According to reports from The Health Industry Distributor Thought Leaders Initiative, healthcare providers are expecting cuts in reimbursements during 2015 that will reduce operating margins by up to 30%. This can significantly impact profitability and their ability to sustain and grow in the future. With this challenge, hospital supply chain management will have to factor in new ways in which they can continue to provide quality products for patient care and come up with better ideas on how to save more money. Why is the focus on this particular area? The Health Industry Thought Leaders state, “While all costs are on the table this year, supply chain is universally considered the top priority.” With these reductions in payments, healthcare providers are realizing the need to not only just focus on product cost but to closely inspect all end-to-end costs. This means that in the future, they will be looking to manufacturers and distributors to help them become “leaner” and more effective. Dr. Bede Broome, an associate principal for McKinsey & Co. a multinational management consulting firm, agrees that in order to focus on creating a profitable bottom-line, addressing end-to-end supply chain cost is the best solution. “A hospital and distributor together can get more accomplished than just a distributor on its own”, he states. This is where PeopleSoft programs can really come to the rescue. Because all the modules are heavily integrated, the Supply Chain Management package will provide a cohesive yet flexible solution to help synchronize your supply chain. By seamlessly blending with all other PeopleSoft applications, including Financial Management, this package helps customers, employees and suppliers unite in a more cost-effective manner. It also allows providers to partner with vendors to jointly assess waste in the supply chain from the manufacturer all the way to the patient. The Health Industry Thought Leaders concluded that they feel the industry just needs more of a “joining together” of logistics, inventory management, data management and customer demand management. This will require hospitals to provide more data sharing and “hand-in-hand” partnership with vendors in the future to enable and promote shared savings goals. In order to prepare for these changes in 2015, hospital supply chain management needs a team who can expertly provide solutions and articulate ways in which to use them. To help your team successfully use, integrate and maximize your PeopleSoft potential, please contact us today for more information.
Share this Post
