3 Reasons MU Health Care is Saving Millions

The University of Missouri has a uniquely integrated supply chain operation in which one team supports both their academic campuses and their health system, MU Health Care. In order to fully leverage this strategic alignment, the university needed a strategic partner. They chose Medline, attracted by Medline’s vertically integrated business model, which allows them to service the university and MU Health’s entire continuum of care. After teaming up with Medline in late 2017, the University of Missouri is on track to save $14.7 million over the course of the seven-year agreement. Here are the 3 factors behind this sustainable and successful partnership:

1.      Vertical integration

Medline’s vertical integration as both a manufacturer and distributor gives health systems like Missouri direct access to product teams so they can co-create innovation solutions. In the University of Missouri’s case, that has included tangible items like custom-branded new baby kits and implementing the Complete Delivery System for perioperative supplies to help drive standardization and increased efficiencies.

2.      Service

From the C-suite on down, Medline provided the University of Missouri with hands-on solutions to their individual needs. This commitment to sleeves-rolled-up service featured a full-time, on-site vendor analyst, dedicated sales specialists and a transition team exclusively dedicated to their account.

3.      Continued enhancements

Medline is helping Missouri make continued enhancements to their supply chain, including a new strategy for managing physician preference items (PPI). Previously, their top 10 PPI vendors filled 21,000 orders a year that were submitted on an ad-hoc basis – meaning multiple deliveries, purchase order and account payable transactions. In a new, less costly model, Medline will soon receive PPI items in its distribution center, and then load the PPI items onto the same trucks as University of Missouri’s regular deliveries. Items will be delivered in the appropriate unit of measure, minimizing inventory on hand and reducing freight costs.

To learn more about how Medline is helping leading health systems achieve new levels of efficiency and patient care, visit medline.com/supplychain.