System and method of inventory management

1. An inventory management forecasting and notification system for a plurality of customers, said system comprising:

a plurality of clinical analyzers for each customer, the plurality of clinical analyzers being located in at least one site along with an inventory of consumables for use on the clinical analyzers, each clinical analyzer of the plurality of clinical analyzers having:

an associated plurality of the consumables on-board for conduction of a plurality of patient-related tests; and

a plurality of sensors, the plurality of sensors comprising at least one of an optical sensor, a capacitive sensor or a pressure sensor, wherein the plurality of sensors monitor and collect sensor data associated with the level of activity on-board the clinical analyzer, including at least the usage of the consumables and events of the clinical analyzer based upon the plurality of patient-related tests conducted by the clinical analyzer, and wherein the sensor data comprises at least one of optical sensor data, capacitive sensor data or pressure sensor data indicative of usage of consumables on board the analyzer;

a server including:

a processor;

a network interface configured for bi-directional communication with each clinical analyzer at each site, wherein data from the sensors of each clinical analyzer is transmitted to the server over the network interface as operational data indicative of the level of activity involving the clinical analyzer; and

data storage means for storing beginning inventory for each consumable at each site, shipment quantity information for each consumable at each site, usage history for each consumable at each site, the usage on-board each clinical analyzer that is determined from the sensor data, low inventory alarm percentage, and order scheduling information for each consumable at each site, including date of next scheduled order for each consumable;

a portal accessible by a plurality of remote computers and associated authenticated customers through the network interface; and

program instructions that, when executed by the processor, are configured to: calculate dependencies of consumables of the plurality of clinical analyzers for each customer at each site;

project usage history of each clinical analyzer at each site;

forecast a consumable order schedule for each customer at each site based on a determination of the projected usage history of each clinical analyzer based on the sensor data, including the at least optical sensor data, capacitive sensor data or pressure sensor data that is indicative of the events on each clinical analyzer, the calculated dependencies of consumables of the plurality of clinical analyzers for each customer at each site, and further based on at least the current inventory at each site,

wherein the forecasted consumable order schedule includes a plurality of consumable planning buckets comprising groups of consumables that include at least one common consumable per group for purposes of creating a balanced spend, and wherein the plurality of consumables for each clinical analyzer is selected from a group consisting of reagents, calibrators, controls, verifiers, fluids and disposables.

2. The inventory management forecasting and notification system of claim 1 , including at least one interface accessible through the portal for selecting one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of user name, login name, password, entity represented, medical device type, user address, name of person to be notified and method of notification.

3. The inventory management forecasting and notification system of claim 2 , wherein the method of notification is selected from at least one of the group consisting of SMS, MMS, electronic mail, and automated telephone call.

4. A method of forecasting consumable order management in connection with a plurality of clinical analyzers located at one or more sites, each clinical analyzer utilizing a plurality of consumables is selected from at least one of the group consisting of reagents, calibrators, controls, verifiers, fluids, and disposables and in which each clinical analyzer includes a plurality of sensors monitoring and collecting sensor data based on events on board the clinical analyzer and operational data, the plurality of sensors comprising at least one of an optical sensor, a capacitive sensor or a pressure sensor, the sensor data comprising at least optical sensor data, capacitive sensor data or pressure sensor data, and the method comprising the steps of:

calculating dependencies of the consumables of the plurality of clinical analyzers for each customer at each site; projecting usage history of each clinical analyzer at each site;

defining groups of consumables based on a stored relationship information and in which each of the consumables of each group is defined by a shared common characteristic;

generating, by the clinical analyzer, at least consumable usage history based upon sensor data of each clinical analyzer, the sensor data being indicative of events on board the analyzer and providing operational history from which usage history can be predicted and current consumable inventory information at each site;

remotely monitoring each clinical analyzer to acquire the at least consumable usage history of each clinical analyzer;

calculating consumable order information based on the defined groups of consumables, current inventory, and usage history for each consumable based in part on the sensor data from each clinical analyzer, including the at least optical sensor data, capacitive sensor data or pressure sensor data as being indicative of events on board the analyzer indicative of usage of the plurality of consumables;

displaying a suggested order schedule having selectable parameters and based on the calculated consumable order information; and

transmitting a purchase order based on the user selections of the suggested order schedule.

5. The method of forecasting consumable order management of claim 4 , wherein the relationship information includes an associated calibrator for each reagent.

6. The method of forecasting consumable order management of claim 4 , wherein the selectable parameters include at least one of customer information, payment information, items to be ordered, quantity of items to be ordered, order cycle, workdays between order, safety stock days, workdays per week, number of assays served for each consumable on the analyzers, order quantity of each consumable, and timing of purchase.