Future of Sourcing - Healthcare https://futureofsourcing.com/tags/healthcare en Why the Just-in-Time Supply Chain Model is Failing https://futureofsourcing.com/why-the-just-in-time-supply-chain-model-is-failing <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Why%20the%20Just-in-Time%20Supply%20Chain%20Model%20is%20Failing.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Why%20the%20Just-in-Time%20Supply%20Chain%20Model%20is%20Failing.png" title="Why the Just-in-Time Supply Chain Model is Failing" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-2067-Vmt0cF8kIi8"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Why%20the%20Just-in-Time%20Supply%20Chain%20Model%20is%20Failing.png?itok=hZim44Hs" width="624" height="325" alt="Why the Just-in-Time Supply Chain Model is Failing" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <h1>Why the Just-in-Time Supply Chain Model is Failing</h1> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-news field-type-entityreference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Related news:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/how-organizations-are-driving-value-from-procurement-with-ai">How Organizations are Driving Value from Procurement With AI</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>The shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) is a direct result of one of the biggest supply chain management disruptions in recent history -- the COVID-19 pandemic. These shortages aren&rsquo;t just bad news for hospitals and retailers, but can often mean the difference between life and death for healthcare workers and their patients.</p> <p>Even before COVID-19, the business model of highly coordinated international supply networks has come under pressure. Increasingly-uncertain political environments and the looming effects of climate change have prompted concerns about the structure of global supply chains &ndash; and organizations&rsquo; ability to respond.</p> <p>The just-in-time supply chain model, currently in use by many health systems is not only doing suppliers a disservice, but also costing organizations time, money and security at a time when those they take care of need it most. Instead of continuing to survive by the skin of their teeth, organizations would be well-served to pivot to a direct supply model that allows for more control to proactively manage the supplies they need and mitigate the impact of major supply chain disruptions.</p> <h2>Lack of Safety Stock? Lack of Preparedness</h2> <p>For example, when building a hospital, most healthcare systems originally plan for ample storage, but when it comes to finalizing the plans, they opt to maximize revenue and ensure quality patient care, so they end up substantially reducing the amount of space for supplies. Hospitals end up taking daily or weekly deliveries to keep storerooms stocked, rather than purchasing and getting deliveries in bulk.</p> <p>So what happens when a global supply chain disruption occurs and those regular, small deliveries are all backordered? Medical professionals don&rsquo;t have the supplies they need and&nbsp; patient care suffers. It sounds dire, but it&rsquo;s the truth. Now more than ever, we&rsquo;re seeing health systems that rely heavily on third parties, such as distributors and Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs), detrimentally impacted by their inability to proactively plan ahead.</p> <p>The pandemic has gained the attention of a lot of CEOs in healthcare who now realize how important the supply chain is to mitigate supply risk and not compromise patient care. While the COVID-19 pandemic is an extreme example of what happens when organizations do not self-distribute, we have seen other major disruptions caused by hurricanes that can wreak similar havoc.</p> <h2>Take Greater Control of Your Supply Chain</h2> <p>Most health systems now have the scale and volume to build out their own self-distribution model. It is no longer sufficient to rely on distributors in a just-in-time or even stockless manner for critical supplies. It is far better to develop relationships directly with manufacturers who can deliver bulk quantities of the supplies your organization needs at a much lower overall cost.</p> <p>It&rsquo;s the same model that makes other industries such as automotive, high tech and retail so effective. If you can purchase items in bulk, thus lowering the manufacturer&rsquo;s or distributor&rsquo;s delivery costs, the savings will result in increased cash retention.</p> <p>There&rsquo;s also an element of control that comes into play. When something unforeseen happens, organizations that have built this relationship with the manufacturers will have better insight into manufacturer inventory and will be able to speak to the manufacturer directly rather than go through a middleman. Manufacturers are likely to fulfill customer orders before distributor orders.</p> <p>There is a direct correlation between the supply chain and an organization&rsquo;s ability to care for its patients. While we all hope COVID-19 proves to be a black swan event, the pandemic has also highlighted the fact that our globalized world should prompt organizations to focus on building a direct supply model that equips them to work directly with manufacturers to secure products in bulk so they&rsquo;re not caught off-guard during the next disaster.</p> <p>Returning to the example of the healthcare industry, hospitals and clinics truly focused on the health and welfare of their patients now realize that the supply chain has to be at the core of their efforts. All the work these organizations do to deliver the best quality and outcomes for their patients means very little if they lack the supplies and equipment to provide that care due to easily avoidable supplier issues.</p> <p>By being able to build a direct supply model that focuses on in-house distribution, health systems will be more agile and more equipped to survive the next supply chain disruption that comes their way while still serving patients with the level of excellence they deserve.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/covid-19" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">COVID-19</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/risenow" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">RiseNow</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/black-swan-event" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Black Swan Event</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/ppe" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">PPE</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/healthcare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Healthcare</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Why the Just-in-Time Supply Chain Model is Failing - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/why-the-just-in-time-supply-chain-model-is-failing"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Wed, 13 Oct 2021 02:00:00 +0000 Matt Stewart 2067 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/why-the-just-in-time-supply-chain-model-is-failing#comments VCH’s Collaborative Mutual Value Solution https://futureofsourcing.com/vchs-collaborative-mutual-value-solution <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Academics_of_Sourcing.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Academics_of_Sourcing.png" title="VCH’s Collaborative Mutual Value Solution" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1561-Vmt0cF8kIi8"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Academics_of_Sourcing.png?itok=Lkdak-jc" width="624" height="325" alt="VCH’s Collaborative Mutual Value Solution" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <div>Canadian healthcare has seen sweeping changes over the years, especially with respect to compliance with the 1987 Canada Health Act. