If you’re working in the procurement departments of the healthcare sector, you might be researching the latest in inventory management technology. The truth is that inventory management is the most crucial benefit of product traceability and by securing this within your supply chain, you can assure inventory management.
GS1 codes are unique barcodes that can be electronically scanned to decode key attribute and identifier information (including product type, serial numbers, batch numbers, and dates).
In the UK, only 44% of adults consider brands transparent. Product traceability from point of manufacture to point of care is achieved with GS1 barcodes and scanning. This is because the common language establishes tangible databases and assists the UK GS1 community of more than 56,000 organisations to uniquely identify products, track people, and describe places.
For the last few years, total healthcare expenditure has been growing and, in 2020, rose by 19.67%. The product traceability process reduces unnecessary healthcare supply chain expenditure and improves patient safety, traceable product recalls, real-time monitoring of inventory, reliable accurate records, post-market surveillance, and patient-level information costings.
What is operational efficiency in healthcare supply chains?
Operational efficiency is the measure in the healthcare sector of a supply chain’s capacity to deliver good quality and affordable products or services to its clients. This can relate to how well hospitals and other medical care establishments can provide for their patients in terms of good quality healthcare services – while at the same time optimising all operational costs.
How inventory management solutions achieve product traceability using the GS1 standard for operational efficiencies in healthcare supply chain
- Inventory simplicity: Inventory management and product traceability should be a swift and easy process meaning that staff can locate and buy the right goods without great administrative demand. The EVOLVE solution is designed to eliminate the need for matching receipts with deliveries or spending administrative effort on redundant data.
- Rate of efficiency: Healthcare supply chains should incorporate a single end-to-end system as this will enable simple integration from Source to Pay across all the diverse NHS organisations. Now, the EVOLVE solution has been developed as a custom-designed unique solution that will remove fragmentation, duplication, and all administrative redundant efforts to streamline the process.
- Accuracy of data: By keeping accurate records of past transactions and current order statuses, procurement departments in the healthcare sector can be more informed of future purchasing decisions. With this in mind, the EVOLVE solution for healthcare supply chains effectively mitigates preventable mistakes in data entry and product ordering.
- Connectivity between processes: Operational efficiencies in healthcare supply chains can also be measured in how far different parts of the process and people along the line connect with each other in a seamless collaboration. Integrated management solutions effectively reduce the potential for duplication across the supply chain and facilitate greater sharing of information and resources between each aspect.
Operational efficiencies in healthcare supply chains begin at product traceability.
For more information about solutions for hospital GS1 inventory management, visit our website today.
