Might a Pharmacy Keep Extra Stock of an Item That Sells Slowly?
The cost of absence can exceed the cost of inventory.
Retail inventory is often associated with sales velocity. Pharmacies sometimes evaluate products differently.
The hidden mechanism is availability insurance. Certain products may be purchased infrequently but become extremely important when customers need them.
Imagine a pharmacy deciding whether to stock a slow-moving item. The financial cost of carrying inventory may be small compared with the reputational cost of repeatedly disappointing customers.
A second-order effect emerges when customers learn that a pharmacy reliably carries hard-to-find products. Trust increases, encouraging future visits across many categories.
People often think inventory exists to maximize sales. Sometimes inventory exists to minimize regret.
