Materials_Management_Proposal

In health care, departments called “Materials Management” are responsible for directing the supply chain. Materials managers control significant resources. Total expenditures, or spending, can total nearly 50% of a hospital’s budget (Langabeer, 2008). The newly promoted operation manager of a small hospital has been asked to create a proposal, that will cover the role materials management plays within the hospital and the role of operations managers in this process, it will also identify constraints the hospital may experience in its supply chains. Moreover it will describe and justify the potential effects of implanting a new collaborative planning process and suggestions on how to keep the hospital supplied during a disaster. Explanation of role materials management and operation managers within the hospital The name material management means different things at each hospital. Ordinarily, in most community hospitals, it is an umbrella department that includes many other functions. In hospitals, the common name for departments that focus on acquiring, storing, distributing, and replenishing materials and supplies is material management (Langabeer, 2008). The roles of material management within the hospital are to ensure the flow of the process goes in the right direction and to have a productive outcome. It is the responsibility of operation managers to have full interaction during this process. Operation managers should be able to forecast the future market and demand for the hospital. Most importantly operation managers need to be aware of budget in regard to maintaining cost at its minimum, this role works along with maintaining inventory. Another component of operation managers is to inspect and keep quality control within high standards and at the same time to handle the traffic and distribution. Identification of possible constraints the hospital may experience in supply chains There are four fundamental concerns in business logistics and healthcare supply chains-inventory, distribution, facilities, and customer service that form the cornerstone of all business processes in Supply Chain Management (SCM) (Langabeer, 2008). A possible constraint the hospital my experience in supply chain would be technology advancement. Competition rises as technology advances. Most goods are available in the internet. With a click of a mouse, you can virtually have access to hundreds of merchants with no date and time restriction. This increases competition and prices are forced to be reduced in addition to providing excellent quality of goods and customer service. Description of the potential impacts of implementing a new collaborative planning process Several benefits of collaboration have been documented over the years for manufacturers, suppliers, and customers. These include impressive cost reductions, improved service, and improved end-customer satisfaction. Barriers to successful implementation of collaboration in the Supply Chain have been identified as fear of failure, exposure to competition, concern about trust, increase of operational complexity, and technological incompatibilities (Kohli & Jensen, 2010). Collaborative planning processes include the elaboration of sales and operation planning. Utilizing this process would have a significant impact in the implementation of the creation of a new collaborative planning process. The basic Sales and Operation Planning process is a highly meticulous, collaborative process that occurs cross-functionally from senior management, supply chain, manufacturing, sales, marketing, and finance (Langabeer, 2008). Justification of the implementation of a new collaborative planning process Utilizing the basic sales and operations planning process to implement a new collaborative planning process will include five phases, which are business planning, demand analysis, supply analysis, balancing and decisions. Each phase has its own definition and accomplishment to fulfill. The first phase business planning analyses sales, profits shares and estimated return on investment. During this phase the business planning team leads the hospital staff towards the creation and management of the product. Second phase is demand analysis, during this phase the hospital needs to concentrate in acquiring a plan that can forecast for requirement of the product. In general, it is the primary role of the sales and marketing team to obtain field input on all demand factors to establish the most accurate demand plan. It is important to remember the following equation for a good demand plan: Demand plan = Statistical forecast + Business intelligence + Collaboration + Action (Langabeer, 2008). The third phase is the Supply Analysis which covers the final rough draft results in terms of the plan, inventory and supply. Final rough draft is then distributed to the team working on the process to start the analysis and operations planning. The Fourth phase is Balancing, during this phase all main inputs are combined to identify any issues or any area that needs improvement. The Balancing process typically takes place in two parts: an informal pre-S&OP discussion and a formal S&OP meeting (Langabeer, 2008). The final phase is the Decision phase, during this phase all the process that was gathered in the four previous steps are finally presented during sales and operations meeting. Throughout this phase management focuses on perfecting the business processes. Suggestions on how to keep the hospital supplied during a disaster Included in each hospital’s plan should be the ability to redirect supplies already within the hospital’s supply chain to the areas first impacted. Step one for Materials Management is to examine the hospital’s internal supply chain. With clinical experts, the hospital units/departments should be identified that might be closed in the event of a large-scale disaster (AHRMM, HIDA, HIGPA, n.d.). Maintaining inventory with supply and demand will help the Hospital in times of disaster. Keeping supplies at hand with necessary materials stored for emergency purposes only will help the Hospital with supplies. Supplies are not limited solely to medical supplies; these supplies also include medications, beds, wheelchairs, stretchers and much more. Proper administration by operation manager is essential to make any decision and implement plan of action to utilize supplies wisely and for the best. Conclusion The materials management organization in large hospitals plays a very key role in operations management. Materials management typically includes oversight of purchasing, strategic sourcing, inventory replenishment, laundry and linen, patient transportation, and sterile processing, in addition to revenue responsibilities for medical supplies and equipment (Langabeer, 2008). We have learned the importance of role materials management and the role of operations managers. We discovered possible constraints the hospital may experience in its supply chains and the potential effect of implementing a new collaborative planning process. Last, we provided suggestions on how to keep the hospital supplied during a disaster