Healthcare mergers and acquisitions, new suppliers and competitors, policy reforms and increasing healthcare consumerism deepen the complexity of the already fragmented healthcare supply chain, according to Workday Industry Strategy Director Keith Lohkamp.
Supply chain leaders can adapt to the changing landscape with these three steps:
1. Improve collaboration skills. Future supply chain leaders must be experts in communication, negotiation and analytics, with experience in people management, project management and technology. It's increasingly necessary for supply chain leaders to collaborate with other systems to understand the intersection of cost, quality and outcomes. Leaders can ensure the right talent by shaping individuals within the organization into future leaders.
2. Equip team members with appropriate insights. Outdated supply chain systems involving manual inventory tracking and replenishment result in supply surpluses and deficits. Implementing appropriate technology can help healthcare systems improve purchasing, tracking and supply replenishment. Real-time data can help combat waste, which is another large issue.
3. Eliminate existing system-wide silos. Clinical utilization and supply chain information often reside in different systems, creating silos. Organizations should adopt a unified system to gain insight into cost and usage patterns and consequently reduce shortages and surpluses.