SMI to Launch Two New Industry Tools at AHRMM

Scituate, MA (July 8, 2009): The Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI) will be releasing two new industry tools at the upcoming AHRMM Annual Conference.  In conference sessions on Monday, July 20 at 10:15 am and Tuesday, July 21 at 3:15 pm, SMI will share two new products that are being made available-free-of-charge to the entire industry. 

Supply vs. Labor Cost Calculations will be presented Monday by Tom Hughes, Executive Director, SMI; Gene Kirtser, Chief Operating Officer, Resource Optimization & Innovation (ROi) and Vance Moore, President, Resource Optimization & Innovation (ROi).  ROi is the supply chain arm for Sisters of Mercy.  The session outlines that while labor is currently the highest cost category for healthcare providers, supply costs continue to increase at rates that may challenge labor costs in the future.  Will supply costs ever exceed labor costs?  This session will present a detailed case study about the development and application of a field-tested calculator tool designed to forecast an organization’s future total supply costs versus future labor costs.  A demonstration of the calculator tool will be included in the session, along with details about the use of the tool at several prominent integrated delivery networks.  The proper application of this tool can assist supply chain professionals today in gaining C-suite attention for increasing the strategic relevance of supply chain.

In Tuesday’s session entitled Vendor Managed Inventory – When and How Dennis Orthman, Project Director, SMI; Sandra Erickson, Executive Director of Business Development and Integration, Iowa Health System; and Eric Nelson, Vice President, Integrated Provider Solutions, Cardinal Health will point out that while vendor managed inventory (VMI) programs have gain acceptance as a lean distribution strategy in non-healthcare industries, including retail, many of today’s healthcare supply chain professional lack a detailed understanding of such programs including their proper application, benefits and implementation.  A team of SMI members have developed a program to assist in identifying VMI opportunities and collaboratively implementing VMI programs for the benefit of all supply chain stakeholders.  Attendees will be armed with the information required to identify and implement VMI programs at their own organizations.

These tools and others are available on the SMI website (www.smisupplychain.com) under Resources.