This is a crosspost from a recent interview, where Dr. Gina Dorfman interviewed Tiger Safarov on the Power of Organization and Inventory Control. Listen on: Stitcher iTunes Podcast Episode Info Dr. Gina Dorfman sits down with Tiger Safarov, founder of Zen Supplies. They talk about a wide range of hot topics in dentistry from dental inventory management to motivating and complementing your team. It's an episode packed with tips and topics about technology that you don't want to miss. Dr. Dorfman: Hello and welcome back to another episode of Behind The Smiles. I'm here today with my good friend Tiger Safarov. Tiger is the founder and the CEO of ZenSupplies. Tiger, welcome to the show. How are you today? Tiger: Fantastic. Thank you, Gina, for having me. Dr. Dorfman: I'm excited to have you here today because everyone talks about saving money on supplies, and I think that your company began with, wanted to get a little bit perspective of what your company does and how did you end up with that? Tiger: Sure. I always talk about how it started. The whole premise of Zen started out of curiosity. I was walking in a hallway by the dental practice, and I saw a dental assistant using a sticky note, and just writing down the things that they need to buy on a piece of paper. My curiosity was always through the roof. I stopped and I asked him, "What are you doing?" His name is Justino, he is the lead assistant at the practice. Tiger: He said, "Tiger, I'm just sticking order." I started looking and he was writing down gloves, three boxes, and three boxes of pouches. And then the funny thing, he had a phone and an Apple Watch. It was 2015. Then he takes a picture of it and texts it to the rep. I'm like, well, it's a little bit of technology here. But then he's like, "Please confirm when you receive it." I'm like, "How long would it take you to get the confirmation?" He said, "I don't know, he may never text me back." I thought, just out of that simple thing I said, what if we build something a lot easier to use where it's all in one place, you just click and submit it? Little did I know that now we have to deal with 250 distributors; 500,000 products; about the 1000 manufacturers. Three years ago, I didn't have a clue that it's going to be that big of the problem to solve. When we started out, it was funny. We started writing code, December 2015, I'd say right after Thanksgiving, November. We were launching the beta version by April. We spent December, January, February, March, four months writing the beta. Dr. Dorfman: That's incredible. Tiger: It was super-fast, and I was so proud of it. Again, I had no clue. I have no software background. I knew a little bit about technology. And then in April 2016, I'm at that same dental office with the same dental assistant and we're going to the dental inventory page with about 700 products, and you know this spinning wheel, and it's like spinning and spinning, spinning and spinning. I grabbed Justino by the arm and said, "All right, let's go grab a coffee at Starbucks." Came back, it was still loading. So that's how we started. It's a blessing that I had no idea about dentistry because if I would know how much it would take, and if I would listen to a couple of other people out there that say two dentists can't agree on a single composite, I probably would never start. Another thing is people ask me, some of our really expert Zen members, I call them Zen masters, they call me and they say, why do you charge so little? You should charge more. I have other people that are like, "Oh, I don't think we're going to use it." I'm going to tie it back into the concept that we haven't even scratched the surface of what the Zen should be because we're still learning. We're three years into this and we're still learning. Oh, lidocaine is equal to bupivacaine and whatever the names are. We're still building the system, where it's as simple as you go to search and type gauze and who would know that it's actually two by two? All these things that make sense for dental assistants and dental professionals, like dentists, and hygienists, they don't make sense for software. That's where we come in, and we try to understand, okay, if you're searching for gauze, and I have 1500 hits a month on my search for gauze. All right, let's take a look at what that means. I think we're just getting started. That's why I look at it as a project. I look at it as an experience. We started with long onboarding and It's a long process to onboard an office and get them started. Then we said, you know what, people don't have time for that. Maybe we should automate that and we automated the whole thing and with very little human touch onboarding. And then we learned that it’s not going to work; therefore, we're slowly coming back to it that and realized people do need the training to learn the basics of inventory. We usually start with, do you guys need an inventory management system? I've never had an office say no. Everybody's using three methods. Tags with rubber bands Spreadsheets where you can manually manage products and orders Nothing – is the most popular method These are the three most popular methods of managing inventory. So, then we start and we say, "All right, what would work best for you?" And then we schedule the training. We verify all the distributors, people connect all of their current vendors to Zen, and then we start analyzing and say, okay, so you're buying this from this company, this from that company, maybe you should look at all the other companies available. The biggest thing we discuss with new practices is how to get off of the next day delivery. And the idea behind is you managing inventory and not running out of items. Believe it or not, the number one reason why some of the big three names are the big three names is they master their logistics. It's just Susan at the dental practice, don't want to get yelled by the doctor that she's out of the product, so she's going to go in one of the big three websites or call the rep and place an order for the lidocaine so it's there tomorrow. We start that discussion saying, "All right, how do we get you to two or three-day delivery because that's where you can save money, and buying the same products from other vendors." Then we go into deeper training. Lately, I've been going to offices and simply throwing shit away. The first thing we do is we buy foldable tables at the Wal-Mart, bring them to the office and unload each individual room these tables, and we go through every storage, closet, drawer, everything. Believe it or not, every single office that says: “Tiger, I don't have a single expired product”, we end up throwing about a full construction bag full of expired products and just old stuff they never use. Dr. Dorfman: I believe that because I've been ... You know what, I always, my claim to fame, I'm a very organized person. I have a very organized office. In fact, everyone who comes into my office, they say three things. Wow., it's very clean. Wow, it's very organized and wow, it's very efficient. Where have you been before? But in my office, my clean, organized, efficient office, we always throw things away because dental supplies expire because a lot of times you get them close to the expiration date. Actually, I want to mention something. There are some websites that are selling inexpensive supplies. I think you can buy supplies on eBay probably. There's Net32, there are some other companies. The problem is that you need to get a big order to get a discount. And then a lot of them are close to the expiration date. So, now you have a lot of well-priced shit that's close to the expiration date and you don't have enough time to use it up or even determine whether you want too much. How do you determine if you want too much? I interrupted you, but I believe I heard they call you Mary Kondo of dental? Tiger: The Russian version. I should come up with some funny words like, you know how she speaks Japanese, right? I watch a couple of Netflix because when people started calling me that I didn't know what they were talking about. And then I watched a couple of them and she talks total Japanese and nobody cares. I think I should go into the offices and just speak Russian, and then have a translator next to me and translate it into English. I think that will spice it up a little bit. But you're touching on something very, very important. I think a lot of people don't realize that number one, there's nothing free. People are buying free goods and specials. So, people are literally buying free goods. That's the concept just doesn't fit in my head. And then the second part is, people, waste their time chasing deals, going to eBay and going to Amazon, when the best part of ... To take a step back, the best part of running Zen, I have right now about 350 offices across the country. I can study them all. I see everything that people buy. I see the distributors and all of the transactions and I see what makes an office 3.8% overhead. And I have offices with five and I have seven and 10 % overhead on supplies. I can tell you, putting everything I've got. If I would lose all of it tomorrow, I can put my name on it, that the biggest problem that offices make is they're buying too much stuff. An example I always use is this. Let's use lidocaine. Most likely people that are listening today on March 2019, paying for lidocaine about $27. If you pay more, you have a problem. But on average, people are paying $27 for a box of lidocaine Imagine, you go on eBay and you buy it for 24, a great deal. You save $3, right? The problem is most of the offices when they go on eBay, they buy three boxes versus one. Now, you've wasted $48, 24 by two, $48. Their $48, yes, they're going to use it at some point when it gets expired, they don't even know. But in reality, they needed one box. None of my offices that are running supplies budgets under 3.8% will ever buy specials and free goods. They can use their big three, it's totally fine. It's just the problem is that 80% of the savings come from quantities and only 20% comes from price. That equation is reversed right now in dental that we're trying to bring it back into quantity versus price. Dr. Dorfman: I think that for ... We're talking about cash flow here. There are so many things that we can invest in, besides lidocaine and gauze and in order to save money on buying in quantity. Especially for startups, every single startup essentially is a no brainer for a startup, because starting with a system, and in the startup cash flows is a big deal. The lidocaine that you're injecting today, you're not going to get that money from insurance for six to eight weeks. That's in money investing. If you are buying lidocaine to last you till October, you might save $7, but that's a lot of money invested into lidocaine that could be going towards paying off your student loans or your other loans, right? Tiger: Yes, these are two such important things. If we get to leadership, we'll talk about it. When we demo the product there are usually two excuses I have from doctors when we get to this free goods and cheaper prices, people say number one "Well, I'm going to use it anyway, so I have cash available. Why don't I do that, and I just buy all the supplies and they keep them there. It doesn't cost me anything to keep them in the practice.” But the opportunity cost of lost cash? Right now, everybody talks about Facebook being one of the greatest platforms to advertise. 