PRODUCT & SERVICE LINE REPORTS
that in addition to the Chinese government shutting down exports, the U.S. also repa- triated supply,” Squeo said. “What will be the determining factors for the countries or regions of the world considered a safe, reliable partner when a crisis of COVID’s global magnitude hits? Even within the U.S. borders, we saw states competing for access to supply and willing to venture into the grey market to build stockpiles. “We need to rebuild and establish trust in the global supply chain,” she contin- ued. “We also need an effective global supply chains to manage the cost of health- care. At Cardinal Health, we’ve consistently polled our customers to understand their desire for ‘made in the USA’ exam gloves, as well as their willingness to pay a pre- mium for those gloves. Our research tells us that while many customers would like to onshore exam glove production, many are not willing to pay a premium for this product.”
Third, never underestimate the value of data.
“More effective supply chain data will
enable better projected supply health,” Squeo insisted. “For example, during the pandemic, when the ports began to back up and constrain product on the water, our planning teams were forced to estimate goods receipt and transit times to replen- ish customers. The limits of transparency, tracking and information created frustra- tion in an already challenged supply chain. At Cardinal Health, we’re continuously looking at ways to improve our planning processes to better meet the needs of providers.”
That’s why Cardinal Health has been investing in inventory management tools, such as Kinaxis, to help navigate challenges and plan more efficiently, according to Squeo. “It may take some time, but we made this decision to ensure our custom- ers experience benefits directly, including:
• “Concurrent planning with end-to-end visibility factoring in seasonality and pandemic planning and the ability to easily identify material constraints and viable alternatives
• “Instant demand and supply balancing that factors in capacity
• “The ability to simulate any scenario in seconds, expediting the process of distributing service issue alerts offering potential solutions.”
Medline takes a hands-on consultative role in working with provider customers, according to Fantom.
“Medline helps its customers make the
most effective and efficient use of their sup- plies, including gloves, by partnering with organizations to enable better tracking, efficient ordering, and usage monitoring,” she said. “To achieve this, we partner with all levels of our [customer’s] organization to understand where improvements can be made. This takes the form of cross- functional groups, onsite surveys and physician preference groups that examine how products are selected, ordered and used to find ways of eliminating variance, standardizing practice and ensuring the proper glove is used by department and by task.” Through its Glove Management Program (GMP) Medline can record and advise pro- vider customers on exam glove consump- tion patterns.
“Through this we are able to objectively
monitor a facilities glove usage, consolidate skus, reduce product waste, and ensure proper utilization for infection preven- tion protocols along with any necessary chemical protection,” she said. “Once this initial step is taken, we work with our GPO partners and internal teams to find opportu- nities for our customers to switch vendors and access tiered pricing offered through GPO contracts. In our experience, collabo- rating with a partner like Medline enables
healthcare organizations the best option to mitigate risk and increase operational efficiency without losing focus on their core goal – delivering the best patient care.” Premier’s S2S Global cautions against fixating on any one strategy or tactic, opting instead for a more diverse mindset, accord- ing to Willink. “Ensuring reliable access to gloves requires a multifaceted strategy,” he insisted. “On the supply side, we must reduce our dependance on overseas man- ufacturing. Bringing back domestic/ near-shore production and having greater diversity of supply sources would provide a more resilient supply chain. For these critical products, we believe there should be three or more global suppliers and at least one U.S.-based source readily available to serve the American people. Our broad base of qualified supplier partners allowed us to leverage available monthly capacity with multi-sources.” Editor’s ote: Premier has been working with Honeywell as one of its glove supplier partners since July 2021. Honeywell did not respond to repeated HPN requests for comment.] “Additionally, providers and other consumers have been implementing glove conservation practices and other precau- tionary measures with the goal of slow- ing demand and increasing product days on hand,” Willink continued. “This is an industry-wide issue, so switching providers or hoarding product will not solve the issue in the long run.” HPN
Reference:
1. Politiek K.
et.al. Systematic -review of cost of-illness studies in hand eczema. Contact Dermatitis 2016.
There’s more online! “What might the future hold for gloves?” -
https://hpnonline.com/21267405
“Pandemic re-cued, glove suppliers come to the rescue” -
https://hpnonline.com/21267407
14 June 2022 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
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