When you’re ordering supplies for your dental practice, you have a variety of options. From supply companies that offer perks like discounts for preferred customers to suppliers that offer free shipping, it’s important to find the right option for your needs.

The best way to compare prices is to gather pricing data from multiple vendors and manufacturers. That gives you an accurate picture of the price ranges for your products and helps you determine which suppliers have the most competitive pricing. Having this information will help you set a budget for your supply orders and also put you in the best position to negotiate with vendors and manufacturers.

Many dental suppliers offer online catalogs to allow you to view product descriptions and images, order a product and get an estimated delivery date. Some also have resources centers for articles, webinars and video content. Safco, for example, offers a resource center for dentists with articles that cover a variety of topics. They also have lower prices compared to other suppliers and are committed to transparency.

Some dental suppliers offer GPOs or group purchasing organizations that can help you save money on supplies by bringing together practices to gain negotiating power. Others have e-commerce models that offer lower prices by cutting out the middleman, says Krell. And larger manufacturers are beginning to create their own distributor systems that can offer better access than other providers. This is an industry trend that could mean significant savings for your office in the future. dental supplies