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Delivery of medical services is provided by the Canadian government, but execution remains in the hands of individual provinces. The roles of the provincial and territorial governments in healthcare include: administration of their health insurance plans; planning and funding of care in hospitals and other health facilities; services provided by doctors and other health professionals; planning and implementation of health promotion and public health initiatives; and negotiation of fee schedules with health professionals. &nbsp;</div> <div>In short, it&rsquo;s pretty complicated. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Canada&rsquo;s Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), one of the six health authorities in lower British Columbia, knew it needed to innovate to achieve success and stay within the government&rsquo;s tight budget constraints.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>In 2014, VCH&rsquo;s then-CFO Glen Copping set a path for how VCH would approach outsourcing. &ldquo;The riskiest thing you can do is stand still and not change. Our challenge is to find ways to do it without risking sinking the ship.&rdquo; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>For VCH&rsquo;s BISS (Business Initiatives and Support Services) group, the challenge to innovate came in how it would approach its outsourcing efforts. The commitment to innovation resulted in a first of the kind for the Canadian government: a public/private Vested relationship between VCH and Compass Canada (dba Crothall Health). &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/ten-ways-to-shake-your-world" target="_blank">Vested</a> is a type of sourcing business model developed by the University of Tennessee to create highly collaborative, win-win contracts. In the case of VCH and Compass, the contract centers on achieving mutual desired outcomes that drive innovation in Environmental Services for VCH. But the contract goes beyond cleaning services; it seeks innovation in infection control and bed turn-around times, both of which benefit Canadian citizens with lower costs and higher levels of effectiveness.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The rest of this article profiles how a small group of progressive thinkers at VCH navigated many challenges, including bureaucracy, government regulation and oversight, restrictive precedents, and ingrained behaviors &ndash; to change how they approached outsourcing. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <h2>Needed: A Collaborative Approach to Competitive Bidding</h2> </div> <div>The BISS liked the idea of a Vested model for an environmental services contract. However, one of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to get to a Vested agreement given the government regulations around competitive bidding. UT researchers had developed a process they coined as the &ldquo;RFPartner&rdquo; process &ndash; but it had not yet been tested in a government setting. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div> <div>David Handley, VP of Business Partnerships for the BISS team at the time, was up to the challenge of being the first to pilot the process. He noted: &ldquo;In the past we viewed procurement as a technical exercise. VCH knew if we wanted a true partner to be collaborative and transparent, we would have to start on our end to show that we intended to change the way we worked as well. And that meant starting by creating a collaboratively and transparently bidding process.&rdquo;&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The team embraced several changes. One of the key things VCH wanted to change was to shift to from a transaction-based outsourcing agreement to an outcome-based agreement. The scope would change from &ldquo;housekeeping&rdquo; and &ldquo;cleaning&rdquo; to more comprehensive environmental services. They also wanted to expand the scope to more than just VCH so that it also would include environmental services needs for Province Health Care Society (PHC), one of VCH&rsquo;s affiliated health organizations.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>One of the biggest changes would come in how they approached the completive bidding process.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The VCH team looked to existing Canadian procurement laws and found that almost all of what UT was advocating was indeed possible under Canadian laws. VCH ultimately created a bid process that they called a &ldquo;Mutual Value Solution Request for Proposal&rdquo; process (MVS). &nbsp;The MVS process was inspired by combining the government&rsquo;s approved Joint Solution Request for Proposal (JSRFP) process and Vested thinking. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <h2>VCH&rsquo;s Mutual Value Solution Process</h2> </div> <div>The MVS is a competitive bid process&mdash;like all government procurement initiatives&mdash;but includes collaboration during the bidding process designed to engage suppliers throughout the bidding process. The goal is to get better alignment and inspire innovation from prospective suppliers. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>A key part of the bidding process was that VCH asked its suppliers to think differently as well. VCH wanted a true partner and to do that it had to demonstrate it would work collaboratively and transparently throughout the bidding and contracting process. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>To drive the change, VCH created a bidding environment designed to engage dialogues with suppliers. Proponents could ask questions and request feedback throughout the process. Unprecedented access to stakeholders was available and communication was encouraged.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>&ldquo;Once we had our three qualified suppliers &ndash; we really shifted gears in how we went to market during the entire bidding and contracting phases,&rdquo; Handley said. Each of the three pre-qualified suppliers&mdash;Compass, Sodexo and Aramark&mdash;participated in a transparent process that was built to allow the suppliers to put together the best possible solution they could come up with, not simply answer canned questions and provide a &ldquo;price.&rdquo;&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The MVS process had four distinct phases with the process narrowing from three to two and eventually to one supplier.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Previously, VCH would issue a general RFP that included all details of the entire deal, beginning to end. The MVS process flipped that on its head with VCH and the suppliers collaborating to develop the best solution for VCH. &nbsp;The four phases were described in the bidding documents as follows:&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <ul> <li>Phase 1 - MVS RFP, Discovery &amp; Concept: information was gathered by the prospective service providers and a high-level concept was formulated, with preferred proponents selected on the basis of the concept</li> <li>Phase 2 - MVS Definition: solution development jointly by prospective service providers and the health organizations occurred, and a successful service provider was selected on the basis of the Solution developed</li> <li>Phase 3 - Due Diligence &amp; Validation: the solution is confirmed and validated by the successful service provider and the health organizations</li> <li>Phase 4 - Contract Negotiation: the contract is framed, finalized and executed by the successful service provider and the health organizations; an implementation plan is developed &nbsp;&nbsp;</li> </ul> <div>This approach offered an important advantage to VCH. The MVS clearly stated the intent of each of four phases, but provided only the detail necessary for each phase as it occurred. What this meant was that the evaluation criteria did not have to be revealed at the beginning of the process, but rather at the beginning of each phase. This gave VCH options to modify the process, including the timelines, along the way. &nbsp;The bid process could accommodate new ideas brought forward by potential suppliers as well as VCH continued efforts to discover the optimum way to move forward. