By Vicki L. White, Vice President, Business Operations, OC Reilly Inc.

(April 16, 2018)—It’s hardly a secret that online shopping continues apace, growing year after year, and giving physical shopping outlets continual fits. And why? For one simple reason – it’s so much easier, faster, and more convenient.

Online retail shoppers have demanded – and have rewarded – those providers who keep improving the experience. If there’s a single takeaway from the explosive growth of online shopping, it’s that whoever makes it easy and enjoyable, wins. 

So why can’t health care supply chain departments get the same benefits? That’s a question asked by “Adding Value to Your Health Care Supply Chain by Implementing an eMarketplace Tool,” an article appearing in the September/October 2017 edition of Supply Chain Strategies & Solutions magazine.

“Supply chain departments in health care organizations can add significant value to their procure-to-pay process by integrating their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems with an eMarketplace solution.

“While eProcurement tools provided by any ERP solution help automate a number of important business processes, they often lack the tools that make the ordering process quick and easy,” the article continues.

“eMarketplaces are a popular ERP integration tool because they deliver a user interface that is similar to an online retail shopping site while presenting the right formulary to the right audience at the right time.”

Purchasing for a business, just as for personal reasons, is still done by people. And people want ease and simplicity. If the health care supply chain procurement experience can be made to meet those criteria, think of the positive response – and potentially higher usage – it could generate.

Whoever makes it easy and enjoyable, wins. The means exist to enhance the experience from the functional eProcurement systems to the easier, more attractive, more intuitive eMarketplace tool.

© 2018 OC Reilly Inc.