Research

With recent changes in healthcare regulations and a shift in patient utilization, many organizations are turning toward the supply chain to effect change and drive cost savings. Outside of labor, which accounts for roughly 60% of total expenditures, according to the American Hospital Association, hospital supply cost is one of the largest budget items at 15%, and having supply chain at the forefront of improvement initiatives allows for increased organizational oversight in procurement efforts.

A recent trend in healthcare supply chain, the expansion of scope of responsibility, lends to complexity of this issue. In order to adapt, it is critical supply chain leaders that become more adept in their supporting role in organizationwide improvement initiatives in patient care and cost management. At the same time, supply chain leaders are working to be more than a support department, and one that has the ability to spearhead initiatives to manage the intersection of cost and quality.

As a result of these factors, healthcare supply chains are under considerable pressure to operate to their maximum potential to maintain organizations’ financial solvency.

Based on such initiatives and shaped by member feedback and emerging trends, we believe that the introduction of a new Academy offering, in the form of this journal, will help guide supply chain leaders as they seek to strategically manage their teams and pursue operational excellence.

The goal of Supply Chain Management is to provide a higher-level look at managing your supply chain, differentiating it from the specific cost-saving initiatives outlined in The Academy’s other journals. This strategic publication aims to help at the organizational and procedural levels through better-maintained staff and business practices. This focus will help to ensure that no matter what the initiative or end-goal is, the supply chain is working to its fullest potential.

Among several key topics that Supply Chain Management looks to cover is responding to overall industry trends, strategic planning, properly aligning staff for key initiatives, transitioning staff to key management roles, forming and operating successful committees, strategic vendor relationships, and gaining buy-in from clinical staff.

Staffing for Success
While supply chain operations may have little trouble identifying candidates who posses the credentials and experience they require, finding an individual who is likely to be a good fit for a given position and the organization overall is considerably more difficult. Utilizing comprehensive job descriptions that determine education, capabilities, and skill requirements can help establish a successful team.

Better performing organizations are developing dedicated programs to educate their staff. These programs include a core set of skills and knowledge that staff members need for their existing roles, as well as opportunities to learn what they will need to support their own professional growth and the expansion of the healthcare organization’s supply chain operation. Implementing such a program requires identifying what the necessary skill components are and assessing existing staff members in comparison to those components.

For example, in order to develop the skills and understanding required for effective category management, one national health organization has taken steps to align staff member education with core competencies. The organization defined six core competencies and their connected skills, along with five levels of mastery for each concept, ranging from a basic score of one to an expert score of five.

Using established competencies, an organization can weigh and evaluate staff performance against what has been determined to be optimal. The continued measurement of staff over time is crucial for determining personnel who are appropriate for advancement within an organization.

Similar topics will be explored in future issues of Supply Chain Management to provide leaders with a roadmap for improvement across the board as a means to create operational success and improve financial outcomes. Stay tuned as we explore established and emerging trends in supply chain management through case studies, internal benchmarks, and analysis.