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The healthcare industry continues to be under increased pressure to improve efficiencies and at the same time has a need to build their brand in the marketplace. This is not only true at the hospital level, but also for the insurance providers. Concentric Sourcing has worked with both parties to help them achieve their objectives.
A large regional health plan insurance company was experiencing tremendous growth and had outgrown their existing headquarters. They were planning on moving to new offices and also had a need for warehousing and distribution assistance. With their growth they had also struggled with decentralized purchasing across all departments including the need to gain control over their marketing materials and branding. With the impending move, they had a number of other priorities and needed help with these issues and need it quickly. The company had hit critical mass in their operations and sought outside assistance.
The Concentric Sourcing team was able to help meet their immediate and long-term needs by putting together a customized program that supplemented their team with ours. We became the warehousing and distribution arm for all of their printed materials – including fulfillment. Utilizing our real-time online inventory access within the web-based procurement portal, they became aware of how much inventory they had on specific items. We then established minimum quantities and reorder flags to implement an extensive inventory control system and destroyed the entire obsolete inventory. They had worked with many advertising agencies in the past that produced and stored their printed materials, resulting in lots of excess and unnecessary inventory. The new system eliminates unneeded quantities and by tapping into Concentric Sourcing’s printing expertise they were able to have only those quantities necessary in inventory. Additionally, by receiving some consultation on the design of their forms, they were able to improve them and save money. The customized purchasing site also includes office supplies, and other everyday items. Operations improved and money saved – mission accomplished!
A large area hospital wanted to offer logo apparel to their employees with easy accessibility. They went to their uniform vendor that had a retail operation setup in the hospital. The uniform vendor came to Concentric Sourcing for the product, but they marked it up to retail prices and eliminated a large portion of their potential market. After many complaints, the uniform vendor asked if we would buy back the inventory and sell direct to the hospital.
Without a retail channel of distribution available, we put the inventory on a “road show” and established a rotating six week schedule. Our schedule with the hospital is planned out one year in advance. Each season we bring vendors in to show the new styles. A committee put together by the hospital is in charge of choosing upcoming selection of garments. We worked with the hospital to offer credit card or payroll deductions for employee purchases. The program features a wide array of product choices that meets price points for all budgets. The program progressed to an online Company Store where employees can browse and shop for these items. We have provided their staff with easy access to affordable products, enhanced their branding efforts, and improved employee morale – another success story!
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