An Introduction to Sustainable Healthcare Supply Chain

The importance of supply chain technology has never been clearer. It has empowered healthcare providers to respond to rapidly changing situations in my industry. The most critical items can be automatically replenished when stock levels fall too low by digitizing inventory management.

Fremont, CA: The pandemic has necessitated restructuring the global healthcare supply chain, which includes implementing new systems such as digital track-and-trace. In order for healthcare supply chains to maintain resiliency, increased digitalization is needed across all healthcare settings.

Following the pandemic, we will almost certainly see an increase in the digitalization of inventory management and requisitioning. Digital inventory management and requisition systems allow for the creation of a smart, standardized list of products, allowing hospitals to easily locate stock, monitor transit conditions, as well as connect inventory to an automated database for routine replenishment, reporting, and invoicing — all with very little human input.

Key Benefits of Digitalizing the Supply Chain

The importance of supply chain technology has never been clearer. It has empowered healthcare providers to respond to rapidly changing situations in my industry. The most critical items can be automatically replenished when stock levels fall too low by digitizing inventory management.

This has several advantages, including increased control and visibility and improved efficiency by allowing frontline staff to spend more time with patients rather than manually recording and updating inventory records. Clinical staff can automatically update stock levels as they utilize medical equipment by integrating this with a streamlined inventory check system and using technology such as handheld barcode scanners.

How Can Technology Help with Sustainability?

Data is the most important starting point. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of data in healthcare, and procurement teams must now continue to focus on collecting, storing, and properly analyzing reliable, reproducible, and secure data. This should include everything from hospital stock levels to manufacturing output so that healthcare providers can effectively manage inventory and predict disruptions.

Technology has already put us on the path to determining exactly what patients require when they require it, and the best medical product or prescription based on an individual's unique makeup. If the healthcare supply chain continues to embrace collaborative planning, forecasting, as well as replenishment, all trading partners will have greater visibility across the supply chain in the long run.