I’m sure you have heard the saying, “What is measured happens,” or, “Measure what’s important,” or even, “If you can’t measure it, then it can’t be improved.” As far as we are concerned, these sayings set the stage for your supply chain management success. Think of not measuring as flying blind without a compass.
7 Reasons Why Measuring Everything in Your Healthcare Supply Chain is So Important
First, our definition of measurement is to express in a number, quantity, or amount of something compared to a standard or benchmark. It could be that a desk is 12 feet long when the standard is 8 feet, a ceiling is 10 feet high when the standard is 9 feet, or the cost per patient day of an Oxisensor is $3.22 when the standard measure is $1.58.
Now that you know what measurement is, you can measure almost anything to understand how your supply chain operations are doing compared to a standard or benchmark. For a better understanding of how measurement can help you improve your supply chain performance, here are seven reasons why measuring everything in your healthcare supply chain is so important to your success:
- Measure Progress: How do you know how you are doing unless you measure your progress? Like a sports team, you need to keep score inning by inning to know how you are doing. The best way to do so is through continuous measurement!
- Identify Strengths: Where are your strengths so you can hone them to perfection? You will never know unless you measure!
- Uncover Weaknesses: What product, service, and process improvement opportunities do you have available that you don’t know about? Only by measuring can you identify your weaknesses!
- Motivate Your Staff: Nothing will motivate your staff better than setting targets for improvement and then meeting them. How would you know if you met your targets without measurement?
- Establish Goals & Objectives: The best way to set annual goals and objectives is to measure where you are today vs. where you want to be in one, two, or five years. Measurement is the key to doing so!
- Improve Performance: To repeat, “What is measured happens,” therefore, so does superior performance. Use measurement as your yardstick for getting things done!
- Quantify Results: Your boss wants proof of your accomplishments. There is no better way to do so than to show him or her your measurements against standards that have led the way to your performance improvement.
These are just a few of the reasons why measurement is a best practice that needs to be institutionalized in your hospital, system, or IDN’s supply chain department to continuously improve your performance. It is mission critical to do so!
Measuring Performance is the Key to Your Supply Chain Management Success
If your supply chain operations remain static for any period you are at risk of falling behind your peers, which could be distressing to you. The only way we know of to start moving forward again is through measurement, since you need to know where you are before you can strategize to get better. This one action, if followed through continuously, will make you a rockstar in healthcare supply chain management.