3 tips to take control of your supply chain

What can you do today to advance the performance of your hospital or health system’s supply chain? No matter what happens next in healthcare, there are several steps you can take right now to lower supply chain costs and improve efficiencies while supporting patient safety, outcomes and satisfaction.

It’s time to take greater control of your supply chain, and here are three ways to start:

  • Improve OR efficiency with surgical packs: What can you do to help OR clinicians focus less on products, have more time for patient care and improve throughput? One established strategy is consolidating supplies into case-specific procedure packs. To standardize your pack program, begin with data analytics to determine how to standardize pack contents. Be sure to include as many preference card items as possible, to avoid taking the time to pick multiple single-sterile items. In addition to standardizing individual packs, you can also standardize pack utilization across your hospital or health system. By using the same clinical practices everywhere, you’ll improve efficiency even more.
  • Increase visibility via data analytics: You can’t manage what you can’t measure. By improving inventory visibility from the manufacturer to the point of use, you’ll take greater control over your total spend. Accurate real-time data that reveals actual utilization will help you make more informed purchasing and inventory management decisions that will optimize supply spend, reduce waste and support patient safety.
  • Reveal new savings with freight management: Data analytics can also uncover savings opportunities in an often-overlooked area: shipping expenses. But there’s more to professional freight management than negotiating discounted rates from carriers. This is about using advanced analytics to maximize supplier participation, accelerate efficiency and ensure that every shipping mode is included in your program: inbound freight, outbound freight, large shipments over 150 pounds and same-day courier services.

By employing these three strategies, you’ll showcase the supply chain’s vital importance in meeting the strategic goals of your hospital or health system. Whether it’s improving efficiencies, saving money or supporting patient safety and quality outcomes, supply chain leaders have a key role in driving the future of healthcare.

To learn more about how Cardinal Health can help you optimize your supply chain, visit our Supply Chain Center.

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