PRODUCTS & SERVICES Ace in the hole or race to a goal?


Supply Chain ponders the promise, reward from purchased services by Rick Dana Barlow


upply Chain faces C-suite requirements to cut a minimum of 30 percent of its opera- tional costs by mid-year. queeing contract pricing wont even put a dent in the hard- dollar savings the team needs to book. Those within the department feel that much of the identifi able fat has been stripped to the bone so that only meat seemingly remains. eeing how urgical ervices embraced service line management (M) in the pre- vious year, cutting services that either were not profi table or that consumed too many resources, the upply Chain leader applies the M framework to the departments functions and turns to purchased services as a viable option. The next monumental hurdle Deciding


I


which functions to  ip externally to a con- tracted third party from having his or her own internal team tackling them. egardless of facility type, sie or location, upply Chain leaders may choose from a litany of prospects within their realm alone, hinging on their long-term goals. upply Chain also may advise the C-suite to consider other areas as well where they may only have dotted-line in uence or oversight. The overarching strategy proffered by


purchased services experts ather and analye your data, evaluate third-party references and think holistically rather than incrementally. tart by asking the right fundamental ques-


tions about your organiation, according to laine Douglas, Managing Principal, Viient. egardless of a hospital systems sie, location and facility type, before tackling new savings initiatives, it is important to delve into your spend analytics, understand your data and prioritize your approach based on what the data is telling you, Douglas indicated. “Where do the opportunities exist Do you possess the expertise inter- nally to drive satisfactory results or do you need help in certain categories re


Blaine Douglas


your purchased services contracts procured through a centralized process? Have you


magine the following scenario s healthcare continues to navigate, mean- der and languish through the pandemic,


leveraged standardization across your sys- tem to the extent possible? Have you taken a lean approach to the number of vendors you utilize across a category?” Then delve a bit more deeply. “Once meaningful purchasing processes are put in place that leverage best practices and re ect your systems culture, it is time to look deeper into your operation, Doug- las continued. ased on historical success, Vizient has identified some top areas to look into, including food and nutrition ser- vices, health care technology management, human resources benefi ts, pharmacy benefi t management and information technology. Typically, these are high-spend areas with a fi ve-percent-to-30-percent savings oppor- tunity within these categories. ny savings strategy developed should align with your systems values and streamlined purchasing process to ensure that captured savings is long-standing.”


Taking the plunge effrey shkenase, MP, roup Vice Presi- dent, nd-to-nd upply Chain, exera (a Premier company) asserts that third-party contracts for large operational areas can offer the best possible transparency, cost structure and quality. In fact, the three areas shkenase recommends purchased services to support signifi cant multi-year savings includes supply chain, environmental and facilities services and information technol- ogy (IT). hile he doesnt consider this true


outsourcing, shkenase further urges providers to leverage an -Payables vendor, such as M, for example, to support discounts on vendor pur- chases, improved cash  ow and revenue enhancement on existing volumes. Today, however, were advising providers to think broadly and holistically review spend categories  employing data-driven technology to benchmark against peers and identify the greatest areas of opportunity, he noted. “By tracking and measuring spend by category, supplier and facility, an inte- grated spend management platform helps


Jeffrey Ashkenase 42 January 2021• HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • hpnonline.com


providers overcome the siloed nature of vari- ous contract, set and manage specifi c savings targets and oversee contract compliance once new agreements take effect. When evaluating purchased services opportunities, providers should concen- trate on four key questions, according to shkenase.


Is the service “core” to your mission and competitive position? Can you perform the service at a lower cost and/or higher quality than a third-party vendor? Can your organiation keep up with tech-


nical requirements, labor laws, personnel sourcing or operational improvements at the same level as vendors that have potentially larger scale and investments?


What is the opportunity cost of insourcing


versus outsourcing In other words, what else could you be doing with the funds, talent and attention that you are devoting to oper- ating and managing an in-house operation? ngie aggard, COO, on Denton  ssociates C (D) claims health systems can identify several areas that consistently generate hard-dollar savings, but those areas require collaboration and willingness to chal- lenge the status quo obectively. ranted, savings may not be the overriding goal, she added. “Quality and patient satisfaction scores must also be weighed into the deci- sion to outsource or insource as well as the long-term strategic and community impact, she noted. Most of the time, the quality and patient satisfaction gain outweigh the benefi t of the cost reduction.”


Haggard pinpoints four primary targets


for purchased service consideration, along with three additional prospects. •Dietary/Food: Most organiations already have this as a purchased service, however, they are not managing the relationship, so there are opportunities for enhancement, she indicated. Utilizing a purchased service for dietaryfood will provide a foundation for continual improvement and enhancements in the type of food, food quality and effi cient methods for preparing food onsite. It can also provide a revenue generating opportunities via coffee shops on-campus (without the burden of manag- ing the detail daily operations).


Page 44


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