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The contracting team also built flexibility into the process. Using a flexible framework approach also meant that VCH had the option to choose one or more solutions to achieve its objectives. This gave it the flexibility to ensure it was working with suppliers for the &ldquo;best fit&rdquo; solution that would meet its needs.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Throughout the process, the prospective service providers had access to information and stakeholders that had never been granted in previous competitive bidding events. An Information Control Office was established at locations where VCH officials could handle the exchange of confidential information. There was also a virtual information source known as the Data Room. This served as the repository for information relating to the MVS, the EVS Project and the MVS Process. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>VCH also invited the prospective service providers to take guided site tours of the facilities, and key stakeholders also spent time with them during the tours to provide overviews of major projects and site challenges. Inspections took on an entirely different focus. &ldquo;We looked through an entirely different lens,&rdquo; said Patrick Prevost, president of Crothall Health Care Compass Canada. &ldquo;We quickly realized most important insights were coming from the direct stakeholder communication.&rdquo; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>In addition, VCH offered a service provider-led stakeholder workshop opportunity. The stakeholder workshops were confidential, and minutes of the workshops were not taken. Evaluations were not conducted. The workshops were benefited the prospective bidders to build their knowledge and develop the highest quality proposal.&nbsp;</div> <div>&ldquo;We needed a contracting approach that would allow us to create a long enough contract term to encourage the supplier to make investments in innovation, but also give us the flexibility to be nimble enough to change and adapt to unexpected circumstances,&rdquo; Handley said. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>&ldquo;Our idea and mission was to do things differently. By focusing on a transparent and supportive relationship and working together as &lsquo;we,&rsquo; we are making tremendous progress on improving quality and service.&rdquo;&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The MVS process turned out to be exactly what was needed for VCH to shift from talking the talk about collaboration and innovation to actually contracting for collaboration and innovation through the Vested process.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The result? Canada&rsquo;s first Vested Agreement between a public and private entity. For VCH (the government entity), creating mutual value under Vested&rsquo;s collaborative approach does not mean relinquishing the safeguards and legalities required by the contract to protect VCH. Standard governance clauses for such things as labor disputes, default, termination, suspension, <a href="https://sig.org/force-majeure" target="_blank">force majeure</a>, confidentiality, and intellectual property remain intact and were addressed in the main body of the contract. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <h2><em>Learning From VCH</em></h2> </div> <div>University of Tennessee researchers have continued their research &ndash; focusing on how organizations are adopting Vested. &nbsp;VCH&rsquo;s success was documented in a formal case study (downloadable at UT&rsquo;s dedicated site for Vested in the research library at <a href="http://www.vestedway.com" target="_blank">www.vestedway.com</a>). In addition, David Handley and fellow team members leading their journey have attended UT&rsquo;s Certified Deal Architect conference and shared their story, inspiring other organizations to also pilot the Request for Partner process. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The result? UT has tracked the progress of eight organizations over the past three years who have piloted more collaborative bidding approaches as part of their efforts to create Vested agreements with suppliers. The learnings of this latest research are documented in the white paper Unpacking Request for Partner (2nd edition) with the learning documented into a step-by-step approach for how organizations can deploy the Request for Partner process.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Kate Vitasek is an international authority for her award-winning research and Vested business model for highly collaborative relationships. She is the author of six books on the Vested model and a faculty member at the University of Tennessee. She has been lauded by World Trade Magazine as one of the &ldquo;Fabulous 50+1&rdquo; most influential people impacting global commerce.&nbsp;</div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/healthcare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Healthcare</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/vested-model" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Vested Model</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/collaboration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Collaboration</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/contract-construction" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Contract Construction</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/negotiation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Negotiation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title=" VCH&amp;rsquo;s Collaborative Mutual Value Solution - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/vchs-collaborative-mutual-value-solution"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Fri, 30 Aug 2019 22:39:57 +0000 Kate Vitasek 1561 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/vchs-collaborative-mutual-value-solution#comments The Journey of an Up and Coming Leader with Siddharth Ramesh https://futureofsourcing.com/the-journey-of-an-up-and-coming-leader-with-siddharth-ramesh <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Podcast_Sourcing_Industry%20Landscape_43.png"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Podcast_Sourcing_Industry%20Landscape_43.png" title="The Journey of an Up and Coming Leader with Siddharth Ramesh" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1548-Vmt0cF8kIi8"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Podcast_Sourcing_Industry%20Landscape_43.png?itok=miwWxn6P" width="624" height="325" alt="" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-intro field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p><strong>Are you ready for the next wave of disruption in procurement? Join Sourcing Industry Group CEO and President, Dawn Tiura, for conversations on The Sourcing Industry Landscape with innovators who embrace technology to improve, influence and inspire procurement professionals.&nbsp;</strong></p> <p><strong>Check out&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://sig.org/sourcing-industry-landscape?__hstc=215510152.344406f4865c40604cf6029be7e958e0.1543422516683.1560384261223.1560386358147.373&amp;__hssc=215510152.2.1560386358147&amp;__hsfp=726271731" target="_blank"><strong>all episodes of The Sourcing Industry Landscape</strong></a><strong>&nbsp;to date and subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. You can listen to the podcast in iTunes, through your favorite podcast app or&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://sig.org/sourcing-industry-landscape?