How to effectively manage your JanSan inventory

A practical playbook from Reliable Maintenance Products (RMP) for establishments, institutions, facilities, and businesses. 

Why is inventory management important?  

Achieving facility goals 

Having JanSan supplies is complementary to the very purpose of a facility. Effective JanSan inventory management directly impacts how healthcare delivers safe patient care, how students learn in clean classrooms, how businesses operate productively in healthy environments, and how industrial sites uphold safety and operational standards. 

When supplies run out, the ripple effect is immediate: procedures get delayed, classrooms become unsanitary, production slows, and offices lose efficiency. 

Continuity of service 

If JanSan supplies stop, operations stop. A stockout during an outbreak can compromise infection control; during an inspection it can trigger findings; during a snow/ice event it can create hazards at entrances. A steady, forecast-driven inventory program keeps essential cleaning and sanitation tasks uninterrupted through inspections, outbreaks, and severe weather. 

Cost control 

Poor planning is expensive; not because of what you buy, but how and when you buy it. Rush shipping, last-minute retail purchases, and product waste from expired or overstocked items quietly affects budgets. With clear par levels, seasonal forecasting, and standardized Stock Keeping Unit (STU), organizations stabilize spend and reduce waste. 

Reputation 

Cleanliness speaks louder than any slogan. A consistently clean, safe, well-maintained environment signals professionalism and care to staff, patients, students, guests, customers, and regulators. Reliable inventory enables reliable outcomes and protects your brand. 

The best ways to manage JanSan Inventory  

Map demand drivers (season + sector) 

Season 

JanSan demand follows a clear seasonal rhythm. In late summer and fall (August through October), teams typically prepare entrances and interiors for heavier foot traffic, prioritizing matting upgrades, neutral cleaners, carpet care, and hand hygiene. 

Winter (November through March) shifts attention to ice-melt neutralizers, additional entrance matting, wet pick-up accessories, and periodic floor finish or restoration to keep surfaces safe and presentable. 

During the respiratory-illness peak from December to February, consumption of disinfectants, wipes, soaps, and paper goods rises sharply. By spring (April to June), programs often pivot to restorative floor care, degreasers, glass and stainless maintenance, and odor control as buildings recover from winter wear. 

Sector 

Sector demands layer on top of these seasonal patterns. Healthcare and long-term care maintain higher safety stock year-round and build in outbreak buffers. Education systems experience spikes around school re-openings, parent nights, and weather disruptions. 

Hospitality and food service see predictable surges in degreasers and hood/vent & grill cleaners around holidays and events. Offices and government facilities lean on paper/tissue, hand hygiene, neutral cleaners, and matting that flex with conference cycles. Industrial sites, meanwhile, plan for shift-based consumption of degreasers, absorbents, PPE, and spill-response kits. 

The practical takeaway is to publish a twelve-month inventory calendar that blends each location’s baseline usage with seasonal multipliers and known events. When you forecast this way, your orders land before demand spikes, not after. 

Establish site-level baselines 

Start by looking backward before you plan forward. Pull the last three to six months of consumption for the top 20 JanSan SKUs at each location; not just what was ordered, but what was actually used. 

Convert that history into simple weekly or monthly averages. Those figures become your site-specific baselines, the foundation for setting realistic par levels, calculating reorder points, and pacing budgets. If one campus uses twice as many disinfectant wipes as another, your numbers will show it and your stocking plan will reflect it. With baselines in place, you’re no longer guessing; you’re aligning inventory to how each facility truly operates. 

Set par levels and reorder points (ROP) 

Once you know what each site truly uses, turn those baselines into guardrails. The simplest, most reliable way is the classic reorder point (ROP) formula: 

ROP = Average Daily Use × Lead Time (days) + Safety Stock 

In practice, calculate Average Daily Use from recent, real consumption (not purchase orders), then multiply by your Lead Time (the total days from placing a Purchase Order) to having product on the shelf, including approvals and receiving. Add Safety Stock as a buffer for demand spikes or delays; a good starting point is 25–50% of your lead-time demand for critical items, then tune over time. 

For example, if a site uses 0.6 cases of disinfectant wipes per day and delivery takes seven days, lead-time demand is 4.2 cases. Add a 50% buffer (=2.1 cases) and your ROP is 6–7 cases when stock hits that level, you reorder. During high-risk months (flu season, heavy winter traffic), increase safety stock for essentials like disinfectants, hand hygiene products, liners, and neutralizers so service never skips a beat. 

