiger Safarov, founder of ZenSupplies (ZenOne). The session focused on how dental practices can overhaul their dental inventory management systems to reduce costs, boost efficiency, and eliminate waste.
Meet the Hosts
Dr. Scott Leune
Scott Leune is a nationally recognized leader in dental practice management. He has coached thousands of dentists on building profitable, scalable practices. His approach is focused on systems, accountability, and financial clarity. For Scott, better inventory control isn’t about micromanagement—it’s about protecting practice profits and eliminating chaos.
- Believes dental inventory mismanagement is one of the most common financial leaks in practices.
- Regularly emphasizes that even saving 1% on inventory can translate into $50,000 or more in annual profit.
- Advocates for visual inventory systems and team-driven protocols over guesswork and gut decisions.
Tiger Safarov
Tiger Safarov built ZenSupplies (ZenOne), a comprehensive dental supply ordering system and inventory software designed to help practices get organized. With deep insight into dental workflows, Tiger helps teams modernize everything from stockroom layout to budgeting and vendor management.
- Specializes in eliminating wasteful habits and replacing them with clean, scalable processes.
- Promotes real-time digital tracking, smart purchasing, and floorplan-based inventory mapping.
- Strong advocate for reducing expired product waste and minimizing unnecessary SKUs.
Key Takeaways from Dr. Leune
Inventory Can Make or Break Your Bottom Line
- Scott Leune emphasizes that improving how you manage and order supplies can unlock $50K–$100K per year in savings.
- Disorganized practices waste money on excess inventory, duplicate orders, and expired products.
Stop Managing Like It’s 1985
- Scott regularly encounters practices still using rubber bands, sticky notes, and hidden cabinets to track supplies.
- He believes the first fix is spatial: map out your entire office, identify all storage areas, and centralize your supplies.
Use Visual Inventory Control
- Avoid deep cabinets and opaque drawers. They hide products and create redundancy.
- Scott thinks the best system includes:
- Tip-out bins and open shelving no more than 12 inches deep.
- Labeled storage with painter’s tape or dividers to show exactly how much of each item to stock.
- Weekly checks by designated team members.
One Person Owns the System
- Scott stresses that “everyone is responsible” means no one is.
- Assign a dedicated inventory lead (what Tiger calls a Zen Master). Give them:
- Time blocked for weekly ordering.
- A mobile phone for vendor communication.
- Access to a purchasing system like ZenOne.
- Add a backup assistant (Zen Apprentice) to support restocking and fill in when needed.
Follow a Weekly Ordering Cadence
- Scott’s rule: never order supplies more than once a week.
- The ideal ordering day is Tuesday morning after your daily huddle.
- This rhythm keeps costs consistent and avoids last-minute panic buys.
- Every order must be reviewed by the office manager or doctor before it’s submitted.
Set and Enforce a 4% Budget
- Dr. Leune believes every practice can maintain supply costs at or below 4% of last month’s collections—without compromising care.
- Practices using ZenOne and these systems often hit 3% or less.
- Everything is included in this budget except implant hardware.
Beware of Free Goods and Brand Loyalty
- Scott urges teams to stop chasing “buy 5 get 2 free” deals unless:
- You actually need that much.
- You have the budget for it.
- Dental supply ordering systems often push products based on deals, not value.
- Reduce dental supply costs by focusing on what’s clinically necessary.
- Example: Use high-end composite if clinically important, but don’t overspend on gloves, bibs, or gauze.
Shrink Your SKU Count
- Scott recommends keeping your inventory under 300 unique SKUs.
- Too many variations lead to expired products, over-ordering, and disorganization.
- Dental supply software like ZenOne helps monitor SKU creep and keeps your formulary tight.
Declutter and Reset
- Scott thinks a full “supply room purge” is often needed:
- Shut down for a day.
- Pull everything out of cabinets.
- Toss expired items.
- Label everything that goes back in.
- He supports clear visual guides, laminated checklists, and defined reorder points.
Supplies Shouldn’t Be Everywhere
- No more basements, closets, or backup stockpiles.
- If your team doesn’t know where to find it, you’re spending money to lose money.
The System in Action
Dr. Leune and Tiger walked through:
- Central vs. decentralized supply models.
- Using checklists per treatment room to track and restock the right items weekly.
- Labeling and reorganizing shelves to create visual triggers for reordering.
- Using ZenOne’s digital interface to manage inventory and vendors in one place.
Why It Matters
Scott Leune believes that mastering dental inventory management is a business essential, not an afterthought. It’s one of the few systems where better organization directly leads to more profit, less stress, and a better-run office.
Final Thoughts
Dr. Scott Leune and Tiger Safarov delivered a clear message: your dental practice doesn’t need more storage—it needs smarter systems.
By tightening up your dental inventory management, assigning clear accountability, and using tools like dental supply software, you can stop overspending and start controlling your overhead.
Scott Leune emphasizes that the real ROI isn’t just in reduced supply costs—it’s in peace of mind, predictability, and profit.
If you’re serious about:
- Cutting waste
- Staying within a 4% supply budget
- Building a scalable dental supply ordering system
—then this guide isn’t optional. It’s essential.
Whether you’re launching a startup or running a multi-location dental business, these systems help you buy better, stock smarter, and grow faster.