__hstc=215510152.344406f4865c40604cf6029be7e958e0.1543422516683.1560384261223.1560386358147.373&amp;__hssc=215510152.2.1560386358147&amp;__hsfp=726271731" target="_blank"><strong>on our website</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><em><strong>In&nbsp;<a href="https://sig.org/journey-and-coming-leader-siddharth-ramesh" target="_blank">this episode of the Sourcing Industry Landscape</a>, Dawn Tiura interviews Siddharth Ramesh. Sid comes from KPMG, where he managed a diverse portfolio that shaped his techniques for sourcing strategies that he uses today. Sid now works at VSP Global, under the leadership of their CPO Greg Tennyson, primarily in the vision insurance space and providing affordable eyecare globally.</strong></em></p> <div>Dawn Tiura: Hi folks. This is Dawn Tiura from SIG and I am so excited to talk to Siddharth Ramesh. He&#39;s with strategic sourcing and procurement. He also has an MBA and he&#39;s with VSP Global. Now I won&#39;t hold it against Siddharth, that he did go to Ohio State University, since I am a wolverine, but other than that I really like the gentleman. So Siddharth, welcome to the podcast.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth Ramesh: Thank you Dawn. Very happy to join you for this session here.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: So you work for a man who really is a legend in the industry, but-</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Yes.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: You have built an incredible career to get you where you are today. So can we take a little bit of time and just talk about how you ended up at VSP Global and what got you into sourcing in the first place?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Yeah. Sure. So a very interesting story. I happened to actually land in sourcing not by choice, but just by fate I think. So, if you look at my carrier, I did my undergraduate in electrical engineering, dabbled in software engineering for a couple of years. And figured, okay I needed to move onto the business side of things, which is when I realized okay, an MBA might maybe pave the path to do that.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: I was very much interested in supply chain and finance and so I chose Ohio State University, to come and pursue my MBA. Had a fabulous time over the two years learning different concepts, participating some internships. And right out of MBA, I actually landed a job in strategic sourcing. More on the technology side, primarily because of my technology background.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: So when I started out my career in procurement, I was actually a project manager, like the global project manager for deploying Ariba e-sourcing and contracts and supplier information management, for a company called Reed Elsevier. And I was part of their global procurement organization. And from there on, my next gig was actually with KPMG, in the Strategic Sourcing and Procurement consulting space.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Which I think was one of my, kind of like, tremendous opportunities to not only have an increased ramp-up to learn strategic sourcing concepts, but also to apply them across a diverse industry portfolio. I had clients across utilities, higher education, financial institutions, pharmacy, benefits management. And so I think time that I spent in KPMG, was hugely important in terms of molding and shaping up like my leading practices around strategic sourcing and-</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: I think a stint at KPMG would have been awesome for you to learn the different industries and realize that once you really know sourcing, you really can source anything. You don&#39;t have to be a technical expert, you can get that expertise.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Yes. Absolutely. And I totally have to agree with you there, because what you get through those type of consulting experiences, is you become like this gender list around categories, right? So you get exposure, whether it&#39;s marketing services or advertising or IT, software or cloud services. I think the exposure that you get across different categories, helps you become that sourcing expert from a process standpoint.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: And then as you said, totally agree that anybody that understands the sourcing function very well, should be able to pick up a category and go through that seven steps, eight steps, whatever that flavor is and execute on that sourcing strategy.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: So then you went to VSP Global, which not everybody knows, but it&#39;s a huge company and it probably touches more of us than we realize.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Yes. Absolutely. VSP Global is a very interesting company. We are in primarily in the vision insurance space; our mission is to help people see. And a large part of our effort goes towards providing affordable eyecare and eyewear, so that people can continue to have access to see, which is hugely important. What happened and how I landed at VSP Global, very interesting story.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: So Greg Tennyson, who is the CPO here, had just joined VSP back in early 2014 and he was tasked to mature and centralize the entire procurement function here at VSP, which was very transactional and siloed back then. And I was one of Greg&#39;s first hires. I was incidentally looking at the same time, trying to get some reasonable work-life balance coming out of, like, the travel industry.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: And the opportunity was perfect. I landed here, it&#39;s been an amazing five years along with Greg and some of the other leaders here, working on procurement transformation, helping implement some of the learnings and experiences that I had throughout my consulting journey, back here to industry. And we&#39;ve had some tremendous success, widely recognized by organizations such as SIG, made real good partners on the technology side, helping our like tech stack here. And I think we have matured, which is a testament to how we have grown over the last five years.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: Yeah. I think it&#39;s fantastic watching the journey. And Greg Tennyson is truly a legend in our industry, and an industry leader. So, you couldn&#39;t have landed in a better place when you got some work-life balance and got off the road. But then you also went back and got your Certified Sourcing Professional certification through SIG. And so how did that help shape your organization as well?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Yeah. I think one of the best initiatives that Greg had for our entire team, was this increased focus on continuous learning and continuous improvement. And one of the best avenues that we had, was to actually engage with Sig and understand how we could go through the Certified Sourcing Professional course. And in fact, incidentally Greg, myself and my manager Dennis, we were like the pilot for our entire group, to go through the first training program; 12 weeks highly intensive and focused training across different sourcing modules.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: And it was amazing to have, not only a refresher on some of the tried and tested sourcing concepts, but also get introduced to some very important concepts such as third-party risk management, which I think is pretty huge and it&#39;s actually coming up across many companies and industries, this day. Very informative and was very useful to actually go back to our team and say, &quot;Hey, we just went through this course at a high level management level. And I think there is a huge opportunity for the entire team, to learn different aspects of strategic sourcing and procurement.&quot; Going through that course.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: And eventually what we did, was we actually took our entire team of 20 plus folks, go through the Certified Sourcing Professional Training Program. And I&#39;m very proud to say that all of us are actually CSP certified. And I think that has a huge value add when we talk to our internal business partners as well as our suppliers.