SOURCING & LOGISTICS How the challenge was addressed and solved
directly or by assisting the customer: VPL worked on their behalf to get more freight man- aged and made sure they were taking advantage of the best rates available to their specific health system. Reducing unmanaged freight saved this customer almost $30,000 alone, and we were able to identify an additional $70,000 in savings with lower freight costs overall. Additionally, by monitoring their freight spend, we were able to pinpoint an instance of unusu- ally high spend from one particular supplier that was shipping everything express which was not a part of the contract. This overspend amounted to $30,000 that the customer would’ve otherwise paid, but VPL chased down to make sure they saw they received a refund and fixed the issue going forward.
Amber Bielak Amber Bielak, product manager, VPL
Tecsys Specific challenge the customer faced: Our customer faced the challenge of optimizing their surgical supply chain with a focus on waste reduction, resource efficiency and patient care. To address this, we restructured processes, introduced dynamic inventory management and optimized staff allocation. By introducing automation, our customer was able to stream- line operations, which allowed them to establish rigorous quality control measures. As a result of these changes, the perioperative environment benefited from a significantly more efficient and streamlined supply chain. How the challenge was addressed and solved directly or
Cory Turner
by assisting the customer: Drawing on our expertise in supply chain, Tecsys collaborated closely with the health systemrs supply chain leadership. The team secured executive support to deploy a data-driven approach to preference card optimization. This involved a systematic analysis and refinement of preference cards used in surgical procedures, ensuring only items with regular utilization were included. By removing seldom-used items from the pick lists, our customer was able to significantly cut down on reprocessing costs, mitigate discrepancies in inventory counts and reduce unnecessary product orders.
Cory Turner, CMRP, senior director, Healthcare Strategy, Tecsys
The Ruhof Corp. Specific challenge the customer faced: My customer began working at a new surgical center at a Texas hospital facility. As the facility had not performed general surgery in many years, she noticed significant rust and staining on the existing stain- less-steel trays and instruments. Not wanting to bear the expense of replacing these items, she asked for my help. How the challenge was
Before
addressed and solved directly or by assisting the customer: I had our warehouse expedite her a case of our Surgistain quick revitalizing solution for stainless steel surgical instruments, trays, basins, case carts, etc. The product removes rust, stains, spotting, hard water
scale and mineral deposits and helps to loosen stiff joints and locks. My customer decided to give Surgistain a try and was thrilled with the results. In her own words: “We soaked and scrubbed and now have a new looking tray that will be useable for many more years.” She tried it on some other products and got the same great results. She was so happy that she even provided us with before and after photos.
After Vic Preston, senior account executive, The Ruhof Corp.
Olympus Corporation of the Americas Specific challenge the customer faced: The health and safety of patients and delivering great customer service are key values in Olympus’ journey toward our goal of improving patient safety. One component of the Olympus support for patient safety is our Endoscopy Support Specialist (ESS) Team, providing 80+ ESS’ across the country. The ESS team provides customer education focused on proper care and han- dling of Olympus products, endoscope reprocessing based on the manufacturer’s instructions, guidance on Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), and Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (SGNA) Society Guidelines, as well as information on our products.
Bill DeMattie, ESS in the Midwest, is an example of an Olympus employee who goes the extra mile for his customers. Bill supports several large teaching hospitals in the area, providing frequent education on reprocessing, equipment care and handling and guidance on infection prevention best practices and processes. He is the “go-to” person for hospital employees when they have reprocessing or related questions. A teaching facility in his territory had been experiencing
Bill DeMattie
turnover in reprocessing staff coupled with a high-volume of daily procedures at multiple locations. At times, spikes in procedure volume drove the need for some locations to share equipment. An equipment inventory coordinator and nurse manager from the facility approached Bill late one afternoon with an urgent situation stating patient procedures were scheduled the next day and the location did not have the proper equipment in-house to complete some procedures since some items were at Olympus for scheduled maintenance. How the challenge was addressed and
solved directly or by assisting the customer: DeMattie quickly went into action, sourc- ing equipment for the facility through the Olympus equipment loaner program. With the equipment delivered in time to the hospital, the facility was able to perform the required procedures without impacting patient care.
Theresa Kunsman
Theresa Kunsman, senior product manager, Cleaning/Disinfection/Sterilization, Olympus Corporation of the Americas
hpnonline.com • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • December 2023 7
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