4 Ways to Save Big with Both Arms Tied Behind Your Back!
The tough economy is hitting the healthcare supply chain in a big way. We are losing staff members, freezing spending and eliminating our capital budgets. That’s why our hospitals are counting on us to keep the big supply chain savings machine humming. This is all happening at the same time you are asked not to spend a dime on valuable resources that could offer huge returns to improve your healthcare organization’s bottom line. You might say, we are being asked to save big with both our arms tied behind our back. To assist you with this challenge, here are four ideas for you to consider in order to smooth the road to savings:
1. Get Organized to Save – Who do you think will save more with less, a supply chain manager who has an organized strategic written plan or a supply chain manager who is just going along with the flow or as we say “winging it?” Of course the answer is going to be the supply chain manager with the written plan who can look at the macro and micro picture of their supply chain performance. Don’t leave anything to chance, plan for success! Need a Savings Plan Template? Check out our Targeted Blueprint for Supply Chain Savings!
2. Stop Thinking Price – Let’s face it, the effort it takes to scrape up price savings is not worth the effort any longer. We have our GPO contracts in place and we are lucky to hold the line on increases as opposed to the big savings that we are accustomed to seeing. One answer is to start looking for “Savings Beyond Price™ which we have calculated could be as much as 79% of all new savings opportunities available to you! Look for waste, inefficient use, over-standardization, and value mismatches that could be easier to attack than price savings if you really look for them. Download our Free Supply Chain Utilization Report here!
3. Ask Your Colleagues Where They Are Saving Big – Start asking your colleagues where they are finding savings and see if their efforts translate into opportunities for you too. This could be achieved by using the AHRMM listserv. Another idea would be to create your own “Savings Tip Groups” with your colleagues that you can share your best practices and savings ideas. Why reinvent the wheel when you can learn from your colleagues and they can learn from you as well?
4. Get Your Vendors Working For You – You have valuable expert resources that could be put to work for you in order to save big money for your organization. As we see it, you are only utilizing a fraction of your vendor’s product lines. There are many cost-saving products to choose from that you may have overlooked. Tell your vendors that you would like to have them make recommendations that would reduce your costs inside their existing product lines. This will ensure their importance to your organization as not only a vendor that provides product, but as a valued partner that actually does more than just sell you products.
We know it’s tough out there and I hope that these ideas can assist you in taking your organization to the next level of savings. In addition to these savings ideas, I want to make you aware that we have a huge archive of articles and savings ideas available for FREE on our www.strategicva.com web site and blog. Go ahead and check them out at our expense. I can guarantee you, that you won’t be disappointed!
Filed Under: Best Practices • savingsblog • Supply Chain