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: Yeah. It does. And it also gives you all a common framework and a common language, since you all come from diverse backgrounds. And like you said, is it a five step process, a seven step process?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Yes.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: And it&#39;s nice when everyone can finally come around a common terminology about everything.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Yes. Yeah. The definitions and the understanding of... Because again, as I said, when I came from KPMG, I started using some of methodologies over there, training the teams out here and we had some success, but getting to that common platform was hugely beneficial. So that we can have like a shared consciousness around our understanding of strategic sourcing and procurement.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: Yeah. So I want to tell you thank you, because it&#39;s been such a great model. We have a number of companies now that have put 100% of their sourcing professionals through it and now they&#39;re all going over to the third party risk management certification. So really I&#39;m just really pleased that it resonated with someone with as much experience, that you had that you wanted your team to go through it. So that means a lot to me.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Yes. Definitely.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: Tell me, so you ended up in sourcing by chance. because you wanted to get to the business side. How do you like it comparing and contrasting to engineering? Where do you think it&#39;s so exciting?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: That&#39;s a great question, because in my day to day life, I actually deal with a lot of the engineers, because my forte is in the IT space. I have specialized in IT category management across hardware, software and services. So I get to still be a good liaison between my business partners, who are primarily in the engineering space, versus the suppliers. What excites me about sourcing, is the ambiguity and the vagueness that I get to deal with almost every day.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Like every project you would think yeah, I&#39;ve done this like four or five years. Yeah. I should probably just be a cakewalk, right? And there&#39;re those projects, that are mostly the commodity type purchases or projects that are easy to pass through, but every new project, and as technology keeps evolving, not just from a sourcing and procurement standpoint, but even generally, right?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: From a needs as people look to the cloud, as people look artificial intelligence and RPA and various different initiatives and innovations that are happening out. It&#39;s not the same contracts and the same terms and conditions, that we are used to dealing with, right? So what applied five years back, probably doesn&#39;t even apply 100% today, or even like 50% today.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: And so it&#39;s that constant learning that the ambiguity and the vagueness poses, is what is very exciting. Aside from&hellip; Go ahead.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: I would say most people would say ambiguity and vagueness is not exciting, it&#39;s scary. So the fact that you embrace it, tells everybody a lot about who you are.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Yeah. I think one of the things that I&#39;ve obviously learned from mentors and advocates, is yeah, yes, it&#39;s great that if you can be really good at something and get really comfortable at doing that, and that&#39;ll take you some place, but the only way to grow is to figure out how you can challenge the unknowns, right?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: And so I think that&#39;s part of what I have embedded into my learning culture and it&#39;s been very helpful here as I work with Greg and some of the others here, to keep moving the needle on our procurement journey.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: That&#39;s really great. So tell me, coming from engineering backgrounds, hard science background, you need so many people skills to be successful in sourcing. You need to be a strong communicator, you need to have sales skills. Tell me, if you were to describe a really well rounded sourcing professional today, what are the skillsets you look for?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Sure. So from a PR skillset standpoint, right? I would say three big skills, it&#39;s very, very important. One is I think as I said, right? Ability to analyze and then problem solve, right? Because we are in the problem solving business, we are solving problems for our business partners. And the second, is like patience and listening. As long as you can listen to your stakeholders, to your suppliers and use their time to help drive, database their decisions, right?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: So then I think that will help further your credibility in this space. And the third, I would say and I think it&#39;s mostly important, is just primary sourcing skills such as negotiations and working with suppliers and collaborations. I think it&rsquo;s a given that negotiations should be part of any sourcing manager&rsquo;s or sourcing professional&rsquo;s repertoire. It&#39;s a constant improvement, right?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: There&#39;s still like lots of trainings out there, there&#39;s still like practices out there, that you can focus on, where you can still improve on your negotiation and persuasion skills. I would say, I think that the persuasion and the ability to influence, right, is very important when it comes to sourcing professional.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: Yeah. Persuasion is extremely important. Great. So now, but you work for Greg and Greg is a technology guru. He&#39;s always trying to embrace and find and mentor the latest technologies. Do you see technology really impacting sourcing in the future?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: I think so, yeah, definitely. Obviously there&#39;s a lot of companies, lot of solution providers out there, so trying to figure out, right? How do we get to that sweet spot that can best serve a customer? Like VSP Global, right? So we have needs for sourcing, needs for contract life cycle management, needs for supplier performance management, needs for the entire P to B space.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: And then how do we figure out a seamless way to have all of these integrate so we reduce the reliance on a lot of manual transactions and manual follow-ups. And help the sourcing team focus more on the strategic initiatives, right? So, I think that&#39;s the area where technology is going to play a key part, in terms of helping reduce and take away all of the mundaneness and the routineness, out of the transactional sourcing processes.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: And help the sourcing managers and the sourcing teams, to be more effective in dealing with internal business partners and suppliers. And taking away like processes that don&#39;t add much... I wouldn&#39;t say not much value, but taking up a lot of bandwidth I would say within the teams.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: Yeah. And then smart people don&#39;t want to do transactional work. So the more we can automate it, the better off we are as an industry.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Yes, yeah. Totally agree.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: Retain good people. Yeah. So I like that. So are you guys doing any RPA or AI initiatives right now? Are you into that?