250 bucks can bring you; I don't know how many new patients, but at least one. What's that one new patient will be worth for the practice? Probably a lot more than you saving all that money. That whole concept that people have of like, no, I would much rather put money, literally park dollar bills on the shelf and wait until it's being used is ridiculous. I think the second one I hear from people saying, "Well, who cares if my assistant is spending two hours in ordering? Going from website to website trying to find a deal? She is on payroll anyway.” What about patient recalls? What about doing things that ... I'm sure you guys automate, but it's a human touch picking up the phone and say, "Hey, we haven't seen you in six months. Would you rather do that?" Or have your assistant be on the phone to try to save you $2 in a box of lidocaine? That's just ridiculous. Dr. Dorfman: Yeah, absolutely. I completely agree with you. The same thing with next day delivery, we need next day delivery, because we're running out of stuff. But the company that I order with, and you know I have a long history with this company. I buy so much that I'm actually getting a really good deal, which is why I was asking you, can I still order from them through you? Which is really cool, because you can keep your vendor, but there's a charge for that next day delivery. But the reason why it needs to be placed is that the assistant doesn't want to be yelled at for running out or being low on something. A lot of times because we don't have a good inventory system, like in my office, nowadays, they're building those tilt out bins or whatever. But in my office, you have cabinets and closets, and you just have boxes sitting in closets. You don't know what's in there. Tiger: Right. Dr. Dorfman: I think that the ability to really monitor your inventory, and ... Zen allows budgeting, is that correct? Dr. Dorfman: How does that work? Tiger: It's funny. When people tell me, "Can you get me to 5%?" I usually say, "I can get you to 5% next month." They say, "It’s impossible, I’m at 10%." I hope people know what we're talking about, it's the collections multiplied by your overhead goal on dental supplies, usually 5% or 10%, that should be a budget. First of all, 80% of the offices that do a demo in supplies don't even know how to set up a budget. Literally, people don't know that you take these two numbers, collections for the last month multiplied by the percentage where you want to be, that's your budget. People don't know. Second is, people would say, "Well, how long would it take me to get to my budget?" I say, "Next month." Because you set the budget, and build Zen properly, which we train people to do, your assistant is not allowed to spend more than you allocate per month. Now, if she spends more, that means you approved it because we have an approval process within Zen. She sends an order for approval, and if it's over the budget, she can't even send it for approval, she needs to adjust or he needs to adjust the quantities. I tell people, next month you're going to be at 5%. As simple as that. Budgeting is really cool. A lot of people love it. Dr. Dorfman: I love that. You actually go into offices, you help them clean up and you help them implement the system because you have trainers, I'm sure. I bet when you go to offices, you can really quickly spot some differences between the offices that are very successful and the offices that are not. Tell me about it. What are some of the differences? Tiger: Can I show you one? This is my favorite. This is literally my favorite subject. Check this out. I hope you can see it. Right? Dr. Dorfman: That's really cool. Can you describe it for the listeners? Tiger: Yep. For Listeners, especially doctors, if you're the ones taking the trash out, if you're the ones that don't mind taking a broom and cleaning up the place and turning over the rooms and helping you assistants, you're the type of person I want to work with. I'll be honest. I have an office that I just went to ... Again, it's so cool, we have ... Can I tell you very quick the craziest thing about running Zen? Dr. Dorfman: Yes, please. Please do. Tiger: I rarely pay for hotels. Most of the time, I stay at my clients' houses. As weird as it sounds, I rarely stay at the hotels. Every time I go on travel, it's like, "Whoa, Tiger, can you stay at my couch? I got a room for you." The number of times I've stayed at people's living rooms, it's insane. It's like a long night conversation is fun. It's really awesome. We get to connect at a very different level. And then I always, on my flight back, I'm taking notes in my journal, and I say, what makes so special about this doctor or the practice? If I go and I combine all of my notes together, it's usually bowling down to a couple of things. Number one, my most successful offices, the doctor never walks through the back door. It's paramount how much a doctor walking through the main door means to the practice. Number one, that means he or she is on time. Number two, they get to see everything within a practice the same eyes as the patients. Amount of times the offices that I went to that have very poor leadership, I go in and the garbage can in the front is full, there's no water. There's a sign that says, we have coffee and cookies and usually, it's empty, it's crickets. Doctor’s ability to go through the front door means a lot. Then the second part which is also equally important is, when they go through the front door, they can see the reaction of the person that greets the patients. If the doctor walks in and he is a little grumpy and stuff like that, that affects that person right away. If they come in ... Usually, I can tell you. My top doctors are all these cheerleaders. They come in and they're like, "Megan, how are you doing today?" That's how they come in, full of energy, or some of them come in and bring the Starbucks to their team members. Imagine $7 spent on Starbucks for two cups of coffee for your front desk per day will probably lead to a lot of recalls and reactivations. It's just my experience. I might be totally off on that, but that's just my experience. Dr. Dorfman: I don't want to interrupt, but you're absolutely right. I always hear team members say, not always, but a lot of times I hear team members talking about feeling underappreciated. The doctor always thinks well, they want a huge raise, they want this. A lot of times, it's really the small things, just letting them on a daily basis know they matter, that they're important, and then that we're thinking about them. That's what that appreciation is, letting people know that you're thinking about them, right? Tiger: Yep. Part of when I visit the offices, as crazy as it sounds, is I pick up on dynamics pretty quickly. And then I always remind doctors, especially when I do these inventory makeover projects, "You know what, there's going to be one big challenge for you is not to say anything." When we start working with your team, especially a dental assistant and hygienists, where they're going to take a lead on reorganizing the rooms, agreeing on how we're going to do things, they're going to decide what's going to go in the treatment room, not you. You can have a say "Look, ideally for me as a doctor, I would love to have a set of burs 557 as an emergency and things like that. But that's on you to decide whatever we need, whatever you think is going to be an urgency, and that's it.” Not even like ... You could check at the end and say, "Yeah, great job. I'm proud of you." But not even being the process. There are so many people that we start, and I say, "All right, Stacy, what do you think?" She will say, "Well, I think we should do it." And the doctor will interrupt right on the spot and start saying what needs to be done. I'm burning inside. I will be the one saying timeout, timeout, let's go grab a coffee. I will grab a doctor and say, "That's got to change." Which is really hard. Dr. Dorfman: It is hard, but you're absolutely right. First of all, people support what they help create. If the dental assistant takes leadership on creating this inventory system and deciding what goes in the rooms, if she really owns that project, then she's going to continue to run with it. For us doctors, we're practice owners, we're doctors, we're decision makers. We make decisions and we expect people to implement those decisions, and then they don't. As soon as we walk away, things started to tank because they were never part of the original decision because the flow doesn't make sense to them. It's really those who are carrying on the responsibility that should be implementing. Also, because I can see how it can be demoralizing to employees when the doctor is constantly talking over them or, sending direction down the stream so to say. I think when they allow them to own a project they really build them up and help them become more self-sufficient and independent and take pride in that work. I love what you said about walking through the front door. It's funny because yes, you're on time, and yes, you're raising the energy of the team. I always say the CEO is the chief energizing officer. You know what, I remember we once had a meeting at my dental office. It was one of those ... I'm not a touchy-feely type of person, I don't like those touchy-feely meetings. But it was one of those meetings where we started off with everyone having to say something nice about someone else in the room. What they appreciate about that person. One of my hygienists said she was talking about Ken. She said, "What I really appreciate about Ken is when he walks in, he comes out to every single one of us, says, hello, addresses us by name, asks how we're doing, what kind of day we're having." For me, it was the biggest aha moment because I am the one, I'm coming in, I'm all about business and have a ton of things to take care of. Hearing that from my team ... This is so small, you just walk through the front door, and you say hi to everyone. That was a big game changer for me. That was okay, I have to adopt. I might not be that person, but I have to become this person if I want to be a good leader. Tiger: Yep. Can we talk about it for a second just to hopefully help your listeners? There are two things in this example that you gave. The big part of it is understanding your personality. I also don't like when doctors don't have that within them, it just not in their DNA to smile or to appreciate their team members. That's totally fine. You happen to have an office, you can't just sell it, this is your practice, you want to grow it, I get it. Be self-aware, understand you can't do it but appoint somebody in your office. Like you have Ken, come in and do it. There's got to be someone that's going to do that front door experience, and run it and then come back to you and say, "Look, I think we're doing great." Then you can put a checkbox in your checklist for a day and say, done. Be self-aware, appoint somebody to do that. That can be your office manager, the cheerleader can get it done for you. If you're a startup and you don't have somebody, well, suck it up for a little bit until you have an office manager and do it. I don't have anything else to say. Dr. Dorfman: Yeah, that's absolute, that's very true. Often, it's Ken who would come up and point something that I overlooked. Maybe like the magazines are not looking that great. If you can't do it, if it's not one of your strength, you definitely need to have that person in your office who is going to do that. So, excellent point. What are some of the other things? Because you said that earlier like a fly on the wall in the office because you're coming in from the outside and being a CEO of your own company, you know how things are supposed to run. You see things from the side and you work closely with the team and with the doctor. You probably see a lot of things. Let's talk about some of the other things. Tiger: I think my other thing is a little bit of what we talked earlier, is understanding, which is the hardest, is knowing what you're good at, what you strong at and what you're not and not try to fake it. I have seen doctors that it's just not in their DNA to take the garbage out. But they will show it and prove it to everybody. When they do it, it comes out a little fake. They will come back and say, "Look at me, I just took the trash out." That's wrong, in my opinion. It's better to say, "Look, I don't even know where the