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Average Monthly Consumption by Depot

The Average Monthly Consumption (AMC) is calculated for the enterprise as a whole and for individual depots. The calculation is slightly different though, depending on the type of depot.

For dispensing pharmacies, the Average Monthly Consumption is calculated based on the distributions/exits to patients or services. These are considered consumption of the depot and factor into the average monthly consumption.

For warehouses, BHIMA considers transfers to other depots as consumption in addition to the exits to patients and services. By including transfers, BHIMA can estimate when to refill stock in warehouses when they otherwise would not be considered.

BHIMA offers two choices of algorithm that differ slighty:

1. Default Algorithm - The average monthly consumption is obtained by dividing the quantity consumed during the period by the number of days with stock during the period, and by multiplying the result by 30.5.

2. MSH Algorithm - The average consumption is obtained by dividing the quantity consumed during the period by number of months of stock (found by subtracting the number of days of stock outs divided by 30.5 from the number of months in the period). The MSH algorithm is recommended by the Management Sciences for Health organization.

These algorithms produce identical or similar results. The main difference is in rounding - the MSH algorithm converts to months before the computation while the default algorithm converts to months as a last step.