Amy Wesley | Intelli-Flip™ Category Sales Manager, LogiQuip®

31% of respondents in a 2019 Cardinal Health survey stated that the “whole supply chain process seems uncontrollable”. In addition, 94% say that “supply chain is important in addressing cost concerns”. Inefficiencies in your supply chain don’t just drive up costs, they also slow productivity, drive down employee morale, and impact patient care.

Traditional paths for getting costs under control (labor reduction and product price reduction) may provide short-term gains but may not achieve the intended long-term results. So, let’s start the new year with a new way to look for efficiencies in inventory management that will help you gain control. This is a BIG TOPIC, but let’s begin with manual ordering processes.

While every facility is different, it is common for supplies to be manually counted to replenish inventory. This is not just done by supply technicians, but clinicians are also pulled into this process which can delay or negatively impact patient care. 

Order accuracy is also impacted by manual counting, “institutional knowledge” (which we will cover in our February post), and human error.

Automating the ordering process could be an important step to improve efficiency. In the same 2019 Cardinal Health survey I referenced above, a third of respondents said that the main benefit of “automated inventory solutions is cost reduction.” With the right system, employee morale and patient satisfaction can increase because you always have the supplies you need. These systems help to eliminate extra trips to the supply locations, saving time for each supply tech and standardizing the ordering process.

Stay tuned for our February post where we will continue to explore ways to optimize your supply chain by tackling “institutional knowledge”.

Amy Wesley is the Services and Intelli-Flip™ Category Sales Manager with LogiQuip® Healthcare Storage Solutions in Kalamazoo, MI which has exclusively served the healthcare industry for over 30 years. With more than 34 years of experience in healthcare, Amy is a seasoned professional with a strong background in sterile processing, procurement, surgical services, and supply chain management.  She is passionate about process improvement and workflow redesign, particularly in the supply chain space.

For all your supply chain operations questions, you can contact Amy at [email protected] or visit the LogiQuip® team at logiquip.com