Due to the financial losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and healthcare systems are reviewing their new construction projects with added scrutiny. Some will be postponed, and others will be cancelled. Whenever construction projects resume, it will be more important than ever to save money and streamline processes.
When managing a new construction project, it’s rewarding to visualize what the end result will look like: newly updated FF&E to better assist your healthcare providers, a quality experience for patients, and, ultimately, expanded access to healthcare. In order to get to that final end result, though, it’s important to invest your time in the logistics of planning and organizing.
In a recent article from Construction Best Practices, CME Corp’s Cindy Juhas discusses how a delayed opening can cost a hospital $400,000 to $500,000 in expected revenues per day. Clinics can lose $125,000 in revenue per day, and the smaller the operation, the harder it is to make up for the financial loss.
Between determining what equipment is needed, ordering your equipment in bulk, communicating with each party involved, meeting deadlines, and staying under budget, it’s important to be organized and on track from start-to-finish.
CME Corp’s turn-key solutions can help you optimize efficiency, punctuality, and affordability with your healthcare project. Here’s how:
1 - Budgeting and Planning
During the initial stages of planning, it’s important that you take inventory to observe your equipment needs. Once you get an idea of what you’re looking to purchase, our highly qualified sales representatives can provide you with a cost-savings analysis. Instead of being hit with any last-minute mystery fees, we deliver accuracy and transparency so there are no surprises.
CME will work with your equipment planning team to provide specification sheets, coordinate demos, and arrange side-by-side comparisons to make sure you receive the best equipment for your facility. Taking the time to plan with CME mitigates the risk of falling behind schedule and going over budget.
2 - Selecting and Ordering the Right Equipment
CME Corp represents over 2 million products from over 2,000 manufacturers, which allows us to be a one-stop-shop for all of your needs. With products that are always up to date with the latest healthcare trends and technology, our offerings are modernized and extensive. One exam room typically requires equipment from 20 different manufacturers.
Sure, you can order from many vendors, but that means having multiple purchase orders, multiple tracking numbers, multiple points of communication, and multiple delivery dates. Working with a specialist at CME allows us to assess your needs, optimize your savings, and manage your delivery through a single, consolidated purchase order.
3 - Product Tracking
After placing your order, it’s important for you to be informed of the status of your purchase from quote to delivery to installation and our direct-to-site service. CME is the only national healthcare equipment supplier with a universal, automated system that tracks orders in real time. Our CME360 platform ensures the proper, timely arrival of your equipment, with notifications every step of the way.
4 - Receiving, Warehousing, and Pre-Assembly
Once your order gets delivered to one of our warehouses, CME not only receives and stores your items until they’re ready for installation, but our service technicians also assemble and stage them. With over 35 service centers strategically located across the country, there’s more than enough space for us to lodge and organize your equipment based on the rooms in which they’ll be placed. There’s no need to make space in your hallways as you wait for installation; it’s all done in-house when you’re ready.
This benefit saves you time, space, and money, as you’re not paying for an additional storage facility, and not spending hours trying to piece the mismatched parts together.
5 - Direct-to-Site Delivery and Installation
When your equipment is delivered to your facility, you can feel confident knowing that it was done correctly and by professionals. If you need anything mounted to a wall, our installation team can help. Your equipment will be ready for use upon installation in its final location, and all debris will be removed along the way. When you work with our team, you avoid the hidden fees that are often come up with installation or disposal services.
6 - Biomedical Services
Now that your equipment is delivered and installed, our BMETs can perform the final safety checks, electrical tests, asset-tagging, and equipment inspections before leaving you with your new equipment. Though this is the final step of the delivery process, our Technical Services team is here for you for the lifetime of your equipment if needed.
7 - Equipment Removal
If you are looking to get rid of old equipment and make space for your new equipment, we can help. For a nominal fee, CME will remove the old equipment at the same time we deliver your new equipment, making for a clean transition.
For over 30 years, CME’s approach to hospital supply chain management has been to simplify the equipment purchasing process and eliminate the pain points facilities face in upgrading , purchasing medical equipment and delivery direct-to-site.
In the healthcare industry, there is a high cost for low performance. Choosing to work with CME Corp enables your construction project to be taken care of from start-to finish, beginning-to-end, and cradle-to-grave. Updates are shared every step of the way to avoid redundancies, premature deliveries, or onsite personnel shortage.
For more information about our direct-to-site delivery or removal of decommissioned equipment, contact your CME Account Manager or call us at (800) 338-2372. Planning, distribution, and logistics are critical investments that will pay for themselves upon execution.
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.
