How Medline’s approach to technology is shaping this moment
By Medline Newsroom Staff | February 9, 2026
How Medline’s approach to technology is shaping this moment
Modernized systems and AI-focused innovations, on top of the company’s famously stable service, are helping customers take their care to a higher level
Marshall-1P-MAIN
Marshall Lancaster (center) meets with members of his information technology team at Medline’s offices in Northbrook, Ill.
By Marshall Lancaster
Chief Information Officer
With more stakeholders now aware of Medline as a publicly traded company, there’s naturally more interest in how we operate, and especially in how we think about technology and the use of artificial intelligence to move our business forward. This increased curiosity is well‑timed. We’re in a period where the work we’re doing is starting to show up in meaningful ways, both inside the company and in how our customers and collaborators across all points of care experience Medline from the outside.
I like to split our technology mindset into three buckets. The first is stability – the absolutely foundational systems and services that create the resiliency our customers have depended on for decades. These systems and services have to be secure, reliable, always on. Many of our customers, from large hospital systems to skilled nursing facilities to patients in their own homes, rely on just‑in‑time delivery of their supplies. They need their orders processed quickly, filled accurately and supported impeccably. None of what follows happens without that stability.
The second bucket is digital transformation – the updating of older platforms to be more contemporary and intuitive. For example, we recently moved our manufacturing processes into a more modern environment, a shift that lets us operate more collaboratively and consistently across our manufacturing facilities. We’re doing similar work in distribution with a new warehouse management system that reflects the more modern approaches seen across the supply chain industry.
These changes matter because they remove friction. They help people move across our business using systems that have become more integrated. Everybody starts to operate in the same way, creating advantages in scale and consistent processes that contribute to customers’ peace of mind.
And then there’s the third bucket, innovation, where we look at how our systems can create value beyond our own walls. Perhaps the biggest example at the moment is Mpower™, the AI-powered “digital control tower” that Medline is planning to launch this year, giving our customers the ability to proactively designate product substitutions and manage approvals and communications. This project represents a meaningful shift: We’re beginning to put powerful capabilities directly in our customers’ hands in a way that supports a more connected and efficient supply chain experience.
Time better spent
It all connects, of course, to one of the biggest ongoing challenges across healthcare: Customers are still spending too much of their time thinking about how the supply chain functions, and really, that’s what we’re best at. What they’re best at is delivering care — clinical excellence, surgical precision, a successful patient experience. Our total technology strategy is about finding solutions and tools that enable us to deliver them the products and data they need to do that. When our systems are not just stable but more modern and more connected, customers can spend less time troubleshooting supply issues and more time on the human outcomes that matter most.
Artificial intelligence in particular is influencing this shift. The pace of improvement is faster than anything I’ve seen.
We began with a simple approach, identifying AI projects that are both valuable and feasible. Now we’re running 19 different AI-related projects at Medline, with dozens more being explored. One example is product‑information AI, to quickly gather and compare the specifications, pricing and other attributes of Medline products. It started as a way to help our sales representatives get this information faster for their customers and to reduce repetitive work for product managers. But as it developed, it became clear it had room to grow into something with broader usefulness — something that could help people make decisions with greater speed and clarity.
More to come on this innovation, but know that that’s the pattern across much of our AI work: a focused beginning that reveals larger potential.
We’re approaching this thoughtfully, with intention. It’s not technology for technology’s sake. More and more, we’re focusing on what technology means for those who interact with us. When someone uses our website or tools, does it feel intuitive? Does it feel aligned with how they navigate digital environments elsewhere in their lives? Does it help them accomplish what they need without unnecessary complexity? Those kinds of experiences matter.
We’ve long been seen as a leader in healthcare supply chain because of our deep commitment to resilience. What happens when that same level of commitment is supported by technology that’s more modern, more integrated, more flexible? How much higher can we climb?
Opening doors through IT
When I joined Medline five years ago, the information technology team’s central role was largely to keep the business running. I see this moment now as a renaissance, a shift toward IT also actively shaping what’s possible, with AI the cherry on the top – a breakthrough capability that becomes even more useful because the foundations underneath it keep getting stronger.
Medline isn’t just elevating the industry. We’re aiming to lead where it goes next. For a company built on trust and innovation, these are exciting times.
Visit Medline.com to learn more about Medline’s approach to supply chain intelligence and its use of data in optimization solutions.
Medline Newsroom Staff
Medline Newsroom Staff
Medline's newsroom staff researches and reports on the latest news and trends in healthcare.