3 Benefits of Consolidating Your Health Care Logistics Process

Logistics operations in health systems are highly fragmented with an array of critical deliveries slated to be distributed to providers and patients regularly.

To be more specific, the health care supply chain consists of different factions where several orders are placed within a single facility. These are then fulfilled by various manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors. And with so many moving parts, it is a major roadblock for health systems to maintain efficiency meanwhile, cut costs.

You might wonder why there haven’t been many advancements in some of these leading health care supply chain initiatives. But if you consider that many systems have used the same logistics strategy for years— with little to no change— it becomes clear that there’s no actual way of reducing costs or reaching substantial efficiencies.

With all the signs there, now is the time to start modernizing your health system by consolidating your logistics process. It will allow your health system to achieve more with fewer resources. Here’s how.

Gain Visibility Into Your Supply Chain

It’s difficult to cut costs when there are too many segments of logistics and no centralized way to gain visibility into pricing or utilize data. However, technology is changing the way we think about logistics and it’s pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Health care systems now have the ability to harness a structure through a single logistics provider that can track and manage their inventory.

Jean-Claude Saghbini, CTO of Wolters Kluwer Health explains investing in new technology is significant cost savings via inventory reduction.

“Oftentimes, the reduction in inventory can be as high as 20-25%, which translates to millions of dollars. A decrease in expiration rates, better product tracking to patients, and an increase in patient safety resulting from enhanced technology utilization,” Saghbini said.

With the ability to have your products safely transported meanwhile capturing turn-by-turn visibility into each delivery will allow your system to construct improved, actionable steps to increase efficiency.

Break Down Fragmented Department Silos

One of the most strategic ways a health system can achieve reform is by moving from department to system-wide thinking. Breaking down the silos that come from fragmented health systems will only allow for a smoother integrated model. In return, it will cut costs  and provide organizational efficiency throughout the whole system as opposed to just the department.

Another opportunity that arises is improving patient data flow. With silos in place, data becomes fragmented that makes looking at your health system as a whole challenging.  Strategically using data from all departments will contribute to the sustainability of operations.

Capture Data at Every Point in the Supply Chain

Once your system becomes more unified, it will become easier to find long term, scalable solutions. It begins by making decisions based on system-wide key metrics.

By teaming up with a data-driven logistics team, you can gain insight into key performance indicators to help you become more efficient. These metrics include:

• On-time performance updates
• Real-time visibility into every turn the driver is making
• Quarterly business reviews to report cost per delivery, cost per mile, and the total number of deliveries
• Driver ratings to ensure you have the best drivers on the road

Keep in mind that the best way to ensure you’re obtaining accurate data is to connect all segments of your departments into one centralized logistics process. From there, you can begin to access and analyze big-picture metrics, pinpointing various outcomes. This will lead your system (as a whole) to achieving better results.

To learn more about how Dropoff can help centralize and streamline your logistics strategy, contact us today.