garbage can is. I don't know what I would do without my team. I so appreciate what you do." Being real, I think is very very important. Authentic, exactly. A lot of people is just absolutely not there. I think another part about delegation vs. Abdication. Doctors are good at abdication, but not at delegation. I've seen this many, many times. All right, we're setting up an inventory management system. Assistants have no clue what that is, and what would that involve? The doctor is like, "All right, Stacy, you're in charge. Bye." And then I'm trying to schedule a follow up in two months with a doctor, they have no clue what's going on. The right way of doing things is probably and actually picked it up from again, one of my offices at Zen that went from 10% to 5% in one month, is they pick a project for a quarter. Every quarter, they have a project. For quarter four, there was an inventory project for them. I got lucky, they picked us to be their provider. So, the whole team, top to bottom was involved just on inventory. The way they did it is doctors involved checking all the products, understanding how the flow works, working with the team, understanding how the flow works within their specific office and only then delegating to the whole team saying, "All right, we've tried all this, this is what's going to work. And then on top of it, every Friday, Every week, they check in. " And say, "Okay, so we put this system in place, how's it working?" Somebody comes in like Amber she'll say, "Well, I don't like that it's this and that." She goes like, "All right, note taken." The biggest part is nobody says, well, you just didn't think about this. They're like, taking notes. And then Susan comes in and she's a hygienist and she is like a doctor, are you out of your mind? I don't have toothbrushes." The team is taken notes down, no conversations about, no Susan you just didn't look at this cabinet. No, they just write it down. And then they go back with their original three or four people team and discuss and say what did the process feel? Go back change, adjust. Monday on the morning huddle, roll out the next one. Speaking about the morning huddles, I would say 10% out of 100 will have a morning huddle. How's that possible? Dr. Dorfman: Blows my mind away. You're starting a fresh day. You got to have a quick powwow just decided how this day's going to go. Tiger: You know what I learned; this is a fundamental thing every office should implement. I really think that every single dental office should have, call it a social media coordinator or call it a patient heart coordinator. What that person does is for every morning huddle, they would sit down and look at the schedule for the upcoming day. This heart social media coordinator would look at the patient schedule for the next day. Then she goes on social media, literally, that's what she does, during the day, on the phone, all day long. Looking at all these patients on social media; Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and probably less Twitter but Facebook and Instagram, the biggest one and look what's going on. And then in the morning huddle, and the next day, they give an update for every patient, and write them the chart notes and say, "All right, little Jackson has a birthday today. Our Lily had a soccer tournament yesterday and her son won." Imagine those little things they put in a schedule. Now, the doctor goes in into each treatment room and start the conversation with like, "Hey, did Johnny win the tournament last night?" That will change the whole freaking thing for everybody. That's what I've learned from Gary Takacs, they do that in their practice is for every patient, they have a person that checks everything, birthdays and what's going on in their life and this and that. Sometimes they'll tell the doctor and say, look, in this room, we have a person that needs a little bit of pep talk for 10 or 15 minutes, just sit down and listen, something big happened or horrible happened in their life. That's the biggest thing. You can talk about it during the morning huddle for five, 10 minutes. Dr. Dorfman: Absolutely. You can really change someone's experience by ... First of all, I think a lot of our patients feel like a number. They come in and it's especially apparent when I think dentists are better when you go to a medical office, it's like okay, sign your name. Then they got that peel off sticker. Sometimes I have offices always ask us why don't you have a kiosk? Because we want you to talk to your patients. Human interaction, it's so important. We like our social media, we like our mobile devices, the convenience, the iPads, all that stuff, but nothing- Tiger: The convenience of everybody putting their entire life on this thing. Everybody put so much information. It's insane how much you can know about the person right before their appointment. I love this, I go and see my clients, I don't remember their names sometimes. Not like, but spouses and their kids, I would look it up on Facebook, come back and say, how's JC doing? Things like that? It's so easy. Dr. Dorfman: I know. It's great. Very good tip. When you travel to those offices, and you started this conversation, do you sometimes get a little bit of a push back from the team? Like they're not comfortable with technology? Because I know this is something that we experience. What's your take on this, and how do you overcome some of those challenges? Tiger: I think the blessing is that A, I'm an immigrant, I can play a dumb card for a little bit when I start. The second is, I had a blessing early in my life. I was a lab instructor at one of the colleges for underserved and minorities. It helped me a lot to understand the process, how to get people to even learn how to use computers and things like that the first time in their life. Looking back now, that it's such a huge experience for me, I would go in and I would start ... Usually, I get an excuse of, “Oh, Tiger technology is not my thing. “ Or “At my age, technology is not my thing. That's okay, let's start somewhere. Did you have Facebook?” People say, "Oh, yeah, of course." "Do you post things on Facebook?" "Oh, yeah, I do." "Well, it's just like Facebook. It's easy. You will be able to post things. Zen's plays just the same way." Then we will do some jokes and I let them play a little bit and click some buttons, something easier, and then people break through and they get comfortable. I think the other thing is, I think I do more than, that my job, I feel like it's being the cheerleader for them. When I do trainings, I'm this sunshine pumper, sitting and saying, "All right, Susan, you're doing awesome." The biggest thing I've learned is, I always say, and it's natural now. I think it's always been naturally is I say, "You know what Susan? Where you started, and where you at now is incredible. I'm so proud of you for what you've accomplished. I know we have a lot more to do. But just that one little step that you have done is huge. I'm super proud of you. Let's keep it up to the same way." And then I can feel they're slowly getting to where we need to go. I think that's how we do it. Dr. Dorfman: I love what you said there because I think ... This is sometimes a reservation that I hear. Someone's age is going to prevent from using technology. One example I can give, my mother in law is 70 years old. She still works, she's a bookkeeper. She's on Facebook. She is using Gusto for payroll. She's using QuickBooks for ... She does online banking, she shops online. It used to be my thing, now my mother-in-law, I get all those packages delivered to my house because we have someone at the house all the time. If she can do all that online and she's 70 years old, and then what's going to prevent someone to order supplies online? She buys things on Amazon; she buys things from Nordstrom, why not. As long as you really take the time with them and help them. She's still a little terrified of Dropbox somehow because she's used to a paper filing system. When I moved everything to ... She's a bookkeeper in my practice and she's working for YAPI as well and Dropbox somehow is a little terrifying because we just moved last year. She's getting there. You really just say, okay, see, you're doing it, you're doing fine. You're just doing fine. Tiger: I think it's the attitude. Dr. Dorfman: Exactly. I think you get what you expect, right? Tiger: Mm-hmm (affirmative) It's a similar example. I love your example. I would say something similar. I say, "Yeah, I understand what you're talking about. My grandfather, 95, had the same problem before using Skype and now he uses Skype every day." Dr. Dorfman: Yeah, that's right. She's using Skype, she has a smartphone. I don't really see that as a factor there. When you go to those offices, and you're working with assistants, are there any aha moments that they experience that, okay, maybe this is really a better way of doing things? Tiger: It's a great question. I think we both have aha moments. For some reason, people say a dental office is a dental office, what are you going to see in another dental office? Every time I go to an office, I have this aha moment that A, I don't know anything. I literally have to learn things again. And B is, I watch how people have aha moments, and to me, it's interesting. I say, "Oh, maybe we should say it this way, or maybe we should rephrase certain things and use it differently." I think the biggest thing is that people have aha moment is when they truly understand that we try to save them time, that becomes a huge factor for many, many offices. Our biggest thing is at the end of the day, I sell time. I don't sell anything else. People buy products from other distributors, what they're paying a subscription for is for the time. I remember one of the comments that I got, the whole team was sitting and tearing up a little bit, had some tears when an assistant called me. They have 26 offices and she's been running supplies for one of the largest offices. She said, before Zen, she would stay two hours after work to get everything ready and organized for the next day. Now, it's 15 minutes. She says: “I can go home and see my kids and spend time with my family. Thank you guys so much." That's the greatest comment that we ever get. Saving money, it's fine, but when you can provide that to the team members, I think that's the biggest thing for us. Dr. Dorfman: Absolutely. I can relate because, with our software, yes, it's convenient. Yes, you don't have to buy the toner and the paper, and yes, the patients like it. All those are great things, but when you realize that a typical dental office going paperless, the front office will save 600 hours a year just on scanning, filing, shredding, data entry, that's huge. What can you get done in 600 hours? We don't realize that but when we ... This is like one doctor, two hygienists working four, five days a week. That's a lot of time. When you give people the time back that they can do more things and take better care of patients, that's really important ... Because we're all so busy. Everyone is so busy. In a typical dental office, I feel like a lot of things are not getting done especially at the front office because there's always something happening. The front office is answering phones, and people coming in and people leaving and they need appointments scheduled. In the back, the assistants are running from room to room to room. Only when you have an opening in the schedule, is when you can actually sit down and start going through catalogs and finding supplies. That's actually the reason why a lot of times they run out, is because there's never an ordering time on the schedule. It's always like, whenever I have time. Tiger: Exactly. Dr. Dorfman: They don't have an opportunity to do a full inventory and they have things hidden in closets that they cannot see in plain view. I really think that this is the biggest value there. What's in the future? What are you