Global supply chain disruption isn’t going away any time soon. With prices for many medical products at all-time highs, some hospitals continue to hedge their bets, waiting to see if prices come down before they buy. Given the increasingly finite supply of backordered products, waiting only increases the risk of not getting what is needed at any price. If your hospital is stuck with expectations of pre-pandemic or “normal” prices, it will be frustrating for your colleagues and may hamper sourcing success.
Reset price expectations before starting your sourcing process. Help finance teams and department managers understand why prices are still high (raw materials, energy, shipping, buying off-contract, etc.) and reset price expectations to targets reflective of current market conditions. Remind your colleagues that new cost structures and having to pay more is a reality. Getting buy-in to these higher prices, and approval to purchase before starting the sourcing process, can help reduce internal frustration and ultimately increase your sourcing win rate.
All indications are that challenging hospital supply chain conditions and higher prices will persist well beyond 2022. Hospitals that reset internal expectations to current market conditions and prices will have greater success filling critical product needs. Don’t wait and put your hospital at risk of having to pay even more, or not getting the products needed to deliver patient care.