Standardize JanSan SKUs and lock in systems (incl. dilution control) 

The fastest way to make JanSan inventory cheaper, safer, and easier to run is to reduce SKU sprawl and standardize systems building-wide. 

• Chemicals (cleaners, disinfectants, degreasers) 

Consolidate overlapping products to the fewest, best options that cover 90% of use cases. Where possible, move to closed-loop dilution control so every bucket/bottle is mixed to spec; better results, lower cost per use, less exposure, and cleaner audits. 

• Paper, tissue, and liners 

Standardize dispenser platforms and lock in core sizes/grades (e.g., two liner sizes that fit 90% of bins). This prevents misfits, cuts emergency buys, and stabilizes pricing. 

• Dispensers & refill systems 

Pick one platform per use case (soap, sanitizer, towel, tissue) across each facility. Mixed systems create wrong-refill stockouts and training headaches. 

• Tools, equipment, and parts 

Rationalize pads, squeegees, bags/filters to the models you actually own. Keep an approved alternates note so staff don’t substitute the wrong part. 

• Matting, odor control, PPE 

Fix a simple core: outdoor scraper + indoor wiper/scraper + interior carpet mats; 1–2 odor-control formats; the PPE SKUs you truly use. Standard lengths/widths reduce lead time and waste. 

Make it official: the Core List 

Publish a Core JanSan List by category (floor care, hand hygiene, paper/tissue, liners, disinfectants, degreasers, glass/stainless, odor control, matting, equipment/parts), with one to two approved alternates per critical item. Print Min/Max and ROP on shelf labels for top SKUs and train teams to the list. 

 Rollout in 3 steps 

• Audit what’s on shelves vs. what’s used; highlight duplicates. 
• Pilot the standardized set on one floor/site; confirm performance and user feedback. 
• Sunset legacy SKUs as they deplete; switch dispensers/refills by zone to avoid cross-over. 

Track usage (good → better → best) 

You don’t need fancy software to get control; just a clear, repeatable method that fits your team today. 

Good: Start on the shelf. Add simple bin cards that show Min/Max and the last count date, and run a weekly cycle count for your top JanSan SKUs. This gives you a living snapshot of what’s on hand and prevents silent stockouts. 

Better: Move the counts into a shared site spreadsheet. Set conditional formatting to auto-highlight any item that falls below its ROP, and place QR codes on shelf labels that jump staff directly to the right row. Now supervisors can see status at a glance and trigger reorders on time. 

Best: Layer in light tech. Use a barcode-scanning inventory app or add JanSan to your CMMS/ERP so teams can receive, issue, and count in seconds. Dashboards show on-hand, usage trends, and items under ROP; central cues prompt reorders across multiple sites without email ping-pong. The process stays simple for staff—and you gain reliable data to tune par levels and budgets. 

Coordinate multi-site inventory 

Multi-location programs only work when you balance central control with local reality. Set central standards and methods; the core JanSan list, ROP formula, substitution playbook, labeling, and counting cadence. Then let each site set par levels that reflect its actual volume and traffic patterns. 

Keep visibility tight with weekly top-20 counts at every site (your fastest movers) and monthly counts for the rest. This rhythm catches issues early without overloading teams. 

Stabilize receiving by moving to cadenced deliveries; for example, every Tuesday per site or region. So orders, approvals, receiving, and put-away happen on a predictable schedule. Cadence reduces ad-hoc orders, rush fees, and dock congestion. 

Finally, build resilience with a regional buffer (a small safety stock of critical SKUs) and a simple cross-site lending process for emergencies. When one campus is short on disinfectant or liners, nearby locations can cover the gap the same day. 

Build a substitution playbook (supply assurance) 

Supply hiccups shouldn’t stop cleaning. Create a simple, pre-approved substitution playbook so staff know exactly what to use when a primary SKU is back-ordered. 

For every critical JanSan item (disinfectant, hand soap, liners, neutralizer, degreaser, paper/tissue, etc.), list Alternate A and Alternate B with the details teams need to make a safe, compliant swap like efficacy/claims, surface compatibility, dilution ratio, dwell time, dispenser fit, and links to the SDS. 

Keep the playbook with the SDS binder and in your digital hub so supervisors can access it on the floor and from a phone. Train to it once per quarter and update when vendors change formulations or packaging. 

