This guideline is applicable to medical laboratories of any size, complexity, or specialty, including point-of-care testing (POCT). However, because the concepts behind purchasing and inventory requirements are generic, other types of laboratories, such as public health, research, food, environmental, and veterinary laboratories, can also use this guideline.This guideline provides information for procuring equipment,instruments, reagents, consumable materials, other products, and services from external sources and also provides information about inventory management processes for externally procured or internally prepared items. Chapter 5 presents key features of electronic inventory management systems.This guideline references procurement and inventory management of blood components and cellular therapy products but does not provide technical details. However, the purchasing and inventory management concepts presented in this guideline can be used by laboratories that support provision of these products.