Honoring You - Our Healthcare Supply Chain Heroes!
By Christine Dean, Senior Director, SMI and Nancy Anderson, Associate Executive Director, SMI
2020-October-07

Happy National Healthcare Supply Chain Week to all our supplier and provider members who have been such heroes during this pandemic.  It has been a remarkable journey, and we are so moved and inspired by what’s been happening in our industry over these past 6+ months.  We have learned, innovated, pivoted, assured, collaborated, coached, and delivered.  There is so much to recognize about what we’ve experienced, and here are some highlights we think are worth recognizing:

• We saw healthcare supply chain at the forefront of this crisis, allowing the C-suite to value everything we all do to support patient care
• We discovered new ways to accelerate the pace of change and move beyond entrenched habits and processes to support each other
• We transformed clinical relationships
• We learned how to work from home and, even more importantly, how to manage our teams from home
• We stood up new warehouse space in record time
• We created new metrics and data tools
• We learned that many local and national agencies need our guidance and expertise to be better prepared for the future
• We found new ways to source raw materials and make product quickly to meet the new and dramatically increased demand
• We saw our teams step up in ways they never had to before - and their dedication and commitment have been remarkable
• We learned the true value of collaboration
• We recognized the importance of transparency and trust

Some of these changes will remain, and we’ll all be better for it.  We’ve learned so much and, in spite of the stress, struggle, and tragedy we’ve had to cope with, we’ve become stronger, more resilient, and better at delivering on our commitment to patients and clinicians.

As we go forward, we know now that we can weather any storm.  And we will take what we’ve learned from this experience and build a better supply chain.  SMI members are working on tools to drive more effective demand planning.  We’re developing a strategy for members to partner with the Strategic National Stockpile to make it stronger going forward.  We have a team developing new protocols for virtual relationships to include business reviews, clinical relationships, sales training, and more.  SMI members are leading the way to the next normal for the healthcare supply chain.  And we know it will include the kind of transformation that SMI has always stood for.  It’s a challenging and exciting time to be in healthcare supply chain. 

As we honor you, we want to say thank you for your tireless efforts and for leaning in during this crisis to make sure patients were supported in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, and with the supplies needed to provide excellent care.  You are the heroes among us.

As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions.

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