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: So, on the spend analytics side, we work with a company called Supplier-E and they provide spend analytics platform. There is some AI that goes in the background, in terms of helping us understand how better we can look at our spend, and how we can use that to, again make data driven decisions, right? That can help influence some of the purchasing decisions and the sourcing decisions, that our stakeholders would want to do, right?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: There are, I think, initiatives that we still like fully executed on, but we do want to use RBA to look at some of the transactional processes, as we discussed earlier. Something like for example PO edits, right? Now we have a full time employee doing that. And how do we transition that to an automated bot or something that can actually look at POs and look at price sheets, and make the edits within their space.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: So that we could free up that individual&#39;s time to do more strategic activities. So yeah, things like that, that are on the horizon. Very excited to see how they will be implemented in the next one or two years.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: Yeah. It&#39;s going to be exciting times I agree. So what do we see in your future? Where do you see yourself in five years?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Great question. Something that actually Greg keeps asking me. I think I see myself growing in this space. I think I&#39;m very much attached to the sourcing, procurement, technology space. One of the key things that I do really want to do and grow on, is how do I contribute more thought leadership to the entire procurement community, right? And so part of that is, my journey is, I think since last year I&#39;ve started participating in a number of external events, conferences.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: In fact, I had a fabulous opportunity last year at the SIG fall summit, to present to the entire audience around our procurement transformation journey at VSP. And I think just sharing and connecting and building that network and getting valuable insights from others, who are in pretty much in similar positions, has been huge. And it&#39;s one thing that is my focus, is to see how I can build upon that and develop a good robust network over the next five years.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: And still keep contributing to the community, because I think there&#39;s a lot of improvements and developments that I see happening in the next five years and would really be happy to be part of that journey.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: That&#39;s great. So now you said that your organization also is really concerned about third-party risk management. Does that belong underneath the sourcing organization or is it a separate organization?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: So I would say currently, it&#39;s a shared conscious approach between sourcing and legal and office of information security. I still think we would probably own the supplier performance management program, but we&#39;ll be very tight in collaboration with the other parties that I mentioned. Including new groups that come in like compliance and privacy. Because there&#39;s a lot of concerns today about data and how we manage data.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: And so I think looking at all of the different stakeholders, it will still be a procurement led effort, with a very tight collaboration with all of these stakeholders.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: Good. I&#39;m glad to hear that you&#39;re very interested in it, because I still talk to sourcing folks, that don&#39;t have anything to do with third-party risk. And I think, &ldquo;how can you only [know] supplier relationships, you put these suppliers in place, how can you not be concerned?&rdquo;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Right.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: So I&#39;m glad to know it&#39;s a focus of yours. So one question I always like to ask, if you had a chance to go back and talk to your younger self, what do you wish you had learned earlier in your career or in your life?</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: I probably would have actually encouraged that person to take more risk. I was a more conservative person. I was always trying to see how I can take the tried and tested path. And I don&#39;t think there&#39;s anything wrong there, but I think if you... For example, what I&#39;m doing today now just taking that extra step out and reaching out more to learn and execute on new opportunities.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: I wish I would have done that little bit earlier, so that broadens your learning and your horizons. And that&#39;s something that I would recommend everybody start doing that, as early as possible, is to figure out how you can move out of your comfort zone and take on new opportunities, take new risks. It&#39;s okay to fail, but you can learn and you can still build on it and move on.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dawn: And it&#39;s so true because you don&#39;t learn anything if you stay in the core and you keep doing the same thing. And you learn on the fringes, which is really neat. I&#39;m glad to hear that. So I&#39;d love to invite you back again, and I&#39;d love to hear more about your transformational journey at VSP Global, but I want to thank you so much for your time today, Siddharth.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Siddharth: Sure, yeah. Thank you Dawn. This was a fabulous opportunity. Looking forward to contributing more and sharing some our experiences here at VSP.</div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/healthcare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Healthcare</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/procurement" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Procurement</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/rising-star" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Rising Star</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/vsp-global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">VSP Global</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/leadership" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Leadership</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="The Journey of an Up and Coming Leader with Siddharth Ramesh - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/the-journey-of-an-up-and-coming-leader-with-siddharth-ramesh"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div> Mon, 20 May 2019 21:43:12 +0000 Siddharth Ramesh 1548 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/the-journey-of-an-up-and-coming-leader-with-siddharth-ramesh#comments Data, APIs and the Future of Healthcare: Addressing the Connectivity Challenge https://futureofsourcing.com/data-apis-and-the-future-of-healthcare-addressing-the-connectivity-challenge <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Data%20Storage%20625x324.jpg"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Data%20Storage%20625x324.jpg" title="Data, APIs and the Future of Healthcare: Addressing the Connectivity Challenge" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1164-Vmt0cF8kIi8"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Data%20Storage%20625x324.jpg?itok=jpJAKjdm" width="624" height="325" alt="" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>For <a href="http://outsourcemag.com/procurement-from-theory-to-practice" target="_blank">healthcare providers</a> operating in an increasingly competitive and demanding environment, leveraging technology to analyze data and gain contextualized insight represents the key to success, if not survival. To deliver services effectively, providers must have real-time access to detailed information at the point of care. An emergency room physician treating a stroke victim, for example, needs instant access to lab results and the patient&rsquo;s health history to deliver the best treatment. From an operational standpoint, administrators need consolidated, accurate and up-to-date account and insurance information (as anyone who&rsquo;s dealt with healthcare paperwork can attest).