Our current state of global supply chain disruption isn’t going away any time soon, and sourcing equipment has gotten harder than ever. 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. And to a certain point, that approach is understandable. If your hospital is stuck with expectations of pre-pandemic or “normal” prices, it can be difficult to justify the newer (higher) price of equipment if budgets haven’t increased accordingly. But given the growing supply of backordered products, it’s important to remember that waiting for a better price only increases the risk of not getting what you need at ANY price. When you’re faced with that kind of seemingly lose-lose choice, it might be time for a reset.
Reset price expectations before starting your sourcing process. Help your hospital’s finance teams and department managers understand exactly which costs (raw materials, energy, shipping, buying off-contract, etc.) are contributing to the higher price and reset expectations to targets reflective of current market conditions. Remind your colleagues that new cost structures and having to pay more is a reality, and show them the latest equipment benchmarking reports to show that price hikes are affecting other hospitals too. Getting buy-in for these higher price – and approval to purchase before sourcing equipment – can help reduce internal frustration and increase your sourcing win rate.
Market data suggest that challenging hospital supply chain conditions and higher prices will continue. But for however long this period of market volatility lasts, hospitals that reset internal expectations to current prices are more likely to find greater success filling critical product needs. Don’t wait and put your hospital at risk of having to pay even more – or worse, risk not getting what you need at all. It helps to get a reset with your internal team sooner rather than later.