A new focus on inventory performance and bottom-line profits

This article is about a new way to measure inventory performance and about putting a dollar focus on inventory management priorities. It reviews the financial impact of inventories and shows how the information from any materiel requirements planning (MRP), MRP II, ERP, DRP, or orderpoint system can be used for setting individual objectives for inventory reduction, measuring performance by inventory segment, and monitoring continuous improvement. It will also consider the merits of paying performance bonuses to materiel planners and review some inventory reduction results.     

Controlling inventory in a small specialty hospital

Controlling inventory in a small specialty hospital has many parallels to controlling inventory in a large, acute care hospital. However, in a specialty hospital, there seems to be a plethora of specialty items that must always be on hand in ample supply. To achieve a significant inventory reduction, a strategic plan was developed that revolved around training sessions with the materiel management team, meetings with key hospital staff, and the establishment of two prime vendor contracts. In 1991, the annual inventory value in the general storeroom was approximately $2.3 million; in 1992, the inventory value was $1.6 million, and the projected inventory value for 1993 is $1.2 million. Implementing a just-in-time program to control inventory is best achieved through a collaborative effort with all of the materiel management team feeling a sense of contribution as well as receiving recognition from hospital administration.     

基于供应可用度的可修航材需求预测模型

根据航材需求差均比大于、等于或小于1三种情况,提出负二项分布、泊松分布和二项分布三种预测方法。以给定的总保障经费为约束条件,通过总短缺数最小代替供应可用度最大来简化目标函数,建立航材需求预测模型,采用边际分析法寻优并编写了算法。根据库存平衡公式,提出实际需要筹措的需求计算公式。算例证明本模型具有良好的准确性和实用性。     

Efficient materiel handling and distribution: a design perspective

This article offers a condensed examination of facility design and the interface between owners, hospital managers, and architects in planning for hospital materiel handling and storage needs. A brief history is given of the evolution of materiel management and progress today in efficient ordering, storing, distributing, and inventory and billing. The article closes with a discussion of work redesign and personnel vs. equipment concerns. Two case studies exemplify similar goals from different approaches.     

Pressure ulcers and materiel management: cost-effective prevention and care

In summary, it's important for the materiel manager to have an understanding of the clinical aspects of pressure ulcers. By understanding how ulcers are staged, treated, and prevented, the materiel manager will have a better idea why certain products are needed and how they are used to reduce overall patient costs. Specialty beds, replacement mattresses, and high-end overlays represent a significant cost--approximately $500,000 to $1 million based on studies cited in this article. Further proven by research is the fact that these costs can be reduced by carrying out utilization plans with specific criteria for patient selection. Finally, materiel managers can be key coordinators in the entire process since they are often on the front lines in any institution's cost containment efforts.     

Controlling inventory performance in a just-in-time environment

This article will enable the reader to: 1) discover how to implement a cycle counting system to ensure inventory accuracy, 2) learn how to modify a cycle counting system to be successful in a point-of-use/backflush system, and 3) discuss the roles of production, materiel, engineering, and quality in a successful just-in-time cycle counting system.     

Restructuring materiel management functions: a method for prioritizing changes and reducing costs

The success of any manager depends highly on the ability to seize on opportunities that will achieve the organization's goals. Hospitals are currently searching for ways to reduce costs while maintaining or enhancing the quality of services. Quality services are increasingly being defined as those that are most responsive to customer needs. It is important, as hospital management restructures materiel systems or methods of operation for reduced costs, to focus on the user departments as the customers. The consolidation of materiel management activity should not be seen as a loss of control at the user department level. Instead it can be seen as a new way of providing service with higher quality. User departments should see concrete benefits on a weekly basis, including reduced time spent on materiel management functions; increased planning of purchasing, inventory, and distribution functions; and assistance in meeting restricted supply budgets.     

The materiel manager-chief financial officer alliance.

There is a gold mine of potential inventory reductions, expense reductions, and revenue increases in most hospitals that can be tapped by more intensive materiel management. The first step is incorporating the necessary ingredients for a strong materiel management effort--the right people and a state-of-the-art computer program. Reorganization may be necessary to establish a more unified, consolidated approach to materiel management. Second, conduct an audit of the entire hospital to identify opportunities for improvement and to establish baseline management data. Finally, push forward the process of system changes (which also establishes necessary controls) until results are accomplished--a process that usually requires one to three years. The alliance between the materiel manager and the CFO is definitely beneficial to the hospital and to the individuals involved.     

Developing rapport between materiel management and surgery

A materiel management system, developed into an efficient organization, seems to be the most practical solution to solve interrelations between two complex operational departments, the CPD and surgery, be it for supply acquisition, inventory, processing, or distribution. The goal is to develop the most intelligent and efficient method so that the materiel management facility renders the required service to the surgical department, which in turn, services patient needs at the lowest possible cost.     

Materiel management in the operating room: a case study

The hospital continues to be pleased with the progress of our material services program in all areas, but especially surgery. It took a few simple, basic methods, such as exchange carts and inventory control, mixed them with people who actually care about doing a good job, and the whole program moved forward dramatically. People, both in materiel services and surgery, have accomplished a tremendous amount in the past two years. They have made, and will continue to improve, an already excellent program.     

