How You Will Create The Best Last-Mile Medical Device Supply Chain (Sales, Inventory, Provider Relationships)

Written By

Mareo McCracken
Mareo McCracken

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Like every medical device executive, you know these things to be true:

In order to transform your medical device supply chain and last-mile field inventory logistics process, your business must be agile.

You are obviously aware of the need to be able to forecast better by using your data in smarter ways.

And finally, by doing these things in addition to building stronger relationships with the healthcare providers you will also be able to reduce costs.

You know what you want, this is how you will get there.

Agile – In order to create a truly agile medical device supply chain and field operation you need to be able to truly execute effectively, create better data, and support real scalability.

Ability to Execute – Each stakeholder and team member must be able to execute their role effectively on a single unified platform. This is only possible with high user adoption across a unified platform where all the work that needs to be done is performed and recorded into one simple tool. One cohesive platform is what allows better data to be captured.

Data – You must have better real-time data and everyone must have full data transparency. With visibility, you empower each stakeholder. With better data, you can make better decisions.

Scalability – You need to be able to scale up or down quickly. This means using outside software and tools rather than just in-house resources. By effectively using partnerships you have the ability to focus on your core competencies while ramping up or down as needed.

Forecasting – You absolutely know that accurate forecasting can change everything. Accuracy is increased with better data, tools, and models. When you can improve forecasting, you prove you are a great executive.

Better Data – This means using tools that can combine the sales rep’s actions, needs, and behaviors with the inventory in a real-time model. Without data that is accurate, deep, and meaningful your forecasting doesn’t have any value and even worse, will always be wrong.

Better Tools – Most users all live on different platforms and do work in silos. This is ok for some situations, but the data rarely lines up. The tools must be easy to use; they must help the user do their job better. If the tool is outdated or hard to use, no one will use it the right way. Without proper user adoption, you will never get all the data you want and need.  In order to get accurate data, you need an easy and inviting comprehensive platform that unifies all the processes. This will give you deep and accurate data.

Better Models – It will require updated algorithms that actually take into account future cases, shipping data, usage data, and replenishments all into once cohesive view. It means automating your models with machine learning and artificial intelligence. When you have automated algorithms it frees up your team with time to look deeper into the “why” rather than just pure data mining that rarely leads to insights.

Reducing Costs – This is the simplest of all, right? When you can scale as needed and can forecast properly you will stop wasting money. You will reduce excess inventory. You will prevent inventory from expiring. You will have materially less next-day overnight 8 am shipments to pay for. Reducing costs is the result of people, processes, and tools aligning to provide better data so you can make better decisions.

As you fulfill your obligations and accomplish your goals, you enable the rest of the company to succeed as well. Your entire organization will grow.

Enable and empower your company to grow.

Like most medical device executives, you believe you have to create an environment that allows your medical device company to increase revenue, expand market share, and reduce costs.

For medical device executives, you know that the only way to have any lasting impact is to do one of these three things:

1. INCREASE REVENUE

More Revenue – The best way increase sales is to have the right product available at the right time and for sales is to spend more time selling. If your team is not selling; they will not increase sales. If the sales reps are concentrating on busy work like data entry, paper forms, inventory administration, phone calls, emails, or other operationally focused tasks they are NOT focused on the customer. Let them sell! The surgeon and healthcare provider team need to be where the majority of a sales rep’s time is spent. Tools and systems that allow for sales reps to spend more time in direct contact with the surgeon is the only way to measurably increase sales efforts.

2. EXPAND MARKET SHARE

Expand Your Market Share – In addition to great patient outcomes, the healthcare provider and surgeon relationship is the most important driver behind increasing market share. Trust drives all strong relationships. If you can always deliver superior products at the right time, your relationships will continue to stay strong. To grow those relationships and develop new ones you need to be fully integrated with the healthcare provider team. This includes system integrations (schedules), HIPAA compliant open communication, and file sharing. When systems are in place to prevent failure and increase communication, trust is built.

