What’s the result of integrating an Amazon-like search tool into the supply chain system of a major healthcare organization?
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) calls it an e-Marketplace, a solution that saves an estimated $3 million annually in increased contract compliance, allows supply chain staff to focus more on strategic activity, and enables clinicians to spend more time with patients.
Read the full UPMC story on Page 8 of Healthcare Supply Chain and Payables >>
The Problem
UPMC began automating their supply chain operations in 2007, but realized they needed a solution that went beyond just the elimination of paper. They were still prone to inefficiencies, as many users issued requests directly to vendors without going through the supply chain and had invoices sent directly to them. Additionally, the limited search functionality required users to enter nearly 80 percent of orders “freeform” as special requests – meaning that buyers had to spend time confirming prices and checking vendors, leading to delays in processing orders and delivering products.
The Solution
This led to the birth of the e-Marketplace, a friendly, visually clean, Google-like interface that aggregates data from approved vendors and allows users to search and order from more than 1 million contracted items. Think Google or Amazon, where users enter a product keyword in a search bar and instantly access all of the connected, compliant content sources.
Tangible Results
As a result, the first time match rate between purchase orders and invoices is now 85 percent, a significant improvement from the 20 percent prior to implementation. The e-Marketplace also accounts for nearly 80 percent of UPMC’s purchase order lines, and of those, half are processed in a “lights out” format, i.e. without buyer intervention. As the first of its kind in healthcare, the e-Marketplace solution has proven itself to be an asset not only to UPMC, but is now offered to other healthcare systems as well.
UPMC will present their story at PayStream’s Healthcare Summit on November 16-17 in Charlotte. See all the sessions here >>