</p> <p>But efficient management of basic patient information &ndash; while a formidable challenge in and of itself &ndash; is just the beginning. The healthcare industry faces increasing pressure to demonstrate the effectiveness of wellness programs in improving outcomes and reducing demand for health services. That means providers must assess myriad cause/effect variables and integrate data from a growing number of sources such as smart sensors on medical devices and wearables that continually collect, share and analyze data. And as the market becomes more consumer-centric, patients increasingly demand &ndash; and expect &ndash; seamless digital services and user-friendly apps accessible via mobile devices.&nbsp;</p> <p>These imperatives require aggregating data from multiple sources that include general and specialist practitioners, insurance companies and pharmacies, as well as increasingly sophisticated medical equipment and personal devices. Indeed, the world generates an estimated 750 quadrillion bytes of health-related data every day &ndash; a volume that will only grow as <a href="http://outsourcemag.com/artificial-intelligence-whats-now-and-next-in-iot-driven-supply-chain-innovation" target="_blank">Internet of Things (IoT)</a> capabilities take root.&nbsp;</p> <p>In this environment, healthcare providers face the dual challenge of wrapping their arms around the data they already have, while at the same time establishing an operational foundation to support the integration of exponentially growing volumes of new data in the future.&nbsp;</p> <p>Regarding existing data, the reality is that most healthcare providers struggle to meet even basic requirements around managing patient information, accessing data at the point of care and addressing regulator demands. The fundamental issue is a disconnect between internal systems, operational towers and databases. While many industries face the challenge of integrating a wide range of data sources, the problem is particularly acute in healthcare, given its traditional reliance on closed systems and emphasis on patient information security. Too often, healthcare providers struggle to access data from isolated towers that operate as distinct entities, with different standards and inefficient processes. Legacy systems contain vast volumes of unstructured data that, while difficult to access, is essential to managing patient records and delivering care. Mergers and acquisitions compound these issues, as the process of absorbing new entities is ineffective and often fails to deliver the anticipated efficiencies.&nbsp;</p> <p>To address these challenges, healthcare providers today typically deploy teams of programmers to write middleware&nbsp;to connect information silos and integrate legacy systems and new applications. The process is arduous, complex and time-consuming, and requires customized connections for each new point of communication, as well as coding and development work for orchestration, security and deployment.&nbsp;</p> <p>Healthcare industry experts increasingly view Application Programming Interface (<a href="http://outsourcemag.com/node/722" target="_blank">API</a>) tools based on open source standards as an effective alternative to this traditional approach. Equipped with preconfigured code snippets that fully define how applications communicate with one another, open source API tools bypass the tedious process of coding connections on a customized, one-off basis, and instead enable plug-and-play connectivity between systems.&nbsp;</p> <p>Despite these advantages, the healthcare industry has been slow to embrace API tools. The main concern is around security &ndash; the idea of seamlessly and easily connecting data from myriad sources intuitively seem risky. Industry studies, however, have found that well-managed APIs are secure, and are in fact more secure than traditional ad hoc and customized interfaces.&nbsp;</p> <p>By enabling access to a wide range of different data sources, APIs can provide the essential foundation healthcare providers needed to support the new age of delivery &ndash; one characterized by seamless management of patient information and unprecedented levels of insight driven by continuous and increasingly autonomic data collection and analysis. And, by connecting systems in a controlled, structured and secure manner, APIs can help reconcile the fundamental conflict plaguing healthcare information management; namely, the need to reconcile easy access to vast volumes of data with rigorously protected patient information.&nbsp;</p> <p>More specifically, APIs facilitate access to the &ldquo;right&rdquo; data &ndash; data that can yield meaningful insight into operations or patient care. This is particularly important to address HIPAA requirements that allow providers access to certain types of data and restrict access to others.&nbsp;</p> <p>In terms of a sourcing and technology partner strategy, healthcare providers should seek API expertise complemented by capabilities around change management, process optimization and Agile methodology. Achieving optimal benefits from API tools requires process improvement, including redesign and the deployment of automation tools.&nbsp;</p> <p>Agile, meanwhile, is characterized by flexibility, responsiveness and engagement with business requirements &ndash; attributes that are essential in today&rsquo;s rapidly evolving healthcare environment.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/data" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Data</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/internet-of-things-iot" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Internet of Things (IoT)</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/application-programming-interface-api" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Application Programming Interface (API)</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/healthcare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Healthcare</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/security" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Security</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Data, APIs and the Future of Healthcare: Addressing the Connectivity Challenge - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/data-apis-and-the-future-of-healthcare-addressing-the-connectivity-challenge"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Wed, 09 May 2018 22:07:49 +0000 Jose A. Diaz Infante 1164 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/data-apis-and-the-future-of-healthcare-addressing-the-connectivity-challenge#comments Procurement: From Theory to Practice https://futureofsourcing.com/procurement-from-theory-to-practice <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Business%20Transformation.jpg"><a href="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/articles/Business%20Transformation.jpg" title="Procurement: From Theory to Practice" class="colorbox" rel="gallery-node-1079-Vmt0cF8kIi8"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://futureofsourcing.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/articles/Business%20Transformation.jpg?itok=vw-gnZD0" width="624" height="325" alt="" title="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>Not many people can say they haven&#39;t heard the voice of a young child asking &ldquo;Why?&rdquo; No matter what the subject matter we all seem to be programmed to want to know the &ldquo;why&rdquo; behind the &ldquo;what.