Author Archive for Robert Yokl
The Next Wave of Hospital Supply Chain Savings Opportunities
I can never say this too many times: If you are depending on price and standardization to keep your supply chain savings alive over the next few years, think again. These savings aren’t going to be available to you in abundance. However, I have listed below the next wave of hospital supply chain savings opportunities [...]
The Cold Hard Facts About Supply Utilization Management
We often talk about utilization management in these terms: If not now, when? We can make this statement because utilization management is the only savings area left in your vineyard. Not only has your low-hanging fruit been picked and standardization been substantially achieved, but now your pricing is slowly disappearing. This isn’t conjecture any longer; [...]
Did You Know There Is A Cost of Doing Nothing?
One of the beliefs of psycho-economics (the study of behaviors in finance) is that losses are more important to corporations or individuals than gains. For instance, if we were negotiating a renewal contract with your hospital and we lowered your price, but then asked for our payment terms to change from 45-days to 30-days, we [...]
How Supply Chain Leaders Are Leveraging “Big Data”
Healthcare organizations generate a lot of “big data”, from ongoing operations, that is available to supply chain professionals to analyze if they have the right power tools, the right mindset, and the inclination to do so. You see, supply chain leaders have figured out that they can leverage their healthcare organization’s “big data” and turn [...]
Changes, Past and Future, In Value Analysis Analytics
We have all heard the phrase, “In God we trust, all others bring data” which is a maxim that was coined by Edward Demming, the father of statistical quality control, to emphasize that if you follow the data it will lead you to the answers to all of your questions about cost, quality, and safety. [...]
How the “Control Tower” Approach Can Up Your Savings Game
There is a new concept in industrial supply chain management circles called “control tower” that mimics how an air traffic controller manages hundreds of planes at one time with their radar, radio communications, and their keen observations. Mike Landry, President of Barkawi Management Consultants, tells us that this “control tower” approach goes beyond incremental improvement [...]
4 Things You Should Know About Supply Utilization Management
After 16 years of research, investigations, and hands-on implementation of scores of supply utilization management programs, we have identified four things you should know about supply utilization management: 1. It’s a strategy you can no longer afford to ignore: Price and standardization have been the primary supply chain cost containment strategies for decades. Now that these [...]
The ABC’s of LifeCycle Cost Management
I learned many years ago that the purchase price of a product, service or technology only amounts to about 1/20th of its lifecycle cost (or cost of ownership over its useful life). This changed my focus from price to lifecycle cost management when deciding to purchase a product, service or technology. This is the only [...]
3 Surefire Ways to Get Your Stalled or Rejected Value Analysis Projects Approved
How many of your value analysis projects are stalled, stuck or worse yet, are in limbo? My guess is that it could be as high as 23% to 35%, at any given time, representing tens of thousands of dollars in savings not being implemented. To avoid this bottleneck, here are three surefire ways to get [...]
Less Is More: This Should Be Your Mantra
I just read that Office Depot cut their supply chain waste by tens of thousands of dollars a year by slashing their packaging waste by switching from corrugated cardboard to paper bags for deliveries to their customers. I call this tactic, “less is more” which should also be your mantra for your value analysis teams, [...]
