Inventory Management System (IMS) Overview and Timeline

The following information outlines the Inventory Management System (IMS), developed internally by Health Information Systems (HIS), that replaces the VTH Storeroom 4D stores application.

Project Background

The IMS is a new web-based inventory ordering system being developed for use college-wide at Vet Med  It replaces the 4D Stores application for ordering and inventory management and brings new functionality to users. To view documentation and test go here: IMS - Inventory Management System Documentation and Training

The IMS was built to bring other groups on board.  It has an ordering interface where the shopper can add items to their cart and check out. Items in stock can be fulfilled for pickup or delivery by the storeroom, the pharmacy, or any other location, which can easily be added to the system.  If items are not in stock, an order will be placed for them in iBuy or wherever preferred, and those requisition/PO numbers will be entered into the IMS.  Once orders are received, they can be entered or scanned into inventory and delivered to the purchaser, or the purchaser can pick them up. The purchaser will have full visibility of their order from creation to fulfillment.

How it works

Open the web application, shop for items, add them to your cart, and check out.  Depending on their Org (350, 292. etc.), their order will be routed to the proper approver/purchaser. The goal is for IMS to allow users to see what is in stock throughout Vet Med inventory holding locations and to consolidate ordering for increased purchasing power.  Order status will be available for all orders, both new and completed.  

Completed Project Items

Phase 1 (Target completion 12/31/24) STATUS: COMPLETE:  VTH Storeroom, Pharmacy, and VTH Business Office are fully using the IMS.)

  • Ordering locations will be the VTH storeroom and VTH Business Office in the initial launch; the Dispensary will follow within a few weeks.  Future phases may see departments outside of the VTH using the system such as Facilities, IT, and college BSC. etc.
  • During this phase, we will work on refining the purchasing process to flow as smoothly as possible, including orders placed on iBuy, vendor sites, Amazon, local retail stores, etc. 

Phase 2 (Updated Target completion 5/31/25):  Consolidation to a single charge, charge packages, and more. STATUS: COMPLETE

  • Before this phase, HIS must completely revamp the charge system within SANDI.  We will consolidate to a single charge for identical items, versus having a code for exact items, for each service.  This will streamline the inventory process as it relates to charging clients while also depleting inventory.  Appropriate items used in patient care will be billed through SANDI and the items from inventory when billed.
  • The ability to create more enhanced charge packages that can encompass everything used during a procedure, surgery, etc. will be available and items can be suppressed from showing on the invoice. The actual cost of items will be accurate within SANDI as they will be pulled from the IMS.  This means pricing will be accurate in real time. We will be able to set minimum stock levels/reorder points and reorder quantities, this means automated order lists can be generated for review and placement. 
  • Services will be given tablets so they can scan items when received for stock, scan items to charge clients, and do physical inventory counts. (Details to come)

Phase 3 (Target completion 9/30/25):STATUS: COMPLETE

SANDI and IMS are standalone systems. Reporting, pulling from both applications' data, has been created for audit purposes. Enhancements and upgrade requests are documented in GitHub and will be worked on indefinitely as needed.

  • API Integration with SANDI, coding testing, and implementation by end of 3rd Quarter 2025

Timeline Overview

Phase 1 (Storeroom 4D ordering replacement)

  • COMPLETE: December 2023 - January 2024: Alpha Testing (Storeroom)
  • COMPLETE: February 2024 - March 1: Beta Testing (Storeroom)
  • COMPLETE: March-April 2024 - Bring VTH services onboard to order via the IMS instead of 4D,TDX for Bus Ofc.

Phase 2 (IMS Pharmacy Ordering and SANDI Charges rewrite)

Note: Work will continue within the IMS on improvements and enhancements.

