With Q4 upon us, so is end-of-year pressure on hospitals to use approved budget for equipment purchases by year-end. December 31 arrives quickly for both hospitals and sales reps that both want to get deals wrapped up. For clinical departments, this adds stress. But for supply chain that manages ALL the contracts, getting final signoff and signatures required to issue POs by the 12.31 deadline can be daunting, and adds lots of stress. Let alone leaving enough time to evaluate each purchase and negotiate final savings you already know are possible. What if you could use year-end pressure as a strategy to lock in savings early, and get deals completed on your terms, without the added stress?
Flip-the-Script – Accelerate Year-end Purchase Deadlines for More Savings, Less Stress
Suppliers often use the threat of January price increases to pressure hospitals to complete purchases before year-end. Flip the script: use this strategy and create a new deadline that is earlier than December 31 – whether October, November of even December 15th. The trick is to not wait and let the clock run out, taking away your opportunity to realize more savings.
Changing up timing can also “change up” your ability to demand more savings, despite what has already been communicated to the rep. Leveraging the potential consequences of missed deadline for the rep (and the risk of their deal sliding into another year) can level the playing field and enable you to drive better results.
Example: A Miga hospital client recently “flipped the script” on a purchase of a critical lab automation system that had been planned for two years. The hospital had an approved of $2M, but the supplier “best price” was stuck at $2.2M. To break the “logjam”, the hospital flipped the script, and told the rep the deadline had moved up to September, 3 months early. The new deadline also came with the risk that funding could disappear after September 30. The surprised rep asked how to avoid losing the deal, and the hospital repeated their same demand: under $2M. The supplier quickly agreed to what the hospital needed all along, and the new quote included $79,000 of additional system discounts and a $188,000 specialty software module was now $0. Total savings of $267,000 (12.1%)! Flip the script to save time, end-of year pressure and money!
Not sure what your price should be? Use Miga EVMS so you can know, be confident, and get the savings we know your hospital needs.
Miga helps hospitals improve purchasing decisions, supplier management, contract performance, capital planning, and equipment lifecycle management through practical, data-driven strategies that support better operational and financial outcomes.