Budget & KPIs (measure what matters) 

Make your JanSan program measurable and predictable by tracking a small set of metrics monthly and using them to tune stocking decisions. 

• Stockouts (count & criticality): How many times did an item hit zero, and did it halt service (e.g., disinfectant vs. glass cleaner)? Aim for zero critical stockouts; raise safety stock or shorten lead times where failures occur. 
• Inventory turns (by category): How often you “use through” average on-hand. Low turns = excess cash on shelves; ultra-high turns = stockout risk. Balance by category (chemicals vs. paper/liners often turn differently). 
• Waste % (expired/damaged/obsolete): The share of inventory written off. If this climbs, you’re over-ordering or carrying duplicative SKUs—tighten par levels and rationalize. 
• OTIF (on-time, in-full deliveries): Supplier reliability. If OTIF dips, adjust lead time in your ROP or add an approved alternate. 
• Emergency orders (count & cost): Rush buys and fees indicate planning gaps. Use these to justify better par levels or a regional buffer. 

Use these KPIs to close the loop: increase or decrease par levels, adjust lead times in the ROP, and change order cadence by velocity—bulk for true fast-movers, Min/Max for mid-movers, on-demand for slow-movers. 

Review trends quarterly, retire underperforming SKUs, and reinvest savings where they reduce risk (e.g., added safety stock for disinfectants in peak season). 

Compliance, safety & quality (non-negotiables) 

JanSan inventory doesn’t just support cleaning, it underpins legal compliance, worker safety, and audit readiness. Treat these practices as table stakes across every site. 

Keep a current Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for every chemical and ensure containers carry WHMIS/GHS-compliant labels. Store chemicals segregated by compatibility (for example, keep acids well away from bleach), maintain appropriate temperatures, and use secondary containment where required. To prevent expiry waste and guarantee product efficacy, run FIFO religiously: date-label each case and shelf position, and pull the oldest stock first. 

For accuracy, exposure reduction, and consistent results, move liquid chemistries to closed-loop dilution so every bucket and bottle is mixed to spec. 

Finally, maintain use logs for regulated products (e.g., disinfectants with specific claims) so audits and inspections are straightforward: staff can show what was used, where, at what dilution, and when. 

When these non-negotiables are embedded in daily operations, you protect people, pass inspections, and keep performance consistent across all your facilities.

Contingency planning (be ready for the bad day) 

Every site should keep a small, standardized Contingency Bundle so essential cleaning and safety tasks continue even when demand spikes or deliveries slip. Stock hospital-grade disinfectant and hand-hygiene refills for outbreaks; odor control and enzyme cleaners for bio/organic incidents; a neutralizer and entrance mats for weather and salt; core PPE (gloves, goggles, masks) for staff protection; absorbents/spill kits for chemical or fluid events; and extra liners to handle surges. Pair the bundle with a simple after-hours ordering path (who to call, what to approve, how to place the PO) and a pre-approved alternates list so teams never guess under pressure. 

Keep the bundle in one clearly labeled location, track it with a monthly seal/checklist, and rotate stock using FIFO so nothing expires. In multi-site operations, designate a regional mini-buffer for the hardest-to-replace items and document a cross-site lending step, so a nearby facility can cover a same-day shortfall. 

Field-tested advantage: RMP × RCS 

Reliable Maintenance Products (RMP) supplies and standardizes the JanSan program; Reliable Cleaning Services (RCS) uses those same products in the field every day. That closed feedback loop means your inventory plan isn’t built on spec sheets alone, it’s shaped by real performance on real soils and surfaces. 

• Better product fit: RCS techs report which chemistries, dilutions, and tools deliver the best outcomes in schools, healthcare, hospitality, offices, and industrial sites; RMP then recommends those proven SKUs for your core list. 
• Between-service alignment: We match between-service products (e.g., neutral cleaners, disinfectants, degreasers, matting) to your contracted cleaning schedule so sites stay clean and compliant between professional visits. 
• Faster substitutions: When supply tightens, RCS field data helps RMP recommend approved alternates that maintain efficacy, surface compatibility, and compliance. 
• Training that sticks: Procedures and dilution guides are grounded in field reality, making staff adoption faster and results more consistent. 

The result is a JanSan program that’s reliable by design; from what you stock, to how you use it, to how quickly you can adapt when things change.