  • COMPLETE: April-May 2024 - Coding pharmacy capabilities in progress
  • COMPLETE: July-August 2024 Pharmacy personnel completing code/charge setup and purchasing from vendor streamlined.
  • COMPLETE: August-September 26th 2024 - Beta testing and finalization of ward stock purchasing.
  • COMPLETE: September 27th 2024 - Pharmacy goes live with all non-compound Ward Stock orders. 
  • COMPLETE: September-November 5th 2024 - Coding pharmacy compounding functionality.
  • COMPLETE:  November 6th-December 1 2024 - Pharmacy staff beta testing compounding functionality.
  • COMPLETE:  December 1- 31st 2024 Pharmacy Compounding refinement.
  • COMPLETE:  December 31st - 2024 Pharmacy Compounding functionality live.
  • COMPLETE: December - February 2025 - Pharmacy setting up 140+ Ward Compounds (final setup piece for integration) 
  • COMPLETE: Charges rewrite - see below for updated information

Phase 3 (SANDI and IMS Integration coding, code matching, testing and implementation)  

Charges Rewrite (Updated to January - May 2025) COMPLETE

Note: This involves rewriting all SANDI code that revolves around charges. There will be no new functionality, just eliminating the old Vetstar code. This must be done before coding work to integrate SANDI with the IMS can begin. 

    • By May 31, 2025: New charge system infrastructure in production using old codes in the system.
      • Potentially in jeopardy, Tristan must be allowed to dedicate time to coding. Complete
    • IMS/VTH Accounting Work Complete January 2025
      •  HIS: Move all retail food orders to the IMS 
      • VTH Acct: Transition retail food ordering to IMS 
      • VTH Acct: Transition Standing PO ordering to IMS
      • VTH Acct: Transition all local (Prairieland Feeds, etc.) purchases to IMS
      • VTH Acct: Transition any other outstanding items, ASAP
    • IMS Code Matching and Cleanup: Always be ongoing (January-May 2025) 
      • Currently working with ER. 
      • Complete the same work with each service to ready them to move to the new charge systems, tentatively June 1, 2025. (No mass move, will be service by service.)
      • HIS: IMS Optimization & Reporting (April 2025)
      • HIS: IMS features and purchasing enhancements (May 2025)
    • SANDI Integration (June - September 30th. 2025) Complete
      • IMS: Year-end count Phase 2 - Coding to allow for count adjustments, reporting, etc. COMPLETE
      • SANDI: Framework, back-end coding for charge integration via API COMPLETE
      • SANDI: User Interface development (Minimal integration with the ability to build upon functionality) Complete, access within both applications.
      • IMS and SANDI: Enhancements and Reporting to continue indefinitely.

IMS to SANDI API Integration UPDATE 10/13/2026

Original Timeline: May - September 2025 

Status: Application limitations were identified after the project timeline was developed, requiring additional foundational work before the integration can proceed.

Current Work and Findings

  1. Back-End Development and Testing

    • HIS will develop back-end coding necessary to support future functionality, including charge package creation, invoice item suppression, and related enhancements.
    • Detailed requirements and specifications will be finalized as project planning progresses.
    • Once development is complete, coding will be deployed to the test environment where HIS will partner with all services to execute a comprehensive testing and sign-off process.

  2. Charge Package Implementation

    • Completed: Charge packages have been successfully implemented.

  3. Elimination of Vetstar Dependencies

    • A key project requirement was the removal of all Vetstar reliance and the implementation of a new framework.
    • Current Limitation: This requirement cannot yet be achieved because critical financial functions remain dependent on Vetstar, including end-of-day and end-of-year processing.
    • After the organization fully transitions to the SANDI platform and Vetstar is decommissioned, HIS will be able to develop additional back-end functionality to support enhancements such as:
      • Charge packages with invoice suppression
      • Inventory audit trails
      • Other future system enhancements
    • Estimated Timeline: To be determined, but likely not before 2027.

Update and Workaround

A detailed discovery process was completed to identify alternative approaches.

