5 tips for Annual Procurement Planning in Healthcare
The healthcare industry is subject to unique pressures when it comes to procurement planning as the risks of falling behind with ordering present severe consequences. In other sectors, if you run out of components or supplies, your production can grind to a holt, resulting in delays and potentially a loss of revenue. In the healthcare industry, running out of cleaning supplies can lead to increased risk of infection – and running out of other consumables could mean no treatment for patients that need it. The stakes are always higher when health and life are the collateral damage.
A Medical Supermarket account supports smarter purchasing through repeat ordering, saved favourites, scheduled standing orders, and easy access to order history with consolidated billing. To complement this, we’ve put together a list of tips for managing your annual procurement planning.
1. Don’t rely on reactive ordering
Top tip numero uno: Reactive ordering can result in stock-outs of essential PPE, dressings, and other vital supplies, which can delay treatment or compromise care as mentioned above. Staff may be forced to substitute with non-ideal solutions or go without, further increasing risk. Inconsistent supplies can directly impact patients’ safety, comfort, and dignity.
Ordering last minute can also result in higher costs, including expensive expedited delivery charges. You lose the ability to negotiate pricing and spend can become unpredictable making budget management very difficult. Setting a plan in place for ordering and being aware of your stock levels can make a world of difference.
2. Review last year’s spend, usage and current stock
Just like a sportsperson after a match, it’s important to review your game tapes. Where did you overspend last year? What was constantly out of stock? Identifying problem areas from the previous year can help ensure that you don’t run out of essentials, but it can also help to cut down on waste. It could be that you order a certain size dressing every other month and they never get used – while you continually run out of another size. Quickly identify overstocked or expired items. Also consider frequently back-ordered or emergency purchases and make a note to order these items ahead of time.
Getting organised for the year ahead is often on the cards for a lot of people in January, what better time is there to conduct a full stock check and get your house in order? While you’re going through this process, also improve labelling and organisation and discard of obsolete or non-compliant products.
3. Standardise products and suppliers
Working with clinical staff to approve standardised a product list means fewer decision points when ordering and can cut down on time and errors. Similarly, when staff consistently use the same brands of products or equipment, they become familiar with the way they work, which can cut down on mistakes. Ultimately, this will improve patient comfort and reduce wastage as staff won’t constantly need to adjust to slight variations in product design or performance.
It also makes sense to standardise your suppliers in the same way. Begin by listing all current suppliers and contracts and then assess prices and reliability. Consolidating your supplier list where possible allows for:
- Larger more consistent orders that enable you to negotiate the best price.
- Manage fewer contracts, purchase orders, invoices, and payments.
- Focusing on high-performing suppliers that are more likely to prioritise your needs because you are ordering from them more.
- Easier monitoring of compliance with certifications, quality standards and regulations.
- Clearer insights into spend and performance
Looking to consolidate your procurement with one trusted supplier? Create an account with us today.
