VPL-Nav
supply chain visibility software

What to Think About if You’re Considering Supply Chain Visibility Software | Part One: A Little Background

This is the first blog of a five-part series.

By Scott Crow, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder

IDNs can’t be resilient if they don’t have visibility. But is software the right way to get it?

In 2018, healthcare industry backorders were at an all-time high, and the resilient supply chain was a hot topic at conferences everywhere. Then along came Covid and a resultant supply chain crisis with no end in sight. Clearly, we must solve the supply chain problem if we don’t want patient care to suffer.

It’s a widely accepted fact that without supply chain visibility and all it encompasses—data, real-time tracking, historical analysis, KPIs and insights—an organization won’t know where to start and can’t hope to achieve resiliency. Some of the country’s largest IDNs have budgets that have allowed them to begin building supply chain visibility point solutions. But for others, the investment in technology resources would be yet one more burden on an already over-taxed Information Technology team. Software as a Service (SaaS) Supply Chain Visibility Software might be the answer. 

While IDNs are ready for a solution they can purchase, it’s time to ask if the software currently available is ready for the special requirements of the IDN.

Research into the top players indicates that solutions are still being heavily developed for the markets in which they got their start (e.g. rail and truck yard visibility, intermodal tracking, and container shipping—not the Land Use Model (LUM) modes that IDNs care about.

Questions like the ones below can help you see your organization clearly and assess if supply chain visibility software is right for you:

  • With multiple solutions to choose from, how do you know which—if any—will meet your needs?
  • What, specifically, should you be looking for?
  • Were the solutions you’re considering created for IDN use?
  • Was the solution created with your specific end users in mind?

Where to start?

Read PART TWO: Crucial things to look for: IDN Focus, Features and Roadmap.

Check out our supply chain solutions page to learn more about our visibility software.

Check out this Healthcare Purchasing News article about our commitment to bringing cost control and visibility to the healthcare supply