dreaming about? Tiger: My dream is this, I really want to get Zen to the point where you have a package show up every two weeks and you're under 4% and we're spot on what you need. That's all. Dr. Dorfman: I love that. Tiger: That's a total Zen for me. Nobody runs out of products anymore. It's done. Nobody needs this whole price ... To me, right now the whole industry is going through so much commotion about this whole pricing and distributors and big three being sued by the government and all that stuff. To me, it's unnecessary for the teams because the patients are number one, and they're stressed already enough. Why put the team through all of that? It should be super easy. It should be a couple of clicks to set it up, get everything, put it in the software and then done. Dr. Dorfman: I love that. Let's talk. I see you have a couple of meetings coming up where you are planning to speak. Tell me about that. Where are we going to see them? Tiger: One thing when I travel and go to the offices, I hear doctors getting excited about their Cs. I hear hygienists being sad about their Cs. I feel like my poor dental assistants are left out, and they're sitting in the room like, it would be cool if we would have some kind of conference to go. But I don't think there is one. I've been thinking about it since we started. Tiger: It took me probably a year to really realize something important. For ZenSupplies our end user is an assistant and most of the time, not the doctor. Then I thought, okay, we need to organize our own event where we get the chance to get all of our assistants together and give them the platform to learn more, become better, really encourage to step out of the comfort zone and go for more. Tiger: We finally, this year, partnering up with some people that we're going to help bring that to real life, and that's actually, it's going to be Dental Assistant Conference- Dr. Dorfman: National Conference. Tiger: National Conference for Excellence. The acronym is DANCE. We talked about everybody loves to DANCE. I didn't come up with this, I work with a couple of incredible people. One of them is Julie Varney. She's putting it all together and we're fortunate to be part of it. I'll be speaking at that event primarily about the organization, what that organization of when you can deep really brief. I’ll be talking about how does it feel when everything is organized and it sits in the right place. It's that feeling when you organize your pantry. Everything is in the right place. I'll talk about that, but primarily, my main focus right now is getting that conference to life and we're super excited to do that. Dr. Dorfman: This is wonderful because there is a conference for office managers. I've been to that conference multiple times and it's always this really fun event filled with so much energy and the office managers who attend the conference really love being a part of it. They love being a part of an organization that really connects them, that provides them learning opportunities. They recognize those who achieved a lot in the field of front office management. Of course, the dentist we have ... Are you going to be at the Dental Success Institute in Scottsdale? Tiger: Can't wait. Dr. Dorfman: Yes, that's going to be so much fun. Between the voices of dentistry and the dental town coming up, we're going to be at the dental town next week and DSI and practice on fire, there are so many wonderful events where people really organize in communities. I'm not aware of anything like that for dental assistants. For me, when I first started my practice, it was always my goal to bring the assistant up to not only be a patient advocate or someone who is holding a suction all day but really someone who owns her space. Who is productive, who is proud of her accomplishments, who is- Tiger: And confident. Dr. Dorfman: And confident, exactly. Who are continuously learning? I've used every possible opportunity to help my assistants really learn as much as possible. Whether it means that we have small meetings in the office where I personally teach them. Whether I get the videos, bring them to conferences. I think for them to have this kind of conference where they can learn and organize and work together and really be a part of something bigger than themselves. I think that's wonderful. Kudos to Julie, I'm glad that you are part of this. Tiger: Yeah, it's October 18- 19th, dentalassistantconference.com. I think the best part about this conference is that nobody's trying to make money off of it. People are really putting it together for having it. I think that's always the best part. I love when people do things for a greater good than just putting money in their pocket. Dr. Dorfman: Absolutely. Any other advice before ... We are almost coming on time. I can't believe how fast that went. You talk so fast and I talk so fast, and we still fill out an hour. But anything else in closing that you'd like to? Tiger: I'd like to ask you a question. Dr. Dorfman: Okay. Tiger: What do you think in a dental technology horizon in the next two years, what do you think that technology is going? Dr. Dorfman: I think there's going to be a lot of automation. I think we're going to see some bots that are helping connect our patients with the dental team that are going to provide some information when the office is closed. Because we are getting to a point where we have more and more millennials sent to the dental office and they're going to, whether it's patients or as employees or doctors. There are more and more millennial doctors entering into practice. The doctors want to streamline things. For patients, I think it's really important that they get answers to their questions when they have those questions. They want to be able to connect with the office through websites, through Facebook, through any other venue. I think that being accessible and being available to those patients, and being reachable in a way that the patients want to reach us is where it's all going. Of course, on a business side, we're seeing a lot of DSOs are growing and they're leveraging technology and they're leveraging their buying power. For private practices, it's going to be incredibly important to be streamlined and to budget well and to really leverage technology in their own way to run practices better. Tiger: Interesting. Yeah, I think I agree with you, it's automation. The coolest thing is just as a final thought that I just had is, every single private practice, and I think you and I are in the forefront of helping private practice just to continue to stay private and not go into the DSO route, which is nothing bad. But I think there's so much beauty of owning the practice and being the 100% sole owner. I think it's being adaptable to the new technology. The offices that I see that that doesn't sit on the rear end and say, well, I'm just going to hold my breath and hope I'm going to retire soon. These days are over. The sooner people jump into the new things and new technology, that will allow them to stay ahead of the curve and not go in the DSO route and continue being successful solo owners. Dr. Dorfman: Absolutely. I 100% wholeheartedly agree with you there. Wow, that was a fun discussion, and I am so glad that you were able ... I know you're busy and you're traveling a lot. I thank you for taking the time to spend with us, with our listeners. We will put the link to ZenSupplies website on the show notes. Tiger: Thank you. Dr. Dorfman: I'm looking forward to seeing you at the Dental Success Summit. Tiger: And a link to the conference too. Dr. Dorfman: And the conference, absolutely. Absolutely, thank you for the reminder. I'll see you at the DSI, and have a good rest of your week. Tiger: Thank you. It's been an honor to be on your show. Thank you so much. Dr. Dorfman: Thank you.
It is often said that the best way to learn a new language is immersion. Simply stated, it’s the concept that being present and surrounded by the speakers of that language with active context accelerates the learning process. Even greater than formal, structured education, immersion allows the learner to strip away all of the hypotheticals. The only new words and phrases that are introduced are ones that are people all around are using. This type of focus makes their use of their new skills much more impactful to those they are conversing with. At Zen, we believe in constant learning. One of our core principles is curiosity. After all, it was insatiable curiosity that gave birth to ZenSupplies in the first place. We wanted to learn more about everything that concerns our ZenFamily. What do our customers love about Zen? What do they need to be changed? What do they to be changed? From ordering to dental inventory management to reconciliation and payment, how do we improve the experience at every level? These make up a minute sample of the questions that we were dying to answer. That thirst for understanding allows us to stay rooted in our cause and plugged into our network, for their benefit. So much like learning a language, we took the opportunity to immerse our selves with our customers as soon as possible. The greatest number of users were in Texas, we were sitting in Chicago. That made the choice very easy. Despite the challenges of travel and working from the road, we knew we had to go where we were needed. We could have called all of the same clients or set up video conferences. We would have gained some insight. But there is no substitute for being shoulder to shoulder with the assistant, hygienists, and managers that have made Zen part of their daily lives. We found such wonderful works of art and culture all over Austin. From the very moment that we stepped into our first practice of the trip, we received immediate confirmation that we were in the right place! That first practice blew our minds with their organization and strong dental system software that, in some ways, were contrary to how we guide practices to run. This new perspective prompted even more questions. There were more things that we wanted to understand about their workflow. All of this feedback is invaluable to the curious. Had we not been able to physically see, touch, and feel these processes, the impact could not have been nearly as great. The revelations did not stop there. Meeting with over a dozen customers in almost as many cities, we picked up a tremendous amount of knowledge and feedback. We got right to work with this information. Some minor tweaks were implemented right away. Changing the color of a button, or moving a function to a place that is easier for the user were things that we could implement immediately, so we did. The things that will provide a significant impact but also require a significant amount of development were prioritized, planned, and scheduled for implementation. Austin skyline at Night We value all of the feedback from our clients and partners but something is truly extra special about the connections made in this way. Looking at each other eye to eye, and tackling challenges together makes for solutions that are far more applicable to the people actually using them. No changes were made nor features added over this trip that did not come as a direct result of the one on one attention both given to and received by our customers. When looking at the journey through this lens, racing through a blizzard, stopping to work in coffee shops, long hours driving and all of the other obstacles seem so small. Nothing could possibly be as important as doing the right thing for our users. Enjoying some down time with happy members of the Zen Family Apart from the amazing knowledge we were able to gain through visiting our current customers, we had some other great opportunities as well. We were able to provide world class customer support to local clients, identify best fits for ZenSupplies, explore Austin, and even host our fist Zen Meetup! Stay tuned this week for more details and stories from the road!
