PRODUCTS & SERVICES
FREIGHT MGMT from page 54 MedSpeed LLC, a provider of integrated
age the information that helps them drive substan-
transportation services to the healthcare
tially more savings.”
industry, helps its customers transform
Among resources available to HLS MedFreight
their often fragmented and overlapping
customers is
HLSMedfreight.com. Not only are
transportation operations into a single
there a variety of reports that customers can ac-
streamlined and centralized network.
cess 24/7 and drill down into, but they can also
“Outsourcing transportation decreases
easily schedule outbound shipments through the
reight
liability and allows health systems to
company’s ShipPro 1-Step that identifies the vari-
move from a fixed to a variable cost model
ous service levels available, estimated delivery
OptiF
to accommodate changing needs,” de-
dates, and actual delivery costs.
scribed Jake Crampton, CEO, MedSpeed.
With HLS MedFreight’s proprietary Supplier Certification Tech-
“MedSpeed carries virtually everything that moves same day be-
nology, “our suppliers can go to our website,
HLSMedFreight.com,
tween facilities that make up an IDN, between a clinical laboratory and
and set up new hospital customers, and they can also perform qual-
its outreach customers and between blood bank donor sites, produc-
ity assurance, which helps ensure all of the volume is flowing through
tion facilities and hospital customers,” said Crampton. These can in-
the model,” explained Bayer.
clude specimens, infectious materials, medical records, radiology re-
NFI’s Roeder advised, “If you have a significant supply chain spend,
ports, pharmaceuticals, blood products, laundry and equipment.
you need to have a provider with bandwidth. We have over 9,000
According to Crampton, key factors driving interest in integrated
trucks on the road and relationships with a couple of thousand carri-
transportation services include, “hospital consolidation and the related
ers, so chances are we’re going to be able to pick the right carrier for
growth in IDNs, coupled with the desire of those IDNs to leverage
the right area and make sure that product is delivered on a timely
their scale through centralized solutions (i.e. central labs and pharma-
basis.”
cies) that require a logistical backbone to link those centralized solu-
With a primary focus on mail, imaging, shipping and courier/lo-
tions with a diverse and geographically dispersed ‘customer’ set.”
gistics services, OMG LLC “can observe a broader picture of the true
Delivery tracking systems that include mobile computing solutions
needs of various non-core departments by strategically looking at
not only play a beneficial role in freight management, but also help
the client’s business plan model and budget goals,” said Jett. “One of
improve inventory management. “You can get as sophisticated as – if
OMG’s strengths is staying abreast of the market and the competi-
it’s connected to your inventory management system, and you set par
tors to provide the best solution for our client. It is by continuous
levels – when you hit that par level it automatically generates an order
monitoring of pricing and services offered by vendors that OMG can
through the system to the supplier and then they ship it through your
assist a company in maintaining the best service and pricing.”
freight management system,” said Vinarsky, Amerinet. “Not only can
“OMG believes in forming strategic partnerships with vendors who
it trigger electronic payment that’s handled without having to gener-
can give our client exactly what they need to assist with cost savings
ate a PO and have it go through finance, the ultimate would be that no
and efficiencies,” added Jett. “One of our partners, Advanced Sup-
one would have a manual interface with that system except for excep-
ply Chain Solutions, works to reduce freight expenditures via imple-
tions. All of the routine stuff would take care of itself automatically.”
mentation of web-based freight optimization (WITS Tracking Sys-
Honeywell’s suite of mobility solutions, such as the feature-rich, in-
tem) technology that includes the internal receiving/delivery process
dustrial-grade Dolphin 9900 enable real-time wireless connectivity,
or information acquired (electronic POD-Proof of Delivery) to the
provide GPS capabilities, integrated adaptive imaging for decoding of
internal consignee in a single/centralized database.”
bar codes and taking pictures, automated signature capture, and serve
OMG has also partnered with Guardian Medical Logistics who fo-
as a mobile platform for running inventory management systems. An
cuses its 30+ years of experience in providing nationwide logistic
extra-long battery life supports “full-shift operations”.
services for laboratories of all disciplines and sizes that require mis-
“Our devices can be used to manage and keep track of goods all the
sion-critical specimens to be consistently picked up and tendered for
way across the supply chain from distribution centers, in transit, and
processing on-time and intact. OMG’s sister company, Zip Express
then delivery back to the end-user,” said Greg Payne, product market-
provides a wide range of courier, transportation, storage and logis-
ing manager, Honeywell Scanning & Mobility Solutions.
tics services with a major focus in the healthcare industry.
Savings delivered
When Illinois-based Rockford Health System enlisted TRIOSE in July
2008 to help manage their freight expense, they were surprised to
learn their true freight costs. “Our initial estimate of what our annual
spend was came out to 40 percent of what we actually spent. We
needed a lot of work to get back to reality,” recalled Chip Geiger,
purchasing manager. “We were inconsistent in how we entered freight
costs into our system, so our first task was to standardize our internal
process to collect accurate and complete costs. Then TRIOSE was able
to take our baseline, and work to present an implementation plan.”
“The most important benefit is that we now have access to our
spend, our suppliers and who is in compliance, and a resource to
work other freight issues, such as tack-on costs, capital goods ship-
ments, and any other issues related to incoming or outgoing package
movement,” Geiger explained.
The payoff? “In the past 12 months, we have documented sav-
ings of $59,050 on a total spend of $385,490, a savings of 15%. Our
savings will grow as we are able to move our suppliers over to
Visit
www.ksrleads.com/?911hp-036 our program, which doesn’t happen overnight. But we are seeing
56 November 2009 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS
www.hpnonline.com
0911-PS-Freight.pmd 56 10/13/2009, 10:54 AM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68