Growing your practice through strong supplier relationships

by Nick Tait, Commercial Director, NVS Group

Practice Management

Growing your practice through strong supplier relationships

Nick Tait, Commercial Director at NVS Group, explains how strong relationships with suppliers can breed success for veterinary practices.

Running a busy veterinary practice means you’re juggling patient care, client relationships, and the day-to-day demands of running a business. It’s a lot. And while your focus will always be on delivering the very best care for your patients, having the right support around you can make all the difference.

At NVS Group, we believe your suppliers, whether that’s a laboratory, a wholesaler or anything else, shouldn’t just be names on invoices – they should feel like part of your team. In this article we're going to look at how how the right partnership can lighten the load and help your practice thrive.

More than a transaction

It’s easy to think of suppliers as background support, but stronger relationships can unlock real opportunities. A good partner will share insights, offer training, and use their experience with other practices to help you spot ways to work smarter, not harder.

That might mean something simple, like advice on which products to stock in your waiting room to create extra revenue without adding to your team’s workload. Or it could be helping you find time-saving tactics you may never have thought of, based on what’s working well elsewhere.

Most importantly, the right supplier is always there when you need them. Having a consistent contact who knows your practice means less explaining, more trust, and support that feels like having an extra team member by your side.

Vet thoughts:

The biggest strength has to be customer service. From our delivery driver to the people on the end of the calls. Always super helpful, friendly and efficient. Issues are always sorted out in no time.”

Making your money go further

Every penny matters in practice life. That’s why proactive suppliers don’t just deliver products – they help you save money, reduce waste, and keep your practice running smoothly.

For us, reliability isn’t just a promise – it’s the foundation your practice depends on. You need to trust that the products you order will be in stock, delivered on time, and complete every time. That consistency is what allows you to keep operating without disruption, saving your team from the stress, time, and resource drain that comes when deliveries don’t go to plan.

It’s one of the reasons so many customers stay with NVS Group. Our teams work hard behind the scenes to make sure you have what you need, when you need it, so you can focus on

your patients, not your supply chain.

Alongside that dependable service, our Territory Managers can sit down with your team for a business review, looking at how stock is being used and where improvements could be made. By linking stock data to your Practice Management System, you can keep a clear picture of what’s being ordered, what’s being used, and what might be sitting untouched. That kind of visibility helps prevent costly over-ordering or unexpected shortages.

Regular, accurate deliveries and high product availability also remove the need to stockpile, freeing up valuable space and reducing waste from expired products. Add in batch tracking, which highlights items close to expiry, and you’ve got an efficient, trusted system that saves both time and money.

These changes may seem small at first, but together they help you protect margins, reduce unnecessary effort for your team, and ensure that more of your resources go where they belong – into patient care.

Vet thoughts

They have provided excellent support and have also been able to provide innovative solutions to my practice management system requirements.”

Systems that work together

Managing different suppliers can be time-consuming, especially if their systems don’t connect. That’s where integration makes life so much easier.

Most practices rely on several partners – a wholesaler, a practice management system, and lab services at the very least. Each plays a vital role, but when they work separately, it can create extra administration and wasted time for your team.

Let’s take an example from inside NVS Group. With VetIT, our Practice Management System (PMS), you can order stock directly from NVS and link seamlessly with NationWide Laboratories for lab services. That means one platform that brings together all the essentials, so you’re not constantly switching systems or repeating tasks.

The real benefit is flexibility. If you prefer, you can still use VetIT to connect with other wholesalers too – it’s your choice. However, when you keep things within the NVS Group,

everything falls into place: PMS, wholesale, and lab services work side by side. One platform, one relationship, one support team to turn to whenever you need help.

There are plenty of good suppliers out there who can provide part of the picture, but no other partner can bring all the elements together like NVS Group. And that integration doesn’t just make things tidier on paper – it frees up your team’s time, reduces stress, and makes managing your practice smoother on a day-to-day basis.

Vet thoughts

The whole process from sample pickup to result reporting is very efficient and makes life so much easier for us in general practice.”

Standing strong on standards

From patient privacy to medical standards, the web of regulations facing veterinary practices is constantly growing. It can feel like an extra burden, but it’s not one you should have to carry alone.

The right partners will help you meet these requirements. That might mean working with wholesalers who follow Good Distribution Practice, lab partners who hold UKAS accreditation, or PMS providers who meet GDPR standards for data protection. The benefit of choosing well is that you can be confident these vital areas are being taken care of, leaving you free to focus on clinical work.

Accredited partners can even help you prove your own capabilities. For example, some lab providers offer externally audited quality assessment services, which give your clients and your team added reassurance about the standards you’re meeting.

But it’s not only about compliance. Increasingly, practices also want to work with suppliers who share their values. Sustainability is a great example: at NVS Group, we’ve made commitments to reduce our carbon footprint and find greener solutions, so that when you’re working towards your own environmental targets, your suppliers are helping, not holding you back.

Vet thoughts

I love their sustainability ethics and how hard they have worked as a business to do all they can with their carbon footprint, which is important to us as a practice when looking at suppliers.”

The right supplier makes all the difference

When it comes to growing your practice, your suppliers have a bigger role to play than you might think. The right partners can simplify day-to-day work, help you save money, and set your practice up for a brighter future.

Who you choose to work with is ultimately your decision. Of course, we believe NVS Group is well placed to support your long-term success – but what matters most is finding a partner who’s proactive, reliable, and genuinely invested in your goals.

And if you ever feel your current suppliers aren’t giving you that level of support, we’ll always be here to talk.

Talk to your local NVS Group representative.