Measure What Happens!
I hear a lot of supply chain professionals talk about what metrics (supply cost/revenues, discharges/revenues, supply cost/operating expenses, etc.) they measure, monitor and report to their management, but are these measurements realistic, reliable and consistent enough to matter?
The answer is maybe yes or maybe no! It all depends on what you or your management are trying to accomplish with your metrics. If you are using them as performance standards that are measured over time against your peers, that’s a good use of your metrics. If your management is using your metrics to embarrass, harass or worry you, that’s a bad use of your metrics. You need to find a healthy balance!
With this said, I find that the most mature healthcare organizations that I talk to “measure what matters” — no more and no less. More importantly, these hospitals, systems and IDNs measure more than one metric to truly understand the supply chain’s movement, velocity and activity for any given period.
At SVAH, we track, trend and monitor eight global metrics, five department metrics and 133 supply categories of purchase to measure our client’s financial fitness on a quarterly basis with our Utilizer™ Dashboard.
Is this too much measurement? I don’t think so, since we have found that by doing so we are “measuring what matters” for our clients. By finding out what matters to you and your management, you will be on the road to operational excellence at your healthcare organization too.
Filed Under: savingsblog • Supply Chain