  • HIS will develop the Inventory Dashboard using the existing IMS framework.
  • This approach eliminates the need to wait for complete Vetstar retirement before beginning dashboard development.
  • Work is expected to begin in late 2026, following completion of IMS optimization, which is the only remaining prerequisite.
See revised tasks and timeline below 

Current Project Tasks and Timeline (REVISED)

    IMS to SANDI API Dashboard (Integration) - Target completion day 4/30/2027 - ON TRACK

    Create a new dashboard within the IMS framework that provides a unified view of IMS inventory purchasing and inventory sales data from SANDI. The dashboard will leverage APIs to integrate and reconcile data from multiple sources, providing near real-time visibility into inventory levels.

    High-level requirements include:

    1. Current inventory levels and all storage locations (storeroom, pharmacy, Cubex, wards like Neuro, cardio, etc.)
    2. SANDI charge data should instantly deduct the sold amount from stock during invoicing.
      • A “pending” sale status for in-patient charges that have not been posted will need to be accounted for.
    3. Adjustment activity process items: Waste, expired (show expiration date & lot numbers), damaged, returned in IMS and SANDI, recalled, and any other adjustment activity.Must account for inventory used for Research that will NOT be invoiced via SANDI.
    4. Transferred items from one location to another. 
    5. Show items on order and backorder.

    Other Administrative work running concurrently:

    Matching the new SANDI codes to the IMS barcode used to order them. (Ongoing)

    Work with services to consolidate to a single charge for inventory/supply items. For example, 1000mL LSRs have many codes created for various services, and we will consolidate to a single charge. This will not be done in mass; we will meet with each service and do this one service at a time.

    • It is VITAL that service participate in the identification of IMS codes for their legacy 
    • What: Identify each legacy code and match it to the IMS code under which it is ordered and review the charges for each.
      • Match the IMS code to the legacy Vetstar code.
      • Create new UC code and determine pricing based on the review done. 
        • Direction from Director's office: Apply at our discretion, but no prices should be lowered.
      • Once the inventory UCs are active and added to Charge Lists (CL) and/or Packages (CPK), HIS will gain the services approval to inactivate legacy codes.
        • Note: If no CL or CPK exists, a discovery will need to be done on all service offerings, and these will need to be created before legacy codes are inactivated.

    Professional services charge discovery and setup: This process is in progress and will continue through 2027 as it involves the following (Ongoing)

    Identify professional procedure codes that historically accounted for professional time and a blanket figure to cover supplies.

    1. Issue: No inventory or drugs are invoiced within SANDI under professional codes, and therefore there is no process on which inventory calculations can be based.

    2. What: Deconstruct charges, identify supplies used, rebuild all items as Universal Codes, create CL or CPK) based on service needs.

      • Each of these MUST be reviewed holistically and with a great understanding of how each service will use the universal codes to achieve a basic unified UC.
      • All legacy codes must be matched to new UC codes.
        • Input from services is vital and as many SINGLE 
      • Review of existing Charge Lists must be completed with each service and a determination made if a new Charge List and/or Charge Package is appropriate for their needs going forward. 
        • Challenge: Consensus amongst services on basic Charge Lists and Packages to prevent the duplication that is currently being experienced.
      • Once inventory procedure UCs, Charge Lists, and/or packages are complete, HIS will gain the service duplication approval to inactivate legacy codes.

    3. How: This will entail looking at each service's professional procedures with them. The goal would be to determine what inventory/supplies are or may be used in the procedure and build charge packages where appropriate.  Many services already do this in some capacity, but this will reconcile and expand those packages.

      • Once the professional procedure UCs, Charge Lists, and/or packages are complete, HIS will gain the services approval to inactivate legacy codes.

    Looking for Additional Information or Need Help?

     Contacting Health Information Systems (HIS)

    • Reach out to Health Information Support Team: HIS@vetmed.illinois.edu (This creates a ticket and will be seen by the entire team.)

     


    Keywords:
    4d, inventory, order, shop, buy, purchase, drugs, items, medication, pharmacy, store, storeroom, scan, 
    Doc ID:
    132677
    Owned by:
    Tina O. in UofI College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital
    Created:
    2023-11-09
    Updated:
    2026-10-14
    Sites:
    University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital
    Inventory Management System (IMS)