We are fortunate to have clients that are patient, provide critical feedback and stay by our side while we are building worlds greatest dental software. In only 8 months we grew to 50 active clients and 44 that are in the onboarding stage, so in no time we believe we will cross that significant mark of 100 offices. I can tell you that we have learned a lot and continue to learn every day and through our daily mantra of “Let’s screw things up” we continue to push the envelope. During my sales calls, doctors ask me “Tiger, what is the most difficult aspect of your system?” and unfortunately my only answer is Human Nature. Yes, the software part is easy, we can design pretty buttons, make it all work just like a Cerec machine, but the human part is the most challenging. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that it’s this way, it helps us build a better software, more intuitive, and by no means is this a “The world needs to change” article. This is to simply acknowledge that change is indeed hard! Remember trying to lose weight? Fix a relationship? Or grow your business? We have a lot of startup offices and doctors who are opening new locations, remember first 30-60 days, I bet it wasn’t easy. I bet there were days working late seeing patience, then working on marketing, then looking at the finances, and then writing an ad to hire a new dental assistant. Then eventually all the hard things led into building knowledge, systems, attracting the right people to get to the next level. On a side note, it shouldn’t be easy, these things need to be hard, for a simple reason that you want the life to be on your terms. How does this all relate to ZenSupplies and implementation? Luckily it’s easier than losing weight or looking for a new dental assistant, but it has similarities. Let’s break it down: Decision - just as deciding to open an office or building a startup practice implementing a dental inventory management system has to be a well thought out process. I’ve seen several instances where doctors make a decision to implement, then life takes over with busy schedules in and outside the office. More Importantly if your dental assistant thinks that you don’t need one and it will over complicate things at this point you know, it’s a game over. A well thought out decision builds reasoning beyond “let’s just try it” and runs deeper in the culture of the office. Leadership - the amount of times I’ve heard doctors’ say “Let’s give it a try and see what my assistant thinks” is staggering. Again luckily for us there are a lot more really hard working, positive, dental assistants and team members in the field of dentistry that are willing to put it all on the line for the success of the practice; however the 5% that’s negative just kills the mode of action. Moreover, I can’t imagine going into battle and the general says “Let’s try this strategy and see if our soldiers will like it”. Just to be clear my problem with this point not the assistants, but the doctors who are putting the “leadership hat” on to someone else. If you made a decision, stick with it. Which leads me to my last point. Take 100% ownership. Building systems driven practice is a hard task but it will allow you to step out from the day to day routines and build the life you desire. The process of getting there though is usually not an easy one. Let’s take Zen as an example - going through the training, 1 week morning huddles with a team, taking full dental inventory count (only 1 time) and learning to stick to the budget. All these things are hard especially when your team had full freedom. This is where our offices with GREAT leaders shine. They know how to delegate, not to get involved, but when need be to roll up your sleeves and get to work. For example, one office decided to get the entire team together to take full inventory count. Ordered Pizza and for 2 hours worked as a team to accomplish the task. More importantly when things weren't’ done, the doctor and the leader in charge for the practice took the blame and did everything in his power to remain focused on implementation. Now you might think, all this for an inventory system, then why do I even need it. You are correct, for inventory management it is an overkill, however if you look at all the systems that a dental practice needs to have in place, marketing, phone skills, presenting treatment, patient’s first experience to name just a few above mentioned is a must. Let’s finish on a positive note, just remember any hurdle you had in the past and turned into a system (from morning routine, to workout, even eating habits) you now don’t even think about. That’s what all systems should lead to or aspire to, giving you FREEDOM! Turn ON no Excuses mode! Tiger
If you’re anything like the practices we serve, gaining full control of your inventory is easier said than done. A lot easier. The reality is, the dental industry and standard processes in place don’t make managing inventory a simple task for most practices. But with the right approach, it can be. Since the beginning of 2016, when ZenSupplies first began, we’ve processed over 3,000 orders and organized more than 35K products. And through our observation and analysis of the 29 clients we serve and their inventories, we’ve never wavered from our core aim: to help practices organize and regain control of their inventory, and save them time and money so they can focus on their patients and providing them with quality dental treatment. While our product has been increasingly effective in accomplishing this with our clients, finding the best way to break down smart dental inventory management into as simple a step-by-step process as possible has been a trial and error endeavor, to say the least. Fortunately though, after more than a year of observing and analyzing practices, and countless brainstorming sessions, we’ve finally managed to fulfill that endeavor. If you want to gain control of your dental inventory before considering implementing ZenSupplies, below are five easy steps any practice can take even without the help of our dental software programs and training services. Determine your practice’s biggest inventory issues. What aspects of inventory frustrate you the most? What really drives you up a wall? It could be running out of product while a patient is in the chair. Maybe it’s not having enough team members who know how to place orders. Or perhaps just the amount of time alone it takes for you and your team to fill out and submit orders grinds your gears the most. If you’re like most practices, the list is probably long. Whatever your practice’s biggest inventory issues are, take the time to go through them with your team and write them out as you do. Then, once you’ve done this, take a consensus to determine your greatest three. This will provide you with the foundation you’ll need to start painting an accurate picture of your inventory. Furthermore, by identifying these core issues that the lack of an organized inventory process causes, you will also be able to determine your need level for a more robust inventory management system like the one ZenSupplies provides. Make a list all of the distributors you buy from. Once you’ve determined your practice’s greatest inventory issues, the next step is to compile a list of the distributors you work with - yes, even the small guys you only order one specialty product from. The key here is to continue developing a more complete and accurate picture of your vendor relations as it pertains to your inventory. When we first ask our new clients the question, “How many distributors do you purchase from?”, the most common response we hear is “three to five”. But after going through order history and invoices, we find that in most cases there are far more - often times upwards of 20. This sort of inaccurate picture makes gaining control of your inventory processes incredibly difficult, if not near impossible, as it leads to confusion among staff, and time spent on simply finding the right distributor for a given product. After all, how can you expect to determine which distributor to buy a certain product from if you don’t know you buy from them? From a pure business standpoint, knowing your vendors well is essential to your practice’s success, and will help you in myriad ways in the long run. Identify the major distributor you buy from the most. After hashing out your list of distributors, the next step you’ll want to take is to identify the major distributor you buy from the most (Patterson, Benco, Schein, etc.). In our experience, there are two types of practices: ones who buy products from various distributors fairly equally, and ones who rely on primarily one or two major distributors. Regardless of which one describes your practice more, it’s critical you determine the major distributor you buy from the most. Once you’ve accomplished this, you’ll need to print out all the invoices you have of theirs on file from last year. This may sound like an excruciatingly couple of hours, but it’s essential to fully knowing your distributor climate. For example, if your primary distributor is Patterson Dental and you buy supplies from them two times a month, you will need to print 24 invoices (typically 3 - 4 pages long each). Within this example, going through 24 invoices should take you roughly 3 - 5 hours. Doing this will not only help you gain a more complete picture of what you’re paying and if there are any price discrepancies, but it will also provide you knowledge you can leverage in the following steps. Consolidate products to your primary major distributor OR select 2 - 3 distributors that sell online and set up accounts for easy access. After you’ve determined a primary major distributor, you’ll want to begin consolidating your inventory with them. Using the information you’ve gathered from steps 2 and 3 and analyzing your invoices from last year (order volumes, product prices, etc.), you can enter into this dialogue with leverage on your side. If you elect the first option (consolidating to your primary major distributor), start the conversation with your sales rep by stating your situation. “X is the volume we did last year, Y are our expectations for this year, and Z are the prices we’ve found for your products online.” Having done this, then tell them you’d like to consolidate and ask them what prices they can give you. Naturally, this conversation can be a bit uncomfortable, especially if you have a long-standing relationship with your sales rep. This is where, as a dentist, you will need to make a decision on what’s more important to you: saving 15-20% on supplies, or maintaining your current relationship with your rep. Any good sales rep will respect your decision, and the opportunity to earn your business. But don’t stop there. Use the information you have at your disposal to negotiate pricing, particularly on your more common products (heavy body, fluoride, exam gloves, etc.). The second option is a bit more straightforward, but isn’t for all practices. However, if you already know that you will be purchasing products from online vendors, make sure you narrow them down to 2 - 3 and confirm following important details: Product quality and procurement (authorized dealer, no grey market products, etc.) Return policy Shipping speed Customer service capabilities (call center, order reconciliation services, etc.) Where they source products from Payment terms - 30 days If you find an online distributor with significantly cheaper prices but you are unsure about product quality, or more importantly, the credibility and legitimacy of that distributor, don’t order from them. No amount of cost savings is worth risking you and your practice’s reputation. Stop autopay on all your purchases. As soon as you’ve consolidated your inventory or selected 2 - 3 trustworthy online distributors to work with, have your office manager or an assistant contact your current distributors and request that autopay be discontinued with each. Ask for a 30-day net time invoice to be emailed to you. Some may exhibit resistance or pushback, but don’t be deterred. Not only are distributors legally obligated to fulfill these kind of requests, but this step is critical for being able to effectively control your spendings. In the 3,000+ orders we’ve processed, there have been a considerable number in which mistakes and overcharges occurred. This is by no means an indictment on distributors - we’re all human - but, well...we’re all human. Mistakes happen. Instead, use a more reliable, auditable method, like Chase Bill Pay. In the end, not only will this will help mitigate invoice errors and eliminate the hassle of paper order submission, it will save you hundreds of dollars a year. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ By the time you’ve completed each of these steps, your practice will have gained a clearer picture of your inventory, simplified its ordering processes, economized on staff time, obtained better prices, and begun the road toward savings. But most importantly, you will have taken back control of your inventory. Now, just make sure you keep it that way. Since this is what we live by at ZenSupplies, we have to add a sales plug! If any of these tasks sound too difficult or time-consuming, you can give us a call at 872-225-2ZEN!
