The verdict in three sentences
A pharmacy loses money on both sides: on expired drugs it must discard and on stockouts of key SKUs that send the customer to the pharmacy next door. A stock app with expiry alerts (90/60/30 days) and reorder thresholds turns both leaks into recovered margin. Across a stock of 3,000 to 8,000 SKUs, the difference runs into millions of FCFA per year.
Manual, generic ERP, or pharmacy software?
A handwritten ledger or a plain spreadsheet triggers no alert: you discover the expiry the day you pull it off the shelf. A generic ERP manages stock but ignores pharmacy-specific logic — batch, expiry date, regulatory threshold, recall traceability. A dedicated pharmacy app tracks every batch with its date, warns ahead of time, and proposes the reorder.
| Criterion | Manual | Generic ERP | Dedicated pharmacy app |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expiry alert 90/60/30 d | None | Rare/manual setup | Native |
| Batch tracking (recall) | Manual | Partial | Complete |
| Automatic reorder threshold | No | Yes | Yes, per SKU |
| SKUs managed | < 500 reliable | 1,000-3,000 | 3,000-8,000 |
| Weekly stocktake time | 4-6 h | 2-3 h | < 1 h |
| 2026 indicative cost (setup) | 0 | 1,500,000+ FCFA | 800,000-2,000,000 FCFA |
*2026 order-of-magnitude figures, adjust to your pharmacy's volume.*
What the alerts actually recover
The figures below are 2026 estimates observed on mid-sized pharmacies in West Africa; validate them against your own stock.
| Metric | Without app | With alerts + thresholds |
|---|---|---|
| Losses on expired stock (% of stock) | 2-5 % | < 1 % |
| Stockouts on key SKUs | Baseline | -60 % |
| Tied-up stock (value) | Baseline | -10 to -15 % |
| Weekly stocktake time | 3-6 h | < 1 h |
| Order preparation delay | 1-2 days | Automated (threshold hit) |
| Traceability during a recall | Hours/days | Minutes |
Tied-up stock is the underrated point: every box sleeping on a shelf is frozen cash. Cutting that buffer by 10-15 % frees cash for the SKUs that actually move.
Mini case study
Aisha runs a pharmacy in Nairobi with about 5,000 SKUs valued at 40,000,000 FCFA (roughly EUR 61,000). Her expiry losses hover around 3 %, i.e. 1,200,000 FCFA/year discarded. After installing a pharmacy app with 90/60/30-day alerts, those losses drop to 0.8 %, i.e. 320,000 FCFA/year — a saving of 880,000 FCFA. In parallel, cutting tied-up stock by 12 % frees 4,800,000 FCFA in cash. The app, paid once at around 1,500,000 FCFA, pays for itself in under two years on expired stock alone — before counting recovered sales from avoided stockouts.
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FAQ
How many SKUs can a pharmacy app handle?
2026 solutions routinely manage 3,000 to 8,000 SKUs with batch and expiry tracking, well beyond the reliable ceiling of a manual spreadsheet (around 500).
Are expiry alerts enough to get losses below 1 %?
Combined with FEFO rotation (first-expired, first-out) and 90/60/30-day alerts, they push losses from 2-5 % to under 1 % of stock. The key is acting at the 90-day alert (promotion, supplier return).
Does automatic reordering really prevent stockouts?
Yes: by setting a per-SKU threshold, the app flags the order before the shelf empties. On key SKUs, stockouts fall by around 60 %, avoiding the lost sale at the counter.
How much time is saved on stocktaking?
Where a manual stocktake costs 3 to 6 hours per week, an app with scanning and thresholds brings it under 1 hour — the equivalent of half a post recovered each month.
Is it useful for batch recalls?
Critically so: batch traceability identifies every affected box in minutes, versus hours of manual searching and real legal exposure.
Let's talk about your project. We map your stock, SKUs and expiry alerts to build a pharmacy app tailored to your operation. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
