OC Reilly Blog: The Renaissance Era

By Ray Clegg, Director, Logistical Operations, OC Reilly Inc.

 

(July 11, 2016)—Everything evolves. Conditions, situations, assumptions continually get readjusted. The only constant is change. We’ve heard all of these sentiments expressed, and they’re all true.

They even hold true when it comes to an area as seemingly straightforward and direct as buying products and services – the world of healthcare supply chain, for instance. In fact, what might be assumed as being so straightforward has evolved into one of the more difficult-to-navigate-successfully fields in all of supply chain.

In the May/June 2016 edition of Supply Chain Strategies & Solutions magazine, an article titled, “The Healthcare Supply Chain Leader of Future” spells out this particular conundrum as follows:

“Supply chain is in the midst of a renaissance, driven by the realization that to remain competitive, organizations need a supply chain leader with unique qualifications that were not necessarily needed or even developed 15 or 20 years ago. Value-based purchasing, accountable care organizations, population health management, bundled payments, and direct contracting of healthcare benefits is just a small sampling of the environment today’s supply chain professional operates within.”

It used to be that your local TV anchorman took 30 seconds to tell you the weather. How hot or cold is it going to get, and will it rain or snow. A simple graphic of the sun, a cloud, a raindrop or snowflake. Today, we get a million watts of radar power, forecasts focused all the way down to your front door, with more scientific explanation of meteorological phenomenon than ever. Is this better? Could be, but studies have shown that it sure makes the ratings higher.

Are the added qualifications and performance metrics cast onto healthcare supply chain leaders making things better? The organizations employing these new “renaissance people” are sure counting on it.

Healthcare supply chain keeps evolving, and the leaders who will do well are the ones who can evolve and grow along with it.