Why incentive program is important? In the last 6-8 months I visited a lot of practices across the country and it's always surprising to me that doctors have same if not bigger expectations to their team members as if they own a dental practice software. I understand the perfectionism and being type A, however, please remember your team members will work hard and put their 100% if they inspired and feel appreciated. This is where a well designed incentive program will be important. Trust me, it's not the amount that matters, more of an act of appreciation for a going above and beyond. There are plenty of resources regarding building an awesome incentive program. However, we are interested in the one that involves overhead and dental supplies. So far we were able to find one that is designed and tested by our great friend Dr. Mark Costes, DDS and it serves a lot of great purposes. We have seen in our client offices a difference that bonus system can make. There are couple of aspects of designing a well accepted system: Simplicity - if it takes you longer than 20 seconds to explain it, it’s too complicated and will send a message “I really don’t want to create one, but here you go, take it…”. Covers the areas you need improvements and you can measure success. Before you start handing out bonus checks, your system needs to be easy to track and have tangible end results (in supplies, staying under 5% of the collections) Follow through - the biggest issues that I have seen is when the bonus is promised, goals are met, and the owner of the practice (dentists) decides to “We will pay them out in Christmas” when it’s only July in the calendar. This is the easiest way to lose your people and lose respect to you as a leader. This podcast will cover most important aspects of the incentive program and I really hope you implement one in your practice. Link to Dr. Costes' podcast on team incentives.
Dear Zen Family, Welcome to our Monthly Update! We really had a lot on our mind and on our plate and honestly we couldn’t wait to share with you. Please grab a seat and let’s go through all of this together. Software Update: New ZenOut is going live tonight. New and easier design eliminated unnecessary steps for removing products from dental inventory and ability to remove large amounts of products with double tap. New feature of adding products back with + button. Product Note. Any product in the inventory can have a custom note, just select a note sign and select if it’s an internal note or you would like us to send it to supplier along with your order. . We spent a lot of time improving internal processes and especially the ones related to distributors. Many of you experienced issues and occasional awfulness by the suppliers you link to the platform (from changing client prices, to having unintentional mistakes in billing) and in the last few months we were working very hard with vendors to address that. However, we made more significant progress with Zen Preferred suppliers, who we admire a lot for acknowledging the need for change in the industry and building a better customer experience (the number of preferred is small but the impact is significant, 20-30% savings on products, helping our clients get to 4-5% overhead spent on supplies) At some point in this QTR we will change how Zen Preferred vendors will work to achieve the following great benefits: Moving Preferred Suppliers to 2 Day Delivery Some of the smaller Preferred vendor will be moving to select zones with SAME DAY Delivery Options Process Payments and bring paperless billing (currently only a few distributors allow this feature) Process Returns and Refund Labels within Zen Ability to Chat directly with suppliers Automatic feed into stock levels of our preferred suppliers to avoid backorders *********************************************************************************** . Our belief is that you should have full power in deciding which products are high quality and which are not. Therefore, we are redesigning reviews of products and distributors. In QTR4 we will introduce a new product review feature that will allow you to easily write a review and share it with your fellow Zen offices. It’s the community that can decide what products and distributors should be 5 stars and the most loyal and trustworthy. *********************************************************************************** The one aspect that makes community a vibrant place is engagement! If we are creating Zen as a one-place platform we need to think about the engagement we can encourage between Zen members and distributors. In the future we will go a notch further by introducing chat ability with manufactures. *********** the end I thank you for reading entire update and grateful for every one of you! Tiger Safarov CEO ZenSupplies, Inc.
By Lauren Carlson Let's face it. Inventory dental inventory management in a dental office can be complicated, frustrating and, above all, time consuming. Instead of providing the best service and treatment to your patients, you (or your office managers or dental assistants) are busy in the supply closet counting gloves, masks, etc. until they're cross-eyed, all with the goal of maintaining steady daily operations in the operatory. But as the old adage goes, 'There's gotta be a better way.' And there is; in the past few years, technology-savvy startups have crafted new solutions that streamline and/or automate product counting, ordering, budgeting, and price comparisons. Instead of paying the high hourly rates of your skilled employees to complete these tasks, dental offices have outsourced this labor to dental software systems or individuals ready and able to efficiently manage inventory processes. So instead of focusing on products, your skilled staff members can provide better service to your existing patients, take on higher workloads, or train for completed procedures. Brian Mc Court, Global Procurement & Supply Chain Professional for Abra Health Group, has worked in the health and wellness industry for 15 years, with seven years directing supply chain and commerce. In his current position for Abra, a health collective that provides affordable dental services for underserved communities, Brian works to streamline team and client communication along the supply chain. As the health group continues to grow — Abra went from three sites to over ten in the past year and plans to double that number in the next 18 months — its many sites required better oversight of vital inventory information. Specifically, Brian needed support to help determine the amount of staff necessary and the roles that they fill. Improved processes would also help him visualize product needs, procure the necessary items, and control their flow into and use within the office. "Now's the time. We're kind of right in the middle of that huge growth," he said. 1. Streamline your reporting One way inventory management tactic that Brian uses to help save his team money is regular reporting. By collecting data, either using outsourced support staff, scanning product QR codes in the supply closet, or the old fashioned manual counting method, Brian ensures that Abra's many locations have up-to-date information on product needs. "[Dental staff] have a whole clinic to run," he said. "The last thing I want them to worry about is trying to figure out what they need. If we have better visualization of our inventory we can create KPI [Key Performance Indicator] report...and that can be done at the corporate level." By collecting all data in a single location and having one staff person oversee product needs for all locations, Brian says, he can better utilize on the ground staff to do what they do best. By consolidating the work of weekly reports under one corporate staff member, the entire health group saves time and money. 2. Manage the supply chain The COVID-19 pandemic has forced uncertainty and chaos into industries across the globe, but has especially impacted those in medical and dental services. As community health needs and worries shift, dental practice owners need to remain flexible to ensure that have the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and everyday supplies at the ready. Jordan Lorenz, Director of Special Markets for City Dental, has worked for the dental supplies distributor for almost a decade. "The business end of it is what I enjoy," said Jordan, who is inspired by the efficiency and constant evolution of the dental industry. His team works with dental office customers who use a variety of methods to place orders. Some place orders over the phone, others partner with a DSO (Dental Service Organization) or GPO (Group Purchasing Organization). Still others utilize technology platforms like Zen Supplies, a tech startup that organizes inventory data and helps offices compete for the best prices. For Jordan, "understanding what my office needs and when they need it." And "Operating in a lean way is the best method to save his clients money through better inventory management. When you have access to real-time data, "You're ordering the things that you need and you have tight control around that supply chain," he said. Also, by partnering with one of the inventory platforms mentioned above, you have access to dozens of suppliers at a variety of price points, ensuring that supply chain woes become less of an obstacle—both in emergencies, and in everyday patient care. "The one thing that probably the pandemic taught people was that...the more sources for products you have, the better," said Jordan, who noted that if a certain product is out of stock at a go-to provider, platforms like Zen Supplies offers relationships with additional suppliers. "You gain efficiencies if you have multiple suppliers available to you," he added. 3. Outsource the simple stuff For Julie Telles-Carrizales, Executive Assistant for Apex Dental Studio, improved inventory management was all about outsourcing the tedious task of counting. For two years, "I took on pretty much whatever needed to be done in the office...and that included inventory management," she said. However, the practice has recently outsourced its inventory counting to a virtual assistant who uses images of the office's stock to remotely count products. Julie has also crafted an in-depth spreadsheet with detailed information for exact product ordering that has cut down on manual ordering tasks. With outsourced data in hand and a streamlined center for her data, "It's just click click click," she added. This efficient system saves the dental assistants and dentists from using their skilled time on inventory. Instead, they can better care for their patients. "They're here for and with patients," said Julie. "A lot of them don't want to be stuck in the back taking numbers." Whether your role is in the corporate office of a health group, managing customer needs at a supplier, or on the ground in a dental office, better inventory management processes can save you time and money. By streamlining reporting, managing the supply chain with access to multiple distributors, and outsourcing simple tasks, your practice can begin operating more efficiently and earning more profit overall.
