Benefits of Inventory Management Software in The Healthcare Sector
Supply problems are a burden for every hospital. Hospital staff wary of not having the equipment they need compensate by massively overstocking. Such oversupply is wasteful and inefficient. Many hospitals now recognise this problem and address the issue through the adoption of predictive analytics and the employment of specialised inventory management software.
The natural tendency to just buy mountains of inventory should be resisted. Effective use of these new inventory management tools present hospital manager with an opportunity to trim back some of the excess inventory and supply chain costs. This is vitally important to long term sustainability as the ever-mounting costs of hold excess inventory are putting pressure on healthcare providers to implement tangible change.
But why bother to change? The simple answer is the significant gains made possible by the clear ROI. Advanced supply chain software allows healthcare providers to release funding and redistribute it to capital investment or workforce expansion.
As in manufacturing a reduction in the volume of inventory can reap considerable financial benefits. Tight inventory management means you won’t lose it, it won’t become obsolete or expire. Ultimately it will enable you to run a more efficient operation.
Efficiency gains is just one of the benefits of greater investment in inventory management software. Realised cost-savings can ultimately be channelled into improving patient care and patient experience. Better inventory control can improve patient safety through facilitation of medical device recall processes. As supply chain staff can access real-time data of the status of their devices and inventory, they can respond rapidly to any manufacturer notifications.
The challenge now remains to effectively integrate these supply planning tools into existing hospital systems and win the trust of the clinicians and supply chain staff that rely so heavily on the data these tools provide
