January 4

Simplify the Way You Look at Your Supply Chain Operations in 2017

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The most successful business organizations (Ford, Apple, McDonalds, Amazon, etc.) have simplified their supply chain operations to the point they can almost run without their management’s involvement. Can you make this same claim?

Your Customers are Looking for Simplistic Systems

Why are the iPad, iPhone, and Kindle a raving success with their customers? It is because they are easy to understand, intuitive to use, and a time saver over prior iterations of these products. To this point, a few minutes ago, I downloaded (with one-click) a new book for my Kindle within 30 seconds. It was a fast, efficient, and pleasant experience.

Unfortunately, all other electronic book readers on the market require a lot more time and effort to perform the same task. That’s why Amazon gets rave reviews for its Kindle from its customers. Is this the type of supply chain systems you are employing at your hospital, system, or IDN? Or, are they old-school systems that require much time, effort, and patience from your customers?

Simplicity Test: Can this Task be Accomplished Without a Hassle?

A good example of this “simplicity test” would be your new product, service, or technology requisition system. Are you still employing a paper system (as opposed to an electronic requisitioning system that is effortless to complete, simple to track, and easy to receive approvals or denials)? Or, is your new requisition system a hassle at every step of the way?

Better yet, we have a past university teaching client that had developed an Amazon.com like system for their department head and managers to order online all their new and routine requisition items. It’s easy, fast, and a big time saver for all involved parties.

Putting your Expense Management Efforts on Auto Pilot

It has been our experience to see a myriad of isolated expense management systems at hospitals, systems, and IDNs. Regrettably, none of them were on auto pilot. We know through our long experience that there are no roadblocks for you having an enterprise-wide expense management system that covers all your price, standardization, and utilization issues. We call it a one-stop expense management system.

This should be your goal (a one-stop expense management system on auto pilot) in 2017 to simplify your cost management efforts. This is because price, standardization, and utilization aren’t mutually exclusive. They can all be effected by changes in your volume, velocity, and variety (3Vs) of the products, services, and technologies you are buying. That’s why they need to be monitored simultaneously, not separately.   

Simplistic Thinking is the Future of Supply Chain Management!

We don’t often talk about “simplicity” in our supply chain circles, but this topic is just as important as our hospital, system, or IDN’s cost of goods sold. Why? Because the cost, quality, and simplicity of doing business with your supply chain departments has a cost too. It could be an internal or external supply chain cost. 

Our external supply chain cost is the departmental cost of doing business with our supply chain operations. If these daily departmental interactions with your supply chain department are difficult, full of hassles, and are an unpleasant experience then your total end-to-end supply chain cost will be more than your competitors’.

So, to avoid hassles for your customers in the future always apply the “simplicity test” to your current and future supply chain systems. If they are quick, easy, and hassle-free then they pass the “simplicity test.” If it is an unpleasant experience, then consider doing a make-over to simplify them. It’s just that simple!


Tags

cost management, expense management, hospital, hospitals, IDN, standardization, successful business, supply chain, supply chain operations, utilization


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