“It is important that Value Analysis and Supply Chain Teams hear about the good results that they had a hand in making happen.”
Most department heads and managers give a collective groan when they know Supply Chain or Value Analysis Teams are working in their area for cost reduction or contract conversions. The department heads and managers of course believe that some sort of change is going to take place to disrupt their department in a way that they do not want to happen. It is normal to think this way as we all want to protect our turf. But change is not always bad, especially when it comes to achieving outcomes that were originally thought to be “impossible” or “unbelievable.” There is always good news in these changes and areas that they made small adjustments in and didn’t realize the true breadth of the outcome.
There is Always Much More Good News Than Disruptive
We here at SVAH have some clients that allow us to be the Clinical Supply Chain Reporting arm of their Value Analysis Programs in which we actively report out the results from the 2,000+ categories that are under their purview. Given that most VA teams can only handle a few of these each meeting, it is then limited to anywhere between 3 to 7 areas reported for savings opportunities. Before we get into utilization or consumption opportunities, it is our rule to share one or two categories where there were major successes that were achieved that the team was unaware of. This is powerful as most value analysis teams never see the end results truly play out in real time.
Do You Report the Successes Periodically to Your Supply/Value Analysis Teams? You Should!
There is always good news to report! For example, a savings opportunity that the team worked on a year and a half ago that everyone thought would never prove to be a real savings is now saving over $92K a year. Or the major savings opportunity that everyone brushed off as something that was surgeon related and thus thought nothing could be changed, but now they are saving over $530K or 53% all while the category had a major price increase during this period.
Teams Don’t Get to Hear the Good News but They Should
It is important that Value Analysis and Supply Chain Teams hear about the good results that they had a hand in making happen. Some don’t realize that their assistance in these changes resulted in major savings or that even small adjustments they made in the name of quality also resulted in changes. There are so many more savings opportunities out there that nobody knows about because they are not tracking them with any type of savings validation or utilization reporting mechanism.
Final Thoughts on the Importance of Reporting the Good News
We need our Value Analysis Teams more than ever to operate optimally and be agreeable to the projects and their subsequent changes that will need to be made. VA Teams are primarily made up of department heads and managers who are the true stakeholders and experts on these teams. If they are not in-line with your strategies or have just grown frustrated with only hearing about savings opportunities that require them to change, then you are eventually going to burn them out. But if they hear that they participated in a major contract conversion and caught an extra 27% savings in waste and inefficient use beyond the GPO’s new tiered pricing, then they need to know about it. There are hundreds of these in every organization that Value Analysis Teams need to know about. Supply Chain needs to know as well to add these to their Annual Savings Reports. There is power in knowing this!
Below are some similar articles that you may find interesting.
How Educating Sales Reps in Your Value Analysis Process Can Save You Time and Headaches
Customization Versus Standardization: The Ultimate Savings Beyond Price Strategy
What Are Some of the Advanced Strategies for Your Value Analysis Program?