&rdquo; The procurement workplace is no different but we tend to find difficulty in connecting these. Understanding the ins and outs of theory and practice become essential to success in the procurement world.&nbsp;</p> <p>So, how do we take theory and put it into practice? Albert Einstein is quoted, &ldquo;In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.&rdquo; Project managers or leaders of transformation understand that starting with a theory is a sound business principle and really the bare minimum in the process. But, very successful project managers can transition that theory into practice and lead their team to greater outcomes rather than settle for the status quo.&nbsp;</p> <p>Over the past four years, our team has led the company through two major procurement and supply chain transformations. As you well know, this is no small feat, when you consider all the other enterprise transformations taking place at the same time within healthcare. All that being said, we have learned a lot traveling the bumpy road: taking theory and putting it into practice.&nbsp;</p> <p>Several key themes have been a key to our success.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>FIT OVER FUNCTION&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>Having spent the better part of 25 years in the procurement and supply chain industry, I have witnessed many different models and wireframes of processes. Most have commonalities, but all tend to differentiate themselves in certain areas. I am reminded of my time as a consultant, when a follow-up meeting with a client was completely focused on modifying our standard sourcing process in an effort to compensate for shortfalls in a prior project. The big take away from that meeting was that we must be flexible to meet the needs of the client.&nbsp;</p> <p>Last year, our team took on the challenge of redefining segmentation, supplier risk and procurement and supplier management. Immediately I pulled a book off the shelf: <em>Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy</em>&nbsp;written by Keith, Vitasek, Manrodt and Kling became the backbone of taking theory and putting it into practice. We had circulated some of the provocative ideas in this book around Sourcing Business Models (SBM) and had gained traction to utilize the theory. We also knew that the theory presented in the book did not entirely match our business needs and requirements. As a regulated industry within healthcare, there are several risk and compliance areas that Sourcing Business Models touched upon but never contemplated the uniqueness of our company. I went to directly to the source to find out what our next steps could look like. Without any sense of ownership, Kate Vitasek&rsquo;s first comment was, &ldquo;Break SBM down and build it up for your needs, fit is the most crucial factor.&rdquo; Thanks to that guidance, an augmented Sourcing Business Model became the keystone for our program. We were able to effectively use the base components of SBM and meet the needs of many internal and external stakeholders.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>FIND BROADER PURPOSE&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>Every year, we take a survey of the associates at our company and find two themes that filter to the surface: how do we fit into the broader company and a desire to understand &quot;why&quot; decisions are made. Why do we spend time on a procurement transformation? Why do we process a contract in this manner? It is imperative for us to connect the dots for our team. This is especially true when it comes to implementing a new theory. Our team must understand the theory, understand the reasoning and eventually take ownership and accountability for the practice. If we are truly going to change processes and shift mindsets, we need to go into the enterprise as a single voice. That voice is the loudest when a broader purpose is fueling it.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>FORMULATE AGILITY&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>Over the past few years, our company has migrated to an Agile implementation company. We see the benefit of prototyping, rapid release and the flexibility that this methodology brings to the table. It is not lost upon the Procurement team that Agile applies to process improvements as well. In the past, you could see frustrations within the team mount as we communicated change to executives and stakeholders. As each person became involved, we were exposed to unique perspectives and important questions to drive our strategy and theory. When we completed our &ldquo;communication roadshows,&rdquo; we were faced with a process improvement that was very different than the one we had started out with. There is an amazing amount of great advice out there concerning change management, but as we put theory into practice, the ability to be agile came to the top. We wanted to show quick wins, bring data to life and most importantly meet the needs of our stakeholders. In the end, the procurement team would laugh at the number of modifications made, instead of voicing frustration because they understood how our agility had led to a better product than we could have developed on our own.&nbsp;</p> <p>These three focus areas helped guide our success with Sourcing Business Models. More importantly, they became guardrails within the procurement team for any improvement moving forward. From a straightforward process improvement platform to more rigorous change, putting theory into practice is still not easy. But it is achievable when the practice fits, the team is aligned, and the key players involved are willing and able to be nimble in their approach. So in the end remind yourself that it&rsquo;s worth the time and effort to prove Einstein wrong...what does he know about procurement anyway?</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/procurement" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Procurement</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/healthcare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Healthcare</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/supply-chain-management" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supply Chain Management</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/transformation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Transformation</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/implementation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Implementation</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/sourcing-business-models" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Sourcing Business Models</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-addthis field-type-addthis field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style " addthis:title="Procurement: From Theory to Practice - Future of Sourcing" addthis:url="https://futureofsourcing.com/procurement-from-theory-to-practice"><a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_linkedin"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_facebook"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_twitter"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_googleplus"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_pinterest_share"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_reddit"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_email"></a> <a href="https://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300" class="addthis_button_print"></a> </div> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-region field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Region:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/regions/global" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Global</a></div></div></div> Fri, 02 Feb 2018 19:17:24 +0000 Tim Cronin 1079 at https://futureofsourcing.com https://futureofsourcing.com/procurement-from-theory-to-practice#comments