A new supply chain process calls for a new type of supply chain leader. Research from the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) and Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI) sheds some light on this, revealing that the supply chain leader of the future must be highly skilled in communication, negotiation, and analytics, while also having experience in people management, project management, and technology—not to mention healthcare and supply chain.
One reason for this expanded scope is supply chain management has become increasingly collaborative, requiring more than the traditional responsibilities of solely managing logistics and purchases. As a supply chain leader, you must be able to work with other functions and technical systems to understand the total costs of the supply chain, including the cost of ownership of supplies, procedures, and care. This holistic view encompasses the intersection of cost, quality, and outcomes—what the AHRMM refers to as the CQO movement.
The skills needed to support the CQO movement across the supply chain are changing, and as you work to improve your own skills, you must also be able to find and retain the right talent in your organization to support more efficient processes. One way you can do this is by comparing employee performance and goal attainment with supply chain data to more readily identify the skills and strengths essential for operational excellence and, critically, plan for succession.
Gartner’s research in its June 2018 “Healthcare Provider Supply Chain Outlook, 2018” report reveals there was about a 35 percent turnover among supply chain leaders at 40 health systems over the past 18 to 24 months. To mitigate this, the firm recommends that leaders should “identify people in the organization who can evolve into the leadership role. Empower your direct reports in sourcing, logistics, clinical alignment, and analytics to lead initiatives to orchestrate beyond their functional area to build future leaders.”