Adapting to a Changing Landscape |
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if you want to understand the risk associated with those products, that means you have to sift through tens of thousands of SKUs just to determine what you need to focus on first.
So being able to talk to an artificial intelligence assistant and ask it where you should focus your attention— what’ s most at risk and what are the suggested substitutions and why— can be a game changer. Letting generative AI collect that information and make suggestions means decisions can be made much quicker.
Of course, buyers are often not the ones making decisions on products or substitutions. Clinicians need to be able to evaluate and decide. That’ s where generative AI can come in, as well. A buyer can not only use AI as a research tool, they can automate how the information is packaged, who needs to see it and how they can approve.
Next gen with MPower In the fall of 2024, Medline announced a partnership with Microsoft called MPower, a new generative artificial intelligence solution powered by Microsoft’ s
Knowing risk profiles means we can ask important questions, like what are the proper clinical substitutions that can be stored in case of emergency?
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Copilot and Azure AI. The partnership leverages the deep data that Medline has as a leading medical and surgical supply manufacturer and distributor. That means supply chain leaders will have easy access to the risk profiles of tens of thousands of SKUs, allowing them to make quick evaluations.
Similarly, with Medline as a market leader, supply chain leaders can get a sense of what products are being used around the country. In the same way someone may shop on Amazon and pick a product based on a recommendation algorithm that identified a popular substitution, MPower is being designed with a similar use in mind.
Planning ahead Getting to a place where we can make reliable predictions has been the holy grail of supply chain for decades. Taking all of the necessary factors into account: How much of a product is on hand, what is the demand level, what is the lead time for vendors, what’ s happening from a geopolitical or a weather perspective. All of those different components can be processed by generative AI into a simple interface.
That’ s where the partnership with Microsoft truly pays off. They ' ve designed customerfriendly software for nearly 50 years; with so many health systems already running Microsoft 365 applications, the barrier to entry isn’ t what it would be otherwise.
And perhaps even more importantly, health systems are not being asked to trust a new software or cloud solution with their data. Given all of the sensitive information stored in healthcare settings, security is
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the highest concern, and Microsoft meshing with their systems helps alleviate those worries.
Supply chain control tower As mentioned, having so many different sources of data can make it difficult to know which data set will provide the insight you need. That’ s where MPower can step in, bringing together myriad data sources kept separately before, and provide the ultimate view of the supply chain while identifying risks. For example, it could bring together manufacturer sourcing data, vendor shipment data, provider on-hand inventory data, OR schedules, and other demand signals all to make sense of a provider ' s specific supply chain.
The future of MPower is to operate as a supply chain control tower. It’ s a solution that can not only predict risk profiles and communicate them, but also optimize the supply chain. It can make suggestions for product standardization, contract maximization and inventory management where supply chain leaders won’ t have to wait for demand signals. It’ s all about reducing administrative burden, automating processes, and making everything simple and efficient for our partners.
Read more bout Medline’ s partnership with Microsoft, and the development of MPower, at https:// newsroom. medline. com / releases / medline-partners-with-microsoft-to-revolutionize-healthcare-supply-chain-operations /.
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Supply chain intelligence offers numerous advantages that can significantly help healthcare systems deliver results.
1. Improved patient outcomes. By leveraging advanced data analytics, healthcare providers can ensure that the right products are available when needed, reducing delays in treatment and improving overall patient care.
2. Cost savings. Supply chain intelligence enables healthcare organizations to optimize their inventory management, reducing waste and minimizing the costs associated with overstocking or stockouts.
3. Real-time visibility. Healthcare providers can gain better insight into their inventory levels, allowing them to make informed decisions about purchasing. This helps prevent shortages and ensures that critical supplies are always available.
4. Better risk management. By analyzing data from various sources, supply chain leaders can identify potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them, helping ensure continuity of care.
Overall, supply chain intelligence empowers healthcare providers to be more forwardthinking, efficient, and resilient, ultimately leading to better patient care and operational success.
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