“With supply chain benchmarking on a continuous basis, you can easily make your data sing, customize it to ensure you gain the buy-in of your customers, and show big savings that are beyond price that you never thought were possible before.”
Everyone who works in the Healthcare Supply Chain and Value Analysis world is doing the best they can with what they have. Some have more resources than others, but everyone is dealing with everything from contracts to new product requests to recalls to conversions and everything in-between. When someone mentions having more bandwidth for their special project or for you to go beyond your current scope to do anything extra, at best you may be able to give it a few percentage points of your time but not much. Let’s face it, Supply Chain is not getting any easier – it is becoming more challenging – and all the new requirements like corporate compliance, new complex ERP systems, and staffing freezes and/or reductions at all levels make it really challenging.
All of the Above and…
All the above said is true but that does not leave Supply Chain or VA Professionals off the hook – your C-Suite and especially your CFO is still looking for new revenues and of course more savings than you have been achieving year over year. The savings that you have been dependably providing are becoming even more challenging every single year. And this cycle is going on right now as you read this article. So, what is the answer to make things easier and make Supply Chain and VA Professional’s job easier with things like cost optimization, consumption management, utilization, and reducing waste?
Supply Chain Benchmarking to the Rescue!
Every health system has rock-solid data that we tap into here and there, but rarely do we find the perfect combination of data that will spell out exactly where savings opportunities are hiding at any given point in time or ongoing. But with supply chain benchmarking on a continuous basis, you can easily make your data sing, customize it to ensure you gain the buy-in of your customers, and show big savings that are beyond price that you never thought were possible before.
Find Out Where Savings Are Hiding and Where They Are Not
Finding savings is great but also being able to focus on the right savings at the right time is very important as well. Supply chain benchmarking, if done right, should allow you to triangulate opportunities from historical to cohort to system-wide opportunities that you can then turn into real bottom line results.
Throw a Blanket Over Everything!
Every supply chain and purchased service category should be continuously benchmarked and reported on in the short and long term. We are not talking about Supply Cost Per OR Case or Supply Cost Per Net Revenues as those don’t tell you much. We are talking about everything from Ablation Cost Per EP Lab Case to IV Sets Per Adjusted Patient Day to Surgical Mesh Per Hernia Case to Wound Care Cost Per Patient Day and everything in-between.
Benchmark Everything to Know Where Every Savings Opportunity is and How Much
Knowing where every savings opportunity is in your supply chain will be a huge advantage to you moving forward. You can strategically select the right savings at the right time to maximize the results in conjunction with your contracting and standardization program. This way, you get the best of all worlds. Plus, you will continue benchmarking to realize savings in areas that you didn’t realize there were savings to achieve. We see this all the time.
The Bottom Line – More Savings with Less Time Spent
Health systems need more major savings opportunities converted to bottom line results, and benchmarking will get you there. You will be surprised how fast you will be able to find and attain new savings beyond price on an ongoing basis. Because it is systematic, you will not spin your wheels or waste time in attaining these new savings which will allow you to maintain your existing initiatives while gaining a new level of savings you never thought was possible before. Start benchmarking your supply categories today!
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