Molly Ehrlich, Vizient's consulting director of advisory solutions for supply chain operations, shared a story on Vizient's blog about she got to the bottom of why an operating room kept running out of supplies.
"It isn't always clear what the root cause is. You often have to dig deep using a lean technique called 'The 5 Whys'," she said. "The gist of this technique is if you can ask and answer 'why' five times, you’ve likely drilled down far enough to reach your root cause."
"We are often quick to 'solve' a problem to please an internal customer without performing the due diligence necessary to fix it correctly," Ms. Ehrlich said. "And in supply chain, that quick solution often involves throwing more inventory at the problem."