For Elizabeth Bueno, the clinical director of a busy, multi-location dental practice, incorporating ZenSupplies into her systems increased efficiency, eliminated stress, and spurred further business growth. After five years utilizing ZenSupplies for ordering and dental inventory management, River Run Dental Spa in Richmond, Virginia has grown from one practice to five, and Bueno herself has transitioned from a hygienist managing direct patient care to a director managing bourgeoning practice operations across multiple locations. "I have a lot going on...our practice is rapidly growing," said Bueno. "[ZenSupplies just improved the efficiency of ordering and training and supply inventory management." After hearing about Zen on a podcast over five years ago, Bueno and her team approached founder Tiger Safarov about signing up for a subscription model at just a few hundred dollars per month. "Working with Tiger from the beginning, he was kind of at the forefront of his company," said Bueno. "It was great to have that personal relationship with him from the beginning." At the time, with only one River Run Dental Spa location, "We really didn't have budgets that were shared with us or budgets that were super strict," said Bueno. Though "There was a lot of flexibility and grace with it," Bueno noted, it was difficult to manage exact inventory and spending. "With Zen, we were really able to have one dental platform, order from multiple distributors, get the lowest prices, create new relationships with new distributors, and manage our inventory and our budget all in one place." Because River Run Dental Spa is highly focused on the patient experience, outsourcing product management allowed new freedom to further enhance patient care while leaving the inventory logistics up to Zen. "We really focus on providing an exceptional patient experience and have really grown our practice through focusing on that main vision," said Bueno. Their priority, she added, is "Exceptional dental care...we strive to leave a lasting legacy in Richmond by creating an experience that's different than others and providing a place that isn't your typical, average dental appointment." Bueno also noted that the practice saves thousands of dollars each year on dental supplies through the savings comparative tools Zen provides. "It was kind of a no brainer." Typical dental offices spend about 5% of their collections on products, and after implementing Zen, River Run has maintained a 3.4% spend on inventory. Instead of spending hours on organization, ordering, and searching for the best prices, River Runs Dental Spa staff can focus on providing the best patient experience possible. "Because it is just a click of a couple buttons...and the way that the storages work within Zen, makes it super efficient," said Bueno. Saving time, money, and energy has resulted in exceptional growth for the business. "We're continuing to grow. We plan on opening several more practices over the next couple years," added Bueno, who is currently overseeing the opening of River Run's sixth office this fall. "That's super exciting."
Many of our friends have been asking "What is going on with Zen?". Well, we have been very busy and now I'm excited to share with you what's new, what's coming in the next few months and what's the format for ZenOne Podcast. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubS2BNRNyhc[/embedyt] About our YouTube Channel: Hi friends, my name is Tiger and I'm the founder and CEO of ZenSupplies, a dental inventory management and ordering dental platformfor Dental Practices across US. We focus on building a simple solution for our clients to manage inventory, place all orders in one place and customize products your way. If you like videos about efficiency, inventory process and smart ordering as much as we do, please subscribe to our channel. 🔗 LINKS ZenSupplies Blog: https://www.zensupplies.com/blog/ ZenSupplies Podcast: https://www.zensupplies.com/zenone-podcast/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4I-NnQ8VfQ73hQS80gDB4Q Follow us on Instagram: @zen.supplies
Angie Bachman, Director of Education at Design Ergonomics, shares her story from Dental Assistant to Supplies Sales Rep and to a role at Design Ergonomics where she helps dental office systems to truly get organized. We cover many things including my favorite topic, a career path for Dental Assistant how practices can create one to provide a path for your team. Other topics include: - Career Path for dental assistants, clinical track and business track. How to make it work - Ways to motivate the team - Becoming an Expert in the field - Empowering the team to make decisions - How to design workflow of the dental practice software for maximum efficiency - How to layout Inventory storage in the dental practice
Since we started Zen in 2016 I knew that the only way to grow and build the right solution is to say “Yes” to everything. The ability to say YES, perhaps at the expense of thinking through, is a strength and I try to lead my incredible team with this in mind. We said yes to: Can I add any distributor to Zen? Can I add a dental inventory system to Zen? Can I add an Amazon account to Zen? Can I add my budgets to Zen? Can I do a price comparison on Zen? Can I order Costco water through Zen? Can I add all of my team members to Zen? We said yes to DSOs, Private Practices, Manufactures, and anything that could help our members have a better purchasing experience. All of these questions and our default YES answer helped to shape what we built, launched, and plan for future developments. We also said YES to a lot of internal projects, especially in the last 2-3 months. From launching daily, and then weekly, live webinars, podcasts, and weekly blogs. We were quick to change the dashboard so we can stream live events to our members’ ZenDashboard. With all of these changes, we did just enough planning to get the taste and not get caught in “analysis by paralysis”. Did we lose focus at times? YES. Did we pay the price? YES. But if we are set out to build a truly unique company with a culture of doing vs planning, then why worry about small missteps. Certain projects we had to scale back and some we continue doing for a simple reason of “building a muscle”. So where does it all lead us to? Zen has grown and gained a great customer base. We’ve built so much to try different technical avenues, that the right step forward is to start pulling back from some of the “Yeses” and narrowing down our focus on what is really important. There is also something that is an absolute must for me personally: are we building something difficult and that will help to change the industry? Copying something that has been done before just simply doesn’t excite me. Perhaps Zen is in the stage of humble reassessment of “what did we learn” and “what is our focus”. Perhaps today is more important than ever to think through all that we learned and focus on one direction? So, is change the right step forward? Tiger Safarov
Dear ZenFamily, Happy Monday to all! We hope everyone had a phenomenal weekend. As we jump into another busy week, we’d like to share a recap of live events and webinars for last week (the week of July 20) as well as some exciting live events that we have planned for the week of July 27. So here goes! On Thursday, July 23 we invited our friends at ProEdge Dental (https://proedgedental.com/) The "Wizard of Water" Mike Rust and Kellie Thimmes to share more on launching 2 new products, to bring light to what these products are and how they can help dental offices. Once again, we discussed the issues related to water treatment within a dental practice. If you remember from the last webinar, Mike is a great guest and we can talk for hours. Here is the podcast: https://share.transistor.fm/s/38ba3035 By the way have you seen their awesome video clips? https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPSugiQTRVaxwnOIiCj3eog/videos On Friday, 7/24 at 11 am CST, Tiger hosted our traditional "15 min Friday Supply Availability Update" for Zen Offices! Please join us Every Friday at 11am Central for a live update on what is going on on the market and availability of dental supplies. All you have to do is login to your Zen account, app.ZenSupplies.com For the week of July 27, we have planned the following events: 1. On Wednesday, 7/29 at 11 am CST we will host a webinar with Mary Govoni on OSHA/CDC Updates and What are the Options if we Run Out of Gloves/Wipes? By many of your requests we invited Mary Govoni to the live webinar to discuss the new OSHA/CDC guidelines, requirements, and simply what's working and what our teams need to know about infection control. Tiger will ask Mary about the current shortage of Nitrile Gloves and Surface disinfectants (wipes). What are the options if we can't buy any more (which our team is working really hard to make sure that doesn't happen). Mary's Bio is Here: Mary Govoni is an internationally recognized speaker, author and consultant, working with dental teams for over 40 years on clinical efficiency, infection prevention, ergonomics, and team communication. Mary is a Certified OSHA Outreach Trainer and assists dental practice across the country in achieving compliance with regulatory requirements. Mary also is known for her practical approaches to implementing dental system software and protocols to enhance patient safety, privacy and data security. Mary a past president of the American Dental Assistants Association, a member of the American Dental Hygienists Association, a member of the Organization for Safety Asepsis and Prevention, the Academy of Dental Management Consultants and the Speaking and Consulting Network. She has published numerous articles in Dental Economics, The Dental Assistant Journal, RDH Magazine, Dentistry Today, Inside Dentistry and many others. Together we can PLAN in Advance! The benefit of the LIVE Webinar is that we will be able to answer YOUR questions during this time. So please join us at 11 am CST on Thursday 7/9! All you have to do is login to your Zen account, or follow this link: https://livewebinar.com/659-178-092 2. And of course, per our new Friday tradition, on Friday, July 31 at 11 am CST, Tiger will host a 15 Minute Supply Availability Update with a Special Guest. Everyone is beyond ready to get back to work in a safe environment. The ZenTeam is spending countless hours every week doing due diligence, learning about FDA approvals, learning about product shortages, and sourcing new vendors. In addition, the landscape of the supply chain is constantly changing and so are the prices of PPE products. Therefore, Tiger will host a 15 min live event EVERY Friday at 11 am CST to go over what we learn during the week. We will share EVERYTHING-good, bad and what to prepare for. Simply login to your ZenSupplies account and join us there for all live events! Thank you to all for participating in our live events and we look forward to seeing everyone during this week’s webinars!
