Every morning a purchasing assistant will take the previous day's prescription log and parse it into two history files: filled prescriptions (drug name and quantity sold), and unfilled prescriptions (drug name and quantity requested).

The purchasing agent uses these two files as well as current inventory levels from the inventory spreadsheet to determine the bulk order. The prescriptions not filled history file may give some indications as to potential need. Information from the catalogs for each of the Pharmaceutical Wholesale Distributors is utilized which includes the wholesaler's name, address, phone number, fax number, as well as the products they sell and what will be pharmacy's acquisition cost.

Once the items to be ordered are finalized, a purchase order, which includes the purchase order date, items ordered, acquisition price per item, and quantity, is created and sent to a distributor. A copy of each purchase order is left in a designated tray on the desk of the purchasing assistant.

The purchasing assistant handles the receipt of stock, which are always accompanied by an invoice. The assistant utilizes the copy of the purchase order to verify that the items were indeed ordered and if so, makes the payment to the distributor, and updates the inventory spreadsheet to reflect the additional items.