PRODUCT & SERVICE LINE REPORTS
PRODUCT & SERVICE LINE REPORTS
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to outrace spiking demand, usage Hindsight offers foresight to prep for the next crisis by Rick Dana Barlow
A
s a member of the personal protective equipment (PPE) family and a critical component of standard or universal precautions since the 1980s, gloves have experienced the same surge capacity chal- lenges as other PPE components during the two-year-plus pandemic.
Gloves previously sank into backorder and shortage status during the emergence of HIV in the 1980s, followed by the rise of needle- stick and sharps injuries during the 1990s. For healthcare workers trying to protect themselves and their patients from expo- sure to infection(s) through the prudent use of gloves, ample provisioning remains necessary.
As healthcare professionals and organi- zations continue to navigate and negotiate around and through a pandemic response, this latest crisis – the third major one in as many decades – should serve as a clarion call to arms. When it comes to manufacturing, dis- tributing, storing, using and disposing of gloves, have healthcare professionals and organizations demonstrated progress in the stewardship of these critical product staples? Glove manufacturers and supply chain experts recognize and acknowledge progress, but emphasize that room for improvement remains.
In the wake of whipsawing As the pandemic continues to linger like the persistent cough following a bout with pneu- monia, healthcare supply chain executives and professionals, leaders and managers, scramble to assess, evaluate and take stock of lessons learned to be prepared for … the next time.
Think of supply chain during a crisis or disaster as a cross between Murphy’s Law and Catch-22: If anything can go wrong it will as you deal with a dilemma from which you cannot escape or recover due to mutu- ally confl icting or dependent conditions. In other words, a famished snake coiling to devour its own tail serves as a veritable pain in the asp.
Patrick Lewis, Vice President, Strategic Development, Tronex Healthcare, recognizes the juggling demands and pressures healthcare sup- ply chain pros faced. “While the COVID-19
global pandemic saw a truly one-time unprec-
Patrick Lewis
edented surge in demand and stockpiling that was well greater than the global manu- facturing output and required re-scaling, the industry itself has been relentlessly tasked with generating cost savings that has come at the cost of contingency prepared- ness,” Lewis observed. “Such drive for continuous price savings over the decades eventually compromised manufacturing diversifi cation, as well as the ability for sup- pliers to carry substantial buffer stock given the sharply reduced margins and cost aver- sion when managing truly global supply chains to ensure business sustainability.” As a privately owned supplier of gloves and PPE for more than three decades, Tronex Healthcare committed to an inven- tory planning model that includes a sig- nification investment level in adequate buffer stock. According to Lewis, “this principle enabled us to operate throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic without
10 June 2022 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
hpnonline.com Constructing an effective glove chain
having to reduce allocation to existing customers on examination gloves.” Healthcare Purchasing News offered supply chain experts in manufacturing, distribution and contracting a list of seven probable causes for glove shortages that have occurred throughout the last few decades extending back to the 1980s with “other” as an option. [See the chart on next page for the choices.] Chief among the leading causes was “supplier/vendor distribution challenges (e.g., storage; transportation via air, land and sea).
“Transportation bottlenecks exacer- bated supply disruption due to the loca- tions of product,” said Margaret Steele, Senior Vice President, Med/ Surg, Vizient. “Increased demand led to the need for increased raw mate- rials, many of which were sourced from the
Margaret Steele
same geographic regions leading to price increases and supply constraints. Increased production led to fi nished goods needing to be transported from similar locations using the same modes of transportation. This led to container shortages and increased shipping costs.” Corinne Schmid, Senior Director, Gloves, Mölnlycke, concurs, singling out each step in the transportation process, including containers, vessels, ports, labor shortages, trucking constraints and warehousing. No. 2 points to “Behavioral/consump- tion patterns (e.g., copious use/overuse and waste from improper handling or use, etc.).”
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