Purchasing principles to reduce acquisition and inventory costs

Knowing how, what, when, and where to negotiate are all part of the system that finally determines how much you pay for products and services. Knowing the primary and secondary objectives of materiel management is important in establishing purchasing and inventory policies and procedures. Negotiating all of the terms and conditions up front, before you finalize any deal, is important to minimize your acquisition, operating, disposal, and inventory costs and to maximize profit. Most purchasers and negotiators only bargain for part of the costs; then they have to bargain to try to control the rest of the costs or they are at the mercy of others. Prepare to negotiate for all the factors that will influence the final operating cost from the beginning to the end of the negotiation process.     

Purchasing without paper (well, almost no paper).

This article describes the process by which one company was able to substantially reduce the amount of paperwork required for purchasing material. After considering all the variables that affected the amount of paperwork, it developed three different models to use in ordering materiel, one for materiel delivered by the vendor in standard containers, one for materiel delivered by a carrier in standard containers, and the last for materiel that is best delivered in variable quantities.     

Just-in-time and stockless programs for hospitals: fad or trend?

The JIT and stockless approach to provider-supplier relationships has proven to be a win-win proposition for the partners that have implemented it in many manufacturing industries and health care organizations as well. This strategy will fundamentally impact the entire cost structure within the hospital supply distribution chain. rewards have proven attainable and more comprehensive than had been hoped in the health care applications. The sweeping changes the health care industry experienced during the 1980s are leading creative materiel managers to seize the initiative to improve the current operating costs of their hospitals. They do not want to be left behind "holding the inventory."     

Implementing structure and control over unofficial inventories in a multispecialty group practice

Materiel managers have been in control of most aspects of the supply chain except for the inventories of the end users, which account for 70 percent of the inventory supply dollars. When the Materials Manager at Lexington Clinic in Lexington, Kentucky, was approached by the Clinic's Chief Executive Officer to implement cost containment measures, the Materials Manager seized the opportunity to implement a six-step program aimed at controlling those supply dollars. Through requisition training, enforcing approval levels, limiting the number of requisitioners, and establishing par levels on floor inventories, the clinic's "unofficial" inventory supply dollars were reduced by 7 percent in the first 12 departments where the par levels were established. The program was hailed as a tremendous success and a positive experience for everyone, from nurses to warehouse clerks.     

基于六西格玛流程改进的库存管理优化

库存管理是企业用来控制实际库存问题的方法，主要帮助企业经营者确定何时补充订货、补充订货多少以及安全库存等问题。现有的库存控制研究往往只关注数学建模阶段的精确性，而对库存波动根源认识不足，导致数学模型越来越复杂、完善，但库存仍然居高不下、难以控制。本文针对该问题，提出了在库存管理中糅合六西格玛管理理念的思想，通过六西格玛方法揭示库存积压的根源，从源头着手，进行流程改进，从而达到库存优化、提高客户满意度的目的。文章通过实际案例证实了基于六西格玛理念的库存优化管理的有效性。     

让绩效考核落实到实处的探讨

绩效考核是提升企业经济效益和整体素质的有效措施,文章将对如何做好企业绩效考核工作,就解决实施企业绩效考核出现的问题,实施绩效考核的目的,实施绩效考核相对应的措施进行了探讨,企业的绩效考核不是一个孤立存在的企业管理方法,只有将绩效考核和其他的企业管理基础和方法结合起来,才能使其发挥效用。     

模糊聚类分析在配送中心订货策略中的应用

针对传统ABC分类方法的局限性,提出了面向订货策略的物料模糊聚类分析方法,以物料订货量和物料单价作为聚类指标,对物料进行模糊聚类分析,对于不同类别的物料实施不同的订货策略。给出了一个模糊聚类应用于订货策略的实例,并与基于ABC分类的库存控制系统进行了对比,表明基于多因素模糊聚类的库存控制系统能有效降低库存成本。     

Inventory management for cardiac catheterization labs: the Princeton-Baptist Medical Center experience

Several issues must be considered for implementation in order to decrease inventories and make them more manageable. Physician consensus on products, strict vendor control by the department manager, setting and maintaining low par levels, inventorying stock daily, negotiating just-in-time deliveries, conservation-minded staff, and working in concert with central supply and materiel management personnel are steps that when employed correctly can lead to more manageable inventories in cardiac catheterization departments. If these steps are implemented, they will enhance the liquidity of the department and ultimately that of the medical center.     

The development of a comprehensive medical-surgical distribution agreement

The selection of a medical-surgical distributor has become one of the most important decisions made by a hospital materiel manager today. It is therefore critical that before a distributor is selected a clearly defined development process and master plan be established. This master plan should contain, at a minimum, (1) a comprehensive strategic plan, (2) a detailed request for proposal, and (3) a detailed project implementation schedule. A well-structured, well-executed plan will help to ensure that the best distributor is selected and that the best possible distribution agreement is designed.     

A simple process for controlling operating room specialized inventory

As with any new system, success would not exist without team efforts. Cooperation from the materiel service department played an important role in its success. Prompt purchase orders and a prompt delivery system are a must when PAR levels are kept at a minimum. The new manual inventory system became an efficient and effective alternative to controlling products within the surgery department at Tampa General Hospital. And now for automation!