by
John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter | February 07, 2022
From the January/February 2022 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Reliance on foreign sources, as well as domestic, will be further impacted by international relationships, according to Johns Hopkins’ Dai, along with the pandemic, inflation and supply chain bottlenecks. “Particularly, the significant decoupling between the U.S. and China will shape global supply chain networks in fundamental and far-reaching ways. Regular stress tests need to be carried out to verify that there is an adequate supply of strategic products in times of crises.”
He adds that hospitals are also turning to multiple sources for supplies and reevaluating their relationships with third-parties like group purchasing organizations. “GPOs must demonstrate to their clients that they are facilitators of supply chain resilience, not just negotiating agents. GPOs now are reacting to such shifting expectations by collaborating with a variety of supply chain solution providers, advocating for supply chain transparency and promoting supply risk management techniques.”
Welch, with Novant Health, says that while the pandemic has shifted perspectives on the roles that GPOs play, it does not mean an end to such relationships. He instead believes that the pandemic has “allowed each GPO to discover their niche and support their members in a variety of ways moving forward.”
Manufacturers are also coordinating more closely with the FDA “to minimize potential disruptions to supply or shortages of critical medical products,” according to CitiusTech’s Shah.
Future of the supply chain
Over the next five years, labor is expected to become increasingly expensive and less available, and stakeholders will be focused more on issues such as sustainability and visibility in their supply chains. There will also be greater demand for forecasting from suppliers, distributors, GPOs and health systems.
“The idea there is to get ahead of storages and put in place systems such as source product substitutes and ultimately gather a greater degree of resilience across the supply chain,” said Rowan. “Generally speaking, there is a lot of room for innovation over the long term.”
Creating more transparency will mean greater reliance on AI, blockchain, IoT and hybrid cloud technologies, which will not only help modernize critical supply chain processes but will result in smart workflows, says Wright. “Leading organizations had already started the journey to integration through enterprise resource planning systems and end-to-end data solutions across finance, supply chain, and procurement. This is an important backbone of the transition to a more agile organization.”
In addition, Medline’s Saviola says hospitals looking to stay on top of their supply chains will need to change their mindset away from outdated tactics for handling emergencies. “In the past, it was typical to find health systems handling emergency scenarios and then returning to business as usual. The way we operate has changed forever, and we can’t revert back to old ways. Embracing lessons learned and new techniques will enable health systems to remain resilient for years to come.”
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