Happy Monday to all! As another busy week begins, I’d like to provide a recap of the live events and webinars we’ve had at Zen this past week as well as some exciting live events that we have planned for the week of June 29! So last week, on Thursday, June 25, we invited Tim Twigg to discuss the post COVID hiring challenges and Tim also provided an Update on the PPP Forgiveness. For many dental office systems across the country it's been really challenging to bring the team back, adjust the schedules to the new guidelines and hire new team members. Tim helped us better understand "the tsunamis of the coronavirus", the most recently asked HR questions and what the hiring process should look like for dental offices. Please find the full webinar here: https://youtu.be/ftdRF5OMYyY And here is the podcast: https://share.transistor.fm/s/0030262a On Friday, 6/26 at 11 am CST, Tiger hosted our traditional "15 min Friday Supply Availability Update" for Zen Offices! This Friday Jordan Lorenz, Director of Special Markets from Dental City joined Tiger to review the supply availability. Please join us Every Friday at 11am Central for a live update on what is going on on the market and availability of dental supplies. All you have to do is login to your Zen account, app.ZenSupplies.com For the week of June 29, we have planned the following event: Wednesday, July 1 at 12 pm CST, we invited Jen Guarino, CEO of ISAIC to discuss The Importance of Supporting US Based Manufacturers. With the 4th of July holiday coming up in a few days, we decided to host a webinar on the importance of supporting US based manufacturers. There are a lot of discussions on US made products. Some were surprised with "why we don't make masks anymore" and "Why US made PPE is as expensive as from outside of the US". These and many other questions I would like to address with Jennifer Guarino, CEO of ISAIC (Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center), a fashion non-profit that changed their direction to making Gowns and Masks during the pandemic. Please tune in on Wednesday for an exciting live discussion. Please check out ISAIC (Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center) here: www.isaic.org. If you would like to jump on the webinar and share your experience and challenges (many are concerned that US based manufacturers are more expensive), Tiger will add you in! The benefit of the LIVE Webinar is that we will be able to answer YOUR questions during this time. So please join us at 11 am CST on Wednesday 7/1! All you have to do is login to your Zen account, Or follow this link: https://livewebinar.com/353-515-414 Since the Friday supply availability event falls on Independence Day (observed) this week, we will be having our next 15 minute supply availability live event on Friday, July 10. Thank you to all for participating in our live events and we look forward to seeing everyone during this week’s webinars!
Let me start with a bunch of questions that I still don’t have all the answers to. How is it possible that during a pandemic that we are left with no masks, gowns, respirators? How did we get to the point that we have to rely on another country to get us protection equipment? If we would have US manufacturing kicking in full gear would we even have to shut down dental practices across the US? How can we help turn things around to start manufacturing products in the US again? Lots of questions and I also hear a lot of excuses, “too expensive”, “Who would pay X amount for a mask made in the US”, “What’s the problem with making things overseas?”, “We don’t have the material to make the product here”, “Labor is too expensive in the US”. Remember the days when American made was a big thing, at least I do! Growing up in Russia I remember craving Levi’s jeans. It was a huge shortage and if you can get a pair, you could literally sell them on the black market for double the cost (reminds me of the current PPE struggle :). To me, Levi’s was an epiphany of the quality. When you wear American jeans it was a statement. It was Freedom! So why can’t we get back to making things here, in the US, again? In search of answers to my above questions, I frequently asked our distribution partners “Why can’t we get US-made products"? Some were even able to get the equipment but couldn’t source the raw material. We continued to ask and most of the time the answer was “It’s impossible”! Until one day, one of our Zen Members sent an email with an introduction to a nonprofit organization in Detroit, Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center, originally started as a community-driven nonprofit for apparel manufacturing, that had to change gears during the pandemic and start making gowns and masks. So as usual, I got in the car and drove to Detroit to see how in the world a nonprofit is figuring out how to solve this “impossible” challenge. After being greeted by Kimberly, who checked my temperature and asked medical-related questions, I was welcomed to the manufacturing floor. I was Wowed from the first minute: equipment, people, space, drawing boards, raw material, the meeting room, all of it makes you feel part of something special. Makes you feel you are part of the big dream! A short walk through: https://youtu.be/GQ7JxbXEXvA After a few minutes of meeting Jen Guarino, CEO of the ISAIC, I started trying different gowns, masks and kept on asking lots of questions. Curious to find out the answers? In this short interview I ask Jen Guarino, CEO of the ISAIC nonprofit organization, important questions related to US manufacturing: The cost of manufacturing products in the US and what are the drivers of cost? How to stop losing trade skills due to manufacturing moving overseas? How Manufacturing is solving a lot of the problems that our society is going through today? Is it too late to bring manufacturing back to the US before we lose trade knowledge? I really hope you find this interview informative and I ask you to pledge 20% of your ordering to the US-based manufactures. Full Interview is here: https://youtu.be/ykI5AdTaiYY Tiger Safarov CEO, ZenSupplies Inc
Dear ZenFamily, We are thrilled to announce that we launched “Live Events and Webinars” on the homepage of your Zen Account!!! As we wrap up our third week of live events, I wanted to share a recap with everyone on the week of April 6th. Tiger was joined by 5 fabulous speakers this week who all shared wonderful resources, knowledge and ideas with the ZenFamily. So here is a recap of what happened this past week: Monday April 6th: Dental Assistant Survival Guide During Quarantine with Julie Varney, CDA, RDA, COA, FAADOM, CDSO, CDSH, Mentor of Dental Assistants Rock and Ronda Holman, RDA, Educator, Podcast Guru of DA Rockstars Podcast to walk through a survival guide for dental assistants during the current times of uncertainty. Both Julie and Ronda are founders of "Dental Assistants Rock", a dental platform for support and guidance for every dental assistant! All dental assistants are currently wondering-how do we survive during the current times of quarantine? What can we expect as a result of the coronavirus? Tune in here to watch the full webinar: Tuesday, April 7th: Dental inventory workshop Marie Kondo Style with Tiger Safarov. Tiger reviewed what SPARKS JOY for each office in the Marie Kondo style! Tune in here to watch the full webinar: Wednesday, April 8th: Story from the Trenches: Seeing 7-12 true emergencies every day with Ivana Bueno, director of operations from Dental 360 and Associates in Chicago, IL to share with all of us the current situation in their office. Ivana's office has been seeing 7-12 true emergencies per day, with limited team (or almost no team at this point) and a full schedule, for the emergency only times. Tune in here to watch the full webinar: Thursday, April 9th: Mary Beth and Missy Fryer on Preparing Yourself for What Life Throws At You. We invited two special guests, Mary Beth, founder and CEO of Dental Support Specialists and Missy Fryer, co-owner of Buckeye Dental Solutions, to discuss what it means to prepare yourself for anything life throws at you. Both Mary Beth and Missy have unique stories to share with us! We hope Mary Beth will tell us more about starting Dental Support Specialists with her husband Joe and later co-founding Dental Survival Guides with Missy Fryer (one of our own ZenFamily) . Tune in here to watch the full webinar: During each webinar, we covered numerous topics on surviving through COVID-19 and staying strong during the times of the unknown! There were quite a few interesting resources, books and recommendations made during each webinar so I’d like to share them with everyone here: 4/6 Dental Assistant Survival Guide During Quarantine with Julie Varney & Ronda Holman: -Map of when States are opening back up: -DANB.org - excellent resource for assistants to be able to get educated on their state requirements. -ADA Dental Boards: https://www.ada.org/en/education-careers/licensure/licensure-dental-students/state-dental-boards -CDC Updates: https://bit.ly/cdcdentalassistant -Dental Instruments Book: https://www.amazon.com/Dental-Instruments-Linda-Bartolomucci-Boyd/dp/0323474055/ref=sr_1_2?crid=BZIEVQ2AP4QM&dchild=1&keywords=dental+instrument+book&qid=1586700392&sprefix=dental+instrument+%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-2 4/7 Inventory Workshop Marie Kondo Style with Tiger Safarov: -Our very first Article on Installing Tip out Bins: https://www.zensupplies.com/blog/ready-set-get-your-dental-supplies-organized-with-tip-out-bins/ -Our First Webinar on Inventory and Ordering: https://www.zensupplies.com/blog/dental-inventory-makeover-webinar/ 4/9 Mary Beth and Missy Fryer on Preparing Yourself for What Life Throws At You -Mary Beth’s & Missy’s website/bio: www.BuckeyeDentalProductions.com (where Zen Users can find out more about Missy and Mary Beth and their Dental Survival Guides and use the ZEN code at check out for 10% off!) -www.DentalSupportSpecialties.com is Mary Beth’s company website And here are the details on the upcoming live events for the week of April 13th: 4/13 Live 2:30 pm CST: Vivek Kinra on Collecting 30K in Insurance from Home (CE). Follow this link to join: https://livewebinar.com/959-682-600 4/15 Live 2pm CST: Zen Offices Share their Inventory and Ordering Process. Follow this link to join: https://livewebinar.com/331-404-582 4/17 Live 3 pm CST: An International Reflection on the Coronavirus. Follow this link to join: https://livewebinar.com/411-977-897 We hope everyone is enjoying Zen's live events!