SPECIAL FOCUS
prices for supplies that frequently arrived damaged or did not arrive at all. Solution(s) delivered: In the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sup- ply Chain’s focus was directed toward preparations and coordination with inter- nal stakeholders and partner vendors. We ensured we were ordering to our maximum levels for all supplies under protective allocation, began proactively ordering reserve supplies of anticipated impacted products not already on alloca- tions, and set up an offsite warehouse to store additional inventory.
We also reached out to our depart- ment leaders and asked for assistance in identifying additional items that may be needed to support an in u of COD- patients, and asked they identify their critical supply needs and project what their volumes may look like in a “surge” period. Throughout the entire emergency, we have stayed in very close contact with our Supplier partners, primary dis- tributors including Medline and Fisher Scientific, and HealthTrust/Allspire GPO liaisons to stay informed regarding supplies at shortage risk.
As PPE and critical items were placed on allocation, Tower Health Supply Chain continued to forge relationships with new vendors while leveraging current ones to obtain available supplies. New vendors were evaluated and vetted through a series of standardized criteria. As demand forced manufacturers and distributors to place critical items on allocation, clini- cal and nonclinical teams partnered to identify, review, and obtain substitute items from multiple vendors, thereby expanding the inventory pool. Through these measures, Tower Health was able to maintain a continuous supply ow even as shortages spread across the country. Reporting became extremely important to our efforts in monitoring and tracking critical supplies throughout the supply chain. To support our needs, our team partnered with the clinical and IT areas to develop new reporting to track critical metrics around supply stock on hand, expected deliveries, average utilizations and items reaching critical shortage levels. Our inventory teams also imple- mented daily cycle counting seven days a week to capture timely stock-on-hand counts. Infl uential, instrumental leaders: It
truly has been an incredible journey with so many individuals exemplifying self- sacrifi ce and the truest commitment to our mission. No doubt, all those on the
front lines, including the Supply Chain Inventory and Distribution staff, are exceptional and inspiring individuals who have risen to the occasion. So many of the Supply Chain team have worked tirelessly all hours of the day since the earliest onset of the crisis. Just as a few examples, I’ve had team members drop everything to race out to local retailers to hunt down urgently needed supplies, such as plastic shower curtains to be used as protective screens or temporary plastic hooks to hang isolation gowns for reuse. Others have spent countless hours following up on innumerable leads from traditional and nontraditional sources to fi nd any that could result in a shipment of some critical supply. Our Purchasing teams are following up with vendors daily on the chance there will be some supply available to ship, tracking and following up constantly on open orders, sourcing alternate items, researching sub- stitutes, vetting new vendors, and analyz- ing data to anticipate where supply levels are becoming critically low. It is not an overstatement when I say we have turned over every rock to fi nd needed supplies to ensure colleagues have what they need to safely perform their vital roles. The Supply Chain team has not gone this road alone. So many within Tower Health – from clinical team members, to support staff, to our incredible Admin- istration – have worked relentlessly to ensure the well-being of our patients and colleagues. We have also had the privilege of working with incredible vendor partners. Medline, in particular, has been a true partner to us in navigating the challenges of this pandemic. Likewise, HealthTrust has demonstrated amazing support, providing additional sourcing opportunities and resources to keep us informed of the quickly evolving situa- tion. We have also been so fortunate to have remarkable community support. So many within our local community, from area businesses to individuals, have come forward to provide assistance in the form of supply donations. As Supply Chain professionals, we feel an overwhelming responsibility to ensure we are supplying our colleagues with what they need to effectively and safely care for patients. No other time in my career has there been a situation in which carrying out this function has been so challenging. I am honored and humbled to be part of this organization and to lead a team that has come together and stepped up in such a time of crisis.
16 September 2020 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
hpnonline.com
Organization: UPMC Health, Pittsburgh, PA
Supply Chain Department of the Year: 2012 (No. 9)
Jim Szilagy, Vice President and Chief Sup- ply Chain Offi cer, UPMC, Pittsburgh
Supply Chain-speci fic Challenge(s) faced: UPMC Supply Chain was faced with many challenges, such as market availability, border closings, increased pricing, and raw material shortages while meeting unprecedented product demand to ensure the safety of our employees and patients. Sourcing resources were tasked to deliver on their routine day-to- day activities as well meet the challenges posed by the pandemic such as fi nding supply alternatives, expediting delayed shipments, managing the ripple effect of product availability, and restrictions and delays at borders that impact distributors and suppliers’ ability to meet contractual obligations . Solution(s) delivered: In response to
the in ated demand we designed devel- oped, and implemented a supply/demand forecasting platform in partnership with clinical and executive leadership. The new forecasting platform provides the follow- ing information to help inform operational decision such as employee and patient safety and surgical procedures: • Quantity on hand (Warehouse) • Calculated “Peak” Demand • Days on Hand • Outage Date • Forecasted allocations and supplemental order volumes and dates
• Forecasted Supply Health Graphs • Supply Health Indicators (Red/Yellow/ Green) based off determined criteria Influential,
instrumental leaders:
Supply Chain Leadership, Supply Chain Sourcing, Supply Chain Demand Plan- ning, Supply Chain Logistics, Supply Chain Data Management & Analytics, Supply Chain Materials Management and Supply Chain PMO Group. Pharmacy-specifi c Challenge(s) faced:
COVID-19 rapidly stressed operational pharmacy and supply chain resources with a need to protect supply from disruptions in the global supply chain while also scal- ing up operations to meet the potential tsunami of critically ill COVID patients. Very few health systems have access to a full-scale, perpetual inventory system, so these types of supply challenges can be diffi cult to manage when inventory counts are being manually entered into one-off, excel-based tools that are prone to
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