The Key to Efficient Materials Management: Automation

Based on the sheer variety of departments, items, processes, and the 24/7, 365 days-a-year operating model of hospitals and health systems, materials or supply chain management is in constant motion and so is its data. This makes it an ideal area for automation to accelerate and streamline processes for greater efficiency and reduced cost.

Automation and Digitization Opportunities

Examples of applications and processes where automation is most effective:

• Charges to cost centers
• Contract monitoring, updating, vendor management
• Single and multi-facility inventory control
• Routine and ad hoc reporting
• Data migration and integration
• Product description updates
• Purchase order processing
• Logistics and requisition processing

Targeting Areas to Apply Automation in Materials Management

Focus on processes with the following challenges:

• Data demands on staff are heavy with numerous, repetitive steps to manage
• Continual financial adjustments and/or discrepancies occur
• Frequently requires data to be manually transferred to another system
• Executed through older, under-performing IT systems
• Consistently requires further review based on frequent errors, incomplete data
• Data running slowly or inconsistently within or between systems and databases​

Utilize automation as an integral resource to reduce complexity and drive data performance in supply chain management.

We’ll help you identify data issues, reduce complexities, and rework processes to speed integration and reduce cost. By continually integrating automation as a solution, a wider variety of tasks, units, and stakeholders will benefit.