March 05, 2015 Industry news
Nicola Hall, managing director at Ingenica Solutions, discusses the way in which inventory management in the NHS has been managed and the impact it’s had on suppliers.
There is no ‘no-cost to the NHS’; we are all paying extra to maintain consignment stocks on shelves whatever the published deal.”
The procurement and inventory management landscape will take a first step towards change this June when hospitals across the UK are expected to have a GS1 strategy in place.
In an article, Nicola discusses:
- The different regulatory requirements placed on medical suppliers and how GS1 standards could reduce the time taken to achieve compliance.
- [Without GS1 standards in place,] some suppliers could be benefitting from the chaos of hospitals being unaware of existing stock levels, contracting separately, and out-of-date stock.
- Contract restrictions with suppliers could be costing NHS Trusts millions on pounds – strengthening the case for tighter inventory management controls.
Nicola also examines:
- How many hospitals feel it is not possible to either return or sell-on slow-moving good inventory; suppliers holding up to six times their annual turnover in consignment stocks on hospitals shelves; and suppliers charging set fees.
As the GS1 strategy starts becoming a reality, more costly practices that are not currently visible for the supplier and the customer will become apparent.”
The utopia is clear visibility across the supply chain for customers and suppliers of inventory, batches and pricing, combined with the ability for the NHS to truly share resources. A clearer picture of stocks, and demand to the suppliers, will help manage the production requirements better, eliminating costs at every stage throughout the process.
This article was first published on Supply Management on 25th February 2015.