HPNad(2.125x9.75)12.12.16.pdf 1 6/12/17
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
improving your freight costs,” she said. Armed with this data you can negotiate for the best rates on most commonly used service levels, either directly with the carriers or with the vendors if you’re not leveraging a 3PL, she added.
“You [then] can work upstream within your organization to identify the people, departments and products driving the highest freight costs — ordering trends,” Rutherford continued. “This can help you fl ag potential inventory issues inside your organization. Finally, if you’re negotiating an agreement directly with a carrier, en- sure you examine the contract carefully
for add-on costs, such as fuel surcharges, sorting fees, shipping of materials need- ing special handling, and put responsi- bility onto the carrier to deliver goods to you — on-time and undamaged. Add rebates or charges to the contract for lost or misdelivered items to ensure the responsibility resides with the carrier. Watch out for words like ‘unless oth- erwise noted,’ as they can require you to continually sift through invoices of inbound shipments for exceptions.” HPN
Visit
www.hpnonline.com/category/maga- zine/2017/july-2017/ for related sidebars.
Managing freight, shipping at your fi ngertips
Could a
Freight-Shipline.com-type be hovering on the horizon? by Rick Dana Barlow
C
magine if you could hop online or tap a software program that would allow you to name your own price for freight and shipping, so to speak. Or maybe the program could help you track freight and shipping costs and calculate the optimal price you should pay for shipping freight anywhere. Would you be interested in that capabil- ity? Would it be a game changer? Several logistics companies already have rolled out software packages avail- able today that maybe don’t reach full-on “
Freight-Shipline.com” stardom but come close enough to be relevant, useful and in demand. And another major company is on the verge of adding its stamp to the mix. “The inbound freight management model has matured to the point where [integrated delivery networks] are now looking for ways to effectively eliminate the need to utilize a third-party freight program,” said Don Carroll, Vice Presi- dent, Business Development, Vantage Point Logistics Inc. “These IDNs would prefer to transition their freight savings initiatives to an in-house, self-managed model that they have complete control over. The challenge facing these IDNs is acquiring the subject matter expertise required to design, implement, staff and manage such a program.
I
“Most health systems don’t realize the level of complexity involved until they be- gin to consider how they will operational- ize their own program,” Carroll continued.
“The truth is, most systems will put the idea on hold. The few that have moved forward with a self-managed program are using spreadsheets and manpower. To ensure the accuracy of carrier charges and to drive appropriate levels of vendor compliance requires a well-run program to review thousands of unique vendor and carrier records each week. Relying on spreadsheets is labor intensive, prone to error and rarely produces the results initially hoped for.” To be a true “game changer,” any app or software package needs to deliver con- siderable functionality, indicated Sophie Rutherford, Vice President, Business De- velopment, Jump Technologies Inc. “This ‘game-changing’ tool needs to deliver instant access to several key pieces of data: The service level of every inbound shipment, associated shipping costs, who the requisitioner is, what the package contains and then, aggregate this data over time to show trends,” she noted. “What this is giving you is the op- portunity to do several things. First, you’ll identify the culprits of habitual overnight/ fi rst priority shipments – both individuals and departments, so you can work with them to manage their purchasing patterns. Second, you’ll see what products or sup- plies come in via an expedited method so you’ll identify whether there are inventory issues happening within your organiza- tion and PAR levels that need to be reset.
M Y CM MY CY CMY K
UM p st OCK
J
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
The clear path to continuous savings
VISIT US AT AHRMM Booth 442 INTRODUCING
SUPPLY CHAIN 2020
Clinically-
collaborative, highly visible, intensely powerful
www.jumptech.com Page 44 Visit
www.ksrleads.com/?707hp-026 hpnonline.com • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • July 2017 43
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58