3. REDUCE COSTS

Reduce Costs – When your medical device supply chain is agile and can scale as needed you will reduce costs. When you forecast accurately and allocate assets properly you will reduce costs. Eliminating extra shipping, unnecessary movements, additional manual effort and product write-offs is all about eliminating wasted time, effort, and resources. All waste costs money. The more waste you PREVENT, the lower your costs become. If everything is manual, there will be waste. If inventory locations are not optimized, there will be waste. If inventory placement is not predicted using advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence, then there will be waste. Waste is never good. In order to truly reduce costs, human and machine cognitive computing through flexible sales and operational platforms must be adopted.

Transforming into an agile organization is hard, yet you can do it.

Improving forecasting accuracy is hard, yet you can do it.

Increasing revenue is hard, yet you can do it.

Expanding marketing share is hard, yet you can do it.

Movemedical can help.

Reducing costs comes as a byproduct of being agile and better forecasting.

A better way to optimize your medical device supply chain and field inventory operations.

The best way to know HOW to do what you want to get done is to talk to and partner with people who have done it before.

Movemedical has been able to help clients across the globe reduce field inventory by at least 25% and increase top-line growth by over 10% all while creating stronger and more trusted surgeon/rep relationships. Movemedical helps companies become agile by letting them focus on what they do best while providing them with the tools they need to adjust to a changing market. Movemedical provides tools that enable all field sales and operations teams to do their jobs better so you get the data you need to forecast and reduce costs.

This is because the software that makes the reps’ life easier and controls the entire operations and inventory process is more likely to be used, you will get better data, and be able to provide actionable insights.

We love helping executives solve their biggest operational and sales challenges. Let’s partner together to create a better future. An agile future: one with better forecasting, more sales, less waste, and better relationships.

Next Steps:

Contact Us: 877.469.3992 | info@movemedical.com

or Learn More: www.movemedical.com/product

or CUSTOMIZE YOUR PERSONAL DEMO NOW

A good medical device supply chain sales & medical device inventory solution is worth its weight in gold, a fully integrated medical device specific operations and sales force effectiveness platform is priceless.

A complete medical device sales & inventory tool should be able to or have:

  • Full Inventory Management
  • Consignment / Consigned Inventory
  • Surgery Scheduling (+ Calendar)
  • Surgeon Preferences / Preference Cards
  • CRM / Case & Opportunity Management
  • Inventory Control & Visibility (All Locations, All Buckets)
  • Active Order Visibility
  • Opportunity/Lead Management
  • Customer/Account Management
  • Sales Metrics / Data (Reps, Leaders, Corporate)
  • Shipping Coordination (FedEx, UPS Integration)
  • Directed Picking & Put-away (Bin Mapped)
  • Auto Product Replenishment
  • Commission Calculations
  • Expiration Notifications
  • Direct Orders
  • Send & Receive Tools (Rep to Rep etc.)
  • Contract & List Pricing (Real-time)
  • Audit/Cycle Counts
  • Reporting & Billing
  • Image & File Sharing
  • Secure HIPAA Compliant Communication
  • Mobile Usage Capture
  • UDI Compliance
  • Barcode Scanning
  • RFID Integration & RFID Reconciling (HF/UHF)
  • ERP/CRM/EMR Integrations
  • Demand Planning Tools
  • Consignment/Loaner Management
  • Pluggable Workflows (Programmatic Integrations, Integrated Prediction Models)
  • Sourcing Matrix Tool
  • HIPAA Compliant Communication (Messages, Calendar, Usage, Notes, Files)
  • Sourcing Optimization
  • Future Stock (Virtual Inventory Assigned to Future Events)
  • Atomic Inventory (UDI Ready, Piece Level Tracking, Serialized or Not)
  • Hybrid Kitting (Skinny Kits, Kit Management, Kit Versioning, Tracking)
  • Cross Boundary Workflows
  • Lost & Found (Automatic Cycle Counting )
  • Merger/Acquisition Integration
  • Par Management
  • Multi-Catalog Management
  • Loan Optimization (1 Loan Per Day)
  • Separate or Combined Sales & Operations Alignment
  • Cost-to-Serve Metrics
  • Turn Ratio Dashboards

Need to talk with someone? We understand. Call anytime.

phone: 858.956.0208

email: mm@movemedical.com

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