Vetcove now integrates with select PIMS to help practices track and order inventory with ease, all in one location. By connecting your Shepherd account to Vetcove, you will be able to:
Manage Lists – shop your reorder lists directly on Vetcove
View Quantities – view your quantity on hand and reorder points
Sync Purchase Orders – purchase orders will automatically be synced
Step 1: Connecting with Shepherd
Before you can start using the integration, you will first need to connect your Shepherd account with Vetcove by taking the following steps:
Log in to your Shepherd Account
Navigate to Admin > Integrations
Click on the Vetcove Integration
Click the Connect with Vetcove button
Enter your Vetcove account credentials as prompted, and select "continue," to complete the connection.
Once you are successfully connected with Shepherd on Vetcove, you will see the following message:
Your Shepherd inventory items will then be imported into your Vetcove account. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete!
Step 2: Link Shepherd Products to Vetcove Items
Once connected, you will then need to link your Shepherd products to Vetcove items to ensure that the Vetcove and Shepherd systems communicate properly to update inventory when placing future orders. Vetcove offers two methods for linking items – either creating links per item during checkout or creating links in-bulk directly from the PIMS Integration page. Learn how to link items via both methods below.
NOTE: When linking items via either method below, you will be prompted to select the corresponding unit of measure that you track each item by in your PIMS. To ensure the correct quantities are communicated to Shepherd during order placement, please be sure to select the unit type that best matches the "UOM" value for that Inventory Item in Shepherd:
Please note that if you do not select a unit of measurement, the default unit for that item listing on Vetcove will be selected. If you do not see your preferred unit of measurement listed as an option, please reach out to the Vetcove support team via the live chat!
Method 1: Linking Vetcove Items to PIMS Products during checkout:
One of the easiest and most effective ways to ensure that all of your Vetcove items are linked to the appropriate PIMS product, is by linking your items from within the Vetcove Cart page prior to checking out.
To get started, once you're ready to place an order, simply head to the Vetcove Cart page and look for the PIMS Link box beneath each item:
If any of the items have not already been linked, you will see "PIMS Link: None" displayed, as shown above
To create a link, click on "PIMS Link" and search by the product name as listed in your PIMS, or search by the corresponding PIMS ID to pull up the correct product. Once you've located the PIMS product you'd like to link the Vetcove item to, select the blue "Link" button:
Once linked, select the Unit of Measurement that you track this item by within your PIMS inventory. Be sure to select the unit that aligns with the "UOM" you have set for that item in Shepherd!
Note: When linking, you may see the following unit types available. These serve as equivalent options when a unique unit type is not yet available on Vetcove:
Purchasing Unit: This unit represents a quantity '1' of this item. If you order '1' of this item on Vetcove, your PIMS inventory will update by 1.
Each: This unit represents the smallest individual form or package type within the item. If you order a sleeve of 50 vaccine doses, your PIMS inventory will update by 50 doses, not 1 sleeve.
Please note that if you do not select a unit of measurement, the default unit for that item listing on Vetcove will be selected. If you do not see your preferred unit of measurement listed as an option, please reach out to the Vetcove support team via the live chat!
Repeat this process with any items in your cart that show "PIMS Link: None" if you'd like to link them to their corresponding Shepherd products. Once your items are linked to a Shepherd product, the updates will be reflected in your cart to display the Shepherd product that the item is linked to:
Method 2: Linking Vetcove Items to PIMS Products within the PIMS Integration page:
If you would prefer to link your items in bulk rather than as you order them, you may do so directly on the PIMS Integration pages. To get started, head to the PIMS Integration page (Orders > Inventory > PIMS Integrations)
Select "Products" at the top of the page and then filter by "Unlinked Items":
Click on the specific PIMS product you'd like to link. You will then be prompted to search and select the Vetcove item(s) you would like to link to your PIMS product.:
Note: you can link multiple Vetcove items, as long as the medications are the same strength and form. You will also be able to see if you've previously purchased a given Vetcove item!
Once you've linked the corresponding Vetcove Items, select the Unit of Measurement that you track this item by within your PIMS inventory. Be sure to select the unit that aligns with the "UOM" you have set for that item in Shepherd!
Note: When linking, you may see the following unit types available. These serve as equivalent options when a unique unit type is not yet available on Vetcove:
Purchasing Unit: This unit represents a quantity '1' of this item. If you order '1' of this item on Vetcove, your PIMS inventory will update by 1.
Each: This unit represents the smallest individual form or package type within the item. If you order a sleeve of 50 vaccine doses, your PIMS inventory will update by 50 doses, not 1 sleeve.
Please note that if you do not select a unit of measurement, the default unit for that item listing on Vetcove will be selected. If you do not see your preferred unit of measurement listed as an option, please reach out to the Vetcove support team via the live chat!
Once linked, you will be able to shop your linked Vetcove items directly from the Critical Shortage List by clicking on "Show Items"! Please note that you may also use the general Vetcove search page to place your orders as well.
Hiding Items
If you there are any items that you track in Shepherd but do not wish to have visible in Vetcove, you may use our "Hide" functionality to remove those items from view.
To hide an unlinked item, locate the item on the PIMS Integration Product page, click on the "Actions" button, and select "Hide this Item." This will hide the item from view and move it to a Hidden Items folder, located on the left-hand side of the page. This will also prevent the item from showing up in your Critical Shortage Lists.
If you ever will to bring a hidden item back into view, simply head to the Hidden Items tab, click on the "Actions" button, and select "Show this item."
Step 3: Shop on Vetcove through your Shepherd Lists
Once your Shepherd products have been linked to their corresponding Vetcove items, you may view and shop items straight from the Lists page. To shop an item that is included in a Shepherd list (Ex. Critical Shortages list) just click on the Show Items button.
The item listings will then drop down in the familiar Vetcove shopping format. You may then add items to your vendor carts straight from here, just as normal!
Step 4: Shop and Place Orders as Normal
Now, when you place an order on Vetcove it will automatically be sent to Shepherd as a PO! To locate your POs in Shepherd, navigate to the Shepherd Admin view and select Inventory > Purchase Orders. From the Purchase Orders page, you may click into the given order, fill out the Receive Quantity accordingly, and click on the receiving icon to receive your items and update your counts:
If you have any questions about receiving items within your POs in Shepherd, please contact the Shepherd support team via the live chat within your Shepherd account, or directly with your Shepherd Account Manager.
Please note that your Shepherd inventory counts will automatically sync with Vetcove every 6 hours. To bring in the latest inventory counts before shopping, you may also trigger a manual sync by selecting "Sync Inventory With Vetcove" from the Purchase Orders page in Shepherd:
Need to get in touch with Shepherd support team?
Should you need any assistance with your Shepherd account, please reach out to the Shepherd team directly:
Shepherd Customer Support: Can be reached via the live chat within your account on the Shepherd website or you may your Shepherd Account Manager directly.
Shepherd Contact Email: hello@shepherd.vet
Need to turn off the integration?
If you ever decide to turn of the Shepherd integration with Vetcove, simply send us a message in our Live Chat (the little blue icon in the bottom right corner of the Vetcove screen). Please note that you'll also want to reach out to the Shepherd support team directly to verify whether there are any additional steps that need to be taken on their end to verify that your connection is fully turned off.
Still have questions about setting up your Shepherd integration? Feel free to click on the chat icon at the bottom of your screen to speak directly with one of our team members!