Building a Stronger Supply Chain: How WellLink GPO Supports Healthcare Supply Chain Professionals
Imagine running a hospital where surgeries grind to a halt because gowns never arrive, or a long-term care facility where residents can’t get basic supplies due to a backorder. Behind the scenes, healthcare supply chain professionals work to prevent those scenarios, and their success is often invisible until something goes wrong.
Every October, National Healthcare Supply Chain Week serves as a reminder of the critical role supply chain professionals play in ensuring healthcare systems run smoothly.
Recognizing their contributions is essential to understanding the true foundation of patient care and the resilience of our healthcare system. Responsible for helping keep hospitals, clinics, surgery centers and long-term care facilities operating smoothly, these professionals work tirelessly to procure the necessary supplies and services, all while navigating a complex landscape of costs, vendor relationships and regulations.
At WellLink GPO, we’re proud to honor these behind-the-scenes heroes not just during this dedicated week, but every day of the year. From strategic contracting to dedicated supplier and member management, our team is built to support healthcare supply chain professionals by delivering top level service that makes the procurement process easier.
Why National Healthcare Supply Chain Week Matters
Created by the American Hospital Association’s Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management, this week is a reminder to recognize the importance of healthcare supply chain professionals and their contribution to patient care.
Supply chain teams often do not receive the recognition they deserve. Considered to be the backbone of healthcare, their work directly affects patient care, staff satisfaction and financial sustainability. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of supply chain efficiency has taken on a new level of importance as we’ve learned how even the smallest disruptions can have large-scale consequences.
As we highlighted in last year’s National Healthcare Supply Chain Week blog post, the professionals who manage purchasing, contract, logistics and supplier relationships are not simply operational leaders, they are strategic partners in healthcare delivery. This week is about reaffirming our collective commitment to strengthening the system.
WellLink Group Purchasing’s Role in the Healthcare Supply Chain
At WellLink GPO, we encourage our members to view us as an extension of their purchasing department as we strive to make the procurement process easier and more reliable for them.
With our large and continuously growing network of more than 28,000 member locations, we provide valuable data that helps suppliers more accurately forecast the demand for products and services. This insight allows suppliers to plan production, manage inventory and allocate resources more effectively. When suppliers can more easily predict demand, it can help reduce the risk of delays and therefore create a more stable, resilient healthcare supply chain for everyone.
Additionally, as part of a group purchasing organization, members gain access to a wide range of diverse suppliers, helping to mitigate the risk associated with supply disruptions. Through this access, members can also explore agreements with a broad range of suppliers, including many small, diverse supplies right in their own communities, giving member organizations access to a diverse array of products and services.
Our impact goes beyond what you might expect from a GPO. We act as a collaborative partner to help providers reduce costs, manage supplier performance and navigate the complexities of healthcare related procurement.
How do we actively support the healthcare supply chain?
1. Contracting:
WellLink GPO leverages the collective buying power of our members to negotiate agreements with vendors that provide high-quality products and services at discounted prices. This aggregate purchasing power allows healthcare organizations, both large hospital systems and smaller independent providers, to achieve savings they might not be able to secure on their own.
We offer a diverse portfolio of more than 4,000 agreements that can be tailored to fit the needs of healthcare providers. This includes contracts covering medical and surgical supplies, IT services, and services related to clinical and operational areas. For members with more specific needs, we can even develop custom contracts that provide flexibility without compromising value.
2. Vendor Management:
Our commitment to excellence doesn’t stop at developing contracts, it continues through a hands-on collaborative approach to vendor management. Once suppliers officially join our GPO, we guide them through the onboarding process to ensure seamless integration with our member procurement process. Our dedicated account managers consistently monitor agreements and can provide annual business reviews at the request of the vendor.
We strive to ensure the entire procurement process is seamless. When challenges such as product shortages, recalls or delivery delays arise, our team acts quickly to resolve them and find the best solution forward. Our commitment to open, two-way communication with both our suppliers and our members allows us to identify problems and solutions quicker and help maintain the continuity of supply that healthcare providers need.
3. Account management:
At the heart of WellLink’s success is our hands-on approach to member and vendor support. Each member is assigned a dedicated account manager who serves as a strategic advisor and trusted resource. Account managers keep members informed of any group buys, price changes, employee discounts, supplier additions, and more.
One of the biggest benefits to supply chain professionals is our ability to help forecast demand for products and services. With a network of over 28,000 members, we provide vendors with valuable insights to better anticipate demand, a critical advantage when it comes to keeping the supply chain running efficiently without disruption.
Supporting Supply Chain Professionals Today and Tomorrow
Healthcare supply chains are under more pressure than ever. Rising costs, changing regulations, product shortages, and labor challenges all demand a strong procurement strategy.
Our sourcing strategies enable us to enhance workflow and mitigate risk of supply chain disruption. We take pride in offering a portfolio of choice by multi-sourcing suppliers in many categories of spend, and our account managers are experienced in diversifying members’ portfolios to improve procurement agility.
WellLink GPO is ready to help supply chain professionals meet future challenges with confidence. Our team can connect members to agreements that can save them 10-20% and offer a trusted level of support that provides supply chain teams more time to focus on other vital responsibilities for their organization.
National Healthcare Supply Chain Week is about recognizing the critical role supply chain professionals play in keeping healthcare systems running and brings attention to the complex challenges they face every day. At WellLink, we proudly support the dedication and expertise of the healthcare supply chain workforce this week and all year long.
Contact us to learn more about how joining a GPO can benefit you and your organization.
