Industry overview:

The importance of procurement management in the healthcare industry

Efficient procurement systems and management are essential to ensuring the effective operations of many crucial aspects of the healthcare industry.

Proper sourcing, negotiation and acquisition of supplies are needed to produce groundbreaking research and provide patients with the best possible quality of care. Well-managed procurement systems help ensure the organized, reliable and cost‑efficient supply of medicines, medical equipment and other supplies to healthcare professionals and companies.

These systems also analyze data to ensure the most economic distribution and use of materials. Efficient procurement can help not only lower costs for healthcare professionals and companies, but it can also allow them to pass those savings on to their patients.

It is important for healthcare companies to have a strategic and effective procurement management system in order to secure high-quality supplies, tools, and care for their patients. Supply Chain Partner uses innovative technologies and management software to assist healthcare companies in strategizing and implementing comprehensive procurement and spend management plans.

The problem:

How inefficient procurement affected Supply Chain Partner’s healthcare clients

Supply Chain Partner has partnered with numerous healthcare companies to resolve their individual procurement challenges. Supply Chain Partner identified three significant procurement challenges within the healthcare industry: expense management, SAP integration and developing source-to-pay operating models, as well as the process of finding and contracting a supplier for goods or services.

Expense management

One of the major responsibilities of healthcare companies is to ensure that physicians have access to any medicine, supplies or services needed to provide the best care for their patients.

However, inefficient procurement of resources can lead to inadequate offerings of supplies or services and excess costs. Supply Chain Partner has worked with healthcare companies to optimize spend management as well as costs related to business travel.

SAP Integration 

SAP integration, which uses cloud-based software for enterprise resource planning,  allows healthcare companies to have more efficient communication and functionality between systems throughout the company. System integration enables companies to automate processes through complex data collection and analysis. Supply Chain Partner worked with its clients in the healthcare industry to seamlessly integrate their data into SAP systems.

Operating models for Source to Pay

Ineffectual source-to-pay models may cause unnecessary delays in sourcing, negotiations, supplier selection and contracting for healthcare companies. Supply Chain Partner worked with its healthcare clients to develop stronger operating models to optimize their sourcing, procurement and accounts payable processes.

The work:

How Supply Chain Partner’s expertise strengthens healthcare procurement systems

Supply Chain Partner works with healthcare companies to analyze their current processes and systems through a detailed evaluation of the current state of the company’s procurement management, sourcing, expense management, data management, warehousing and logistics.

Supply Chain Partner then designs an implementation strategy to address the client’s individualized needs.

Supply Chain Partner is well-versed in innovative spend and procurement management systems such as SAP Ariba and Coupa that help augment the effectiveness of a company’s procurement and spend management.

Using Coupa, Supply Chain Partner proposed and implemented a new source-to-pay operating model for clients in the healthcare industry. Supply Chain Partner developed workshops to facilitate brainstorming sessions for this new operating model with key stakeholders, and subsequently created a business case to analyze the challenges, benefits and savings resulting from this new system.

The outcome:

What were Supply Chain Partner’s outcomes?

Supply Chain Partner helped healthcare companies simplify the procurement process by employing more efficient systems for expense- and source-to-pay management using various cloud technologies.

These technologies, Coupa and SAP, help to streamline and automate the expense management and procurement process. Supply Chain Partner’s expertise in SAP software benefited their healthcare clients by allowing them to develop a direct, unified process for managing business travel and expenses. In addition, SAP platforms for data integration assisted healthcare companies in analyzing data and managing financials.

Similarly, Supply Chain Partner’s use of Coupa to improve the source-to-pay operating models of its healthcare clients allows them to manage sourcing, negotiate with and contract suppliers more efficiently while saving valuable time and resources. 

Healthcare companies rely on efficient procurement systems to provide high‑quality medical supplies and services. Supply Chain Partner’s expertise in cloud-based procurement and expense management solutions can automate and simplify the procurement process so that healthcare companies can focus on providing valuable and necessary services.

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