Strategic Value Analysis In Healthcare

“Are You Waiting For You Cat To Bark?”

There is a great book by Jeffery and Brian Eisenberg called “Waiting For Your Cat To Bark?” about persuasion, influence and power that supply chain professionals could learn a few lessons from. Like, how to persuade your executive management team to give your supply value analysis program the importance it rightly deserves. Or, why they need to support you when the going gets tough and the weak kneed start running for cover.

The basic premise of the book is that if you wait for your cat to bark (or your management to provide you all the support you need to be successful in value analysis) without leading them, guiding them and showing them the path to success it won’t happen.

Instead of waiting for them to bark you need to be the cheer leader, pathfinder and trailblazer who shows them the way so that they can assist you in maintaining, sustaining and keeping your supply value analysis program at peak performance.

This can be accomplished with four persuasive techniques: (i) find a champion for your program, (ii) have your management actively participant in your program, (iii) give them ownership over your program and, (iv) show them the money they will save with your program.

So if you want your cat to bark or your management to sit up and pay attention to you, you need to think differently and do differently to make this happen.

Your Partner in Supply Chain Savings,

Waste Not, Want Not….

“Waste Is ubiquitously In Our Society, Hospitals And At Home Too, So Why Don’t We Do Something About It!”

I just read that nearly 25 percent of what ends up trucked to dumps each year is 31 million tons of remnants of two-by-fours, roof trusses and particle board from new homes and building construction.

There are a lot of reasons for this happening, but the biggest reason is that the typical architectural blueprints call for different shapes and sizes to be trimmed from larger pieces of wood and particle board to meet the blueprints specifications. This waste is costing builders and homeowners millions of dollars a year (to be exact $3 per linear foot) in wood and particle board scrap.

Fortunately for you, me and your builder, Weyerhaeuser has introduced their new ILevel system that will precut and preassemble all the wood for your building projects at their factories, based on your architectural blueprints specifications that will dramatically reduce this scrap problem to a minimum.

Now how about your own organization’s waste…?

What if you took a trip to your dumpsters, (most hospitals have more than a few) would find the same kind of waste too? For instance:

· Furniture thrown out that could be recycled or sold

· Boxes, cans and bags of food that has never been opened

· Tons and tons of paper and cardboard that should be recycled

· Computers, toner cartridges, and print cartridges that should be recycled too

· Half filled bottles and cans of chemicals and paint that were never used

· Etc., Etc., Etc.

I’m sure you get the picture I’m trying to paint! That “waste not, want not” isn’t just a nice expression it also could mean thousands of dollars of savings for your hospital each year---if we take a hard look just a few times a year.