Becker’s asked supply chain leaders: If you had an extra $1 million for your supply chain budget, where would it go? Most leaders would spend it on technology that takes manual work off their teams’ plates, from RFID tags and electronic shelf labels to distribution center robots.
Here’s what five of them said:
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Luke Martin. Administrative Director of Supply Chain Management at Shannon Health (San Angelo, Texas): At Shannon, we would use the additional $1 million to strengthen three areas: $200,000 for a spend analysis and visibility platform, $300,000 for strategic buffer and safety stock and $500,000 for supply chain automation and planning tools.
Nicholas Sica. Storeroom Manager, Supply Chain Management at Bryn Mawr Hospital (Bryn Mawr, Pa.): If we had an extra $1 million in the budget, I would implement RFID tag technology for supply locations in the storeroom and the nursing units. This would provide real-time changes to product information, unit of measure and more and would eliminate the need to physically replace a label whenever a change or substitution occurred.
Scott Meiser. Vice President of Supply Chain at Allegheny Health Network (Pittsburgh): Something to enhance the clinical experience. The more time our clinicians spend taking care of patients and the less time they spend worrying about supply, the better our health outcomes. As simple as it might sound, one example would be electronic shelf labels to improve supply communication with our clinical staff.
Don Barton. Chief Technical Officer and Director of Supply Chain Management at Major Health Partners (Shelbyville, Ind.): My first choice would be to divide the $1 million among my supply chain staff as bonuses to recognize and reward them for the outstanding work they do every day.
If that weren’t an option, I’d invest in automation that improves efficiency, accuracy and staff productivity: expanding our weighted-bin inventory system, deploying electric-powered delivery vehicles and exploring autonomous robots for internal hospital deliveries. I’d also look at automated inventory tracking and replenishment technologies that reduce manual touches, minimize stockouts and free our team to focus on higher-value work that ultimately supports patient care. The goal would be to invest in both the people who make supply chain successful and the technology that allows them to do even more with the resources we have.
Juan Serrato. Associate Vice President of Supply Chain Informatics at Baptist Health South Florida (Coral Gables, Fla.): I would direct it to automation. We are currently exploring and expanding distribution center robotics, including low-unit-of-measure picking robots, cycle-counting robots and video systems. I would use these funds to quickly add bulk robotic solutions.
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