Medical equipment planning for healthcare facilities can be extremely difficult when working with multiple vendors. You will be faced with piles of paperwork, calendar dates to juggle for the receipt of goods, worries about having equipment installed, and ensuring each department is available to sign off on equipment as it arrives.
Here is an easy to use checklist that you can use as a guide.
| Survey End User Requirements: First, meet with department heads to review the equipment list, then access existing inventory to determine what can be used, and what needs to be upgraded. You can then compose a comprehensive list from which to work. | |
| Research Vendors: In order to accommodate each department's needs you can then begin researching the vendors who specialize in the areas required. You will have to find out the benefits of each model, look at warranties, determine what installation and training each company offers and then of course look at pricing. | |
| Create PO's: Once you are satisfied you have found the best vendors for each of your equipment needs you can begin to prepare your PO's. You can determine if it is best to do this on your own, recruit an admin team to assist you or have each department provide their own PO's. | |
| Place Orders: Once you have processed all of the PO's you can then begin placing your orders. You might want to schedule dates to meet with each vendor to clarify any requirements or finalize any questions you might have. When placing your orders, you should specify dates when you want to receive those products, and whether they should be delivered to your own warehouse or to an outside warehouse. You might also work with a distributor on this part of the project because many projects involve over 50 manufacturers and possibly 100 PO’s. | |
| Track Orders: After all of the orders have been confirmed you should have a binder or file prepared that will contain all of the order dates and scheduled arrival for each order. This will also require a calendar that can alert you to scheduled deliveries so you can coordinate with each team to ensure they are prepared to receive their orders. | |
| Training and/or installation: When you have everything ordered and scheduled you can then arrange for any training or installation required for each piece of equipment. This will take some time so be certain you give yourself enough lead time in order to accommodate the needs of each department. You will have to coordinate a suitable date between installers and/or training teams as well as each department and staff member who must be involved. | |
| Receive Deliveries: Make a note of the dates each delivery is scheduled and arrange to have someone available for each delivery. Multiple deliveries can wreak havoc on a receiving dock and making certain that you have representatives ready to receive the equipment, inspect all products to make sure there’s no damage, and that they have received all items ordered. |
CME can make things easier, more affordable and streamlined, cutting this long list to four easy steps:
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Determine your equipment needs
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Call CME, 1.800.338.2372
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Receive the equipment direct-to-site on your schedule,
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Enjoy your extra free time.
About CME: CME Corp is the nation’s premier source for healthcare equipment, turnkey logistics, and biomedical services, representing 2 million+ products from more than 2,000 manufacturers.
With two corporate offices and 35+ service centers, our mission is to help healthcare facilities nationwide reduce the cost of the equipment they purchase, make their equipment specification, delivery, installation, and maintenance processes more efficient, and help them seamlessly launch, renovate and expand on schedule.
