CME Insider's Blog Posts

When working with multiple vendors in supply chain management you are faced with multiple approaches to delivery.  This means that in the case of a large order for a new clinic, clinic renovation, or new department, you may be in a position to lose sight of arrivals and even lose equipment and smaller sundry orders with so much tracking required. However, if you take advantage of working with a hospital distribution company you will be dealing with one or two orders coming from one central warehouse making it far easier to schedule your deliveries.

New hospital construction is a costly venture that takes years to complete. When you are working on a hospital team, you want to be certain you are using the best approach in order to keep the hospital CEO happy. Using modern business approaches to new hospital construction will greatly ease the minds of your superiors as well as ease the pressures placed on your budget.

When someone talks about supply chain management, what usually comes to mind is the procurement, acquisition, in-house storage, and distribution processes for the consumable items that the healthcare facility uses on a daily basis.  

This usually involves such things as GPO (group purchasing organization) negotiations, just-in-time (JIT) deliveries by medical distributors, on-site storage, inventory management and distribution to the end-user departments on a recurring basis.  It also may involve an automated electronic ordering system that essentially minimizes the active engagement of the materials management/purchasing department personnel.

As a healthcare facility you need to lower costs in order to provide better quality care to your patients. Cutting corners on the level of care you provide is not an option, therefore it is necessary to find ways to cut costs where you will see the least impact on your patients and team. Working with a medical distributor can often be an effective way of saving money as it offers a number of advantages over working with multiple vendors. Here is a pros and cons overview that outlines the benefits of working with a medical distributor.

Integrated delivery networks (IDNs) and other healthcare providers are always deliberating on how to make healthcare more cost-efficient. Many organizations have turned their focus to supply chain management.  

According to some research, this function makes up 40 to 50% of the operating expenses for healthcare systems and hospitals.  In healthcare, the supply chain management function has evolved beyond the scope of simply determining how much of each type of supply to purchase and carry in the storerooms.  

Today, those managers must effectively manage relationships with vendors and companies at the upstream source of products and downstream, to the end users to minimize supply costs and transform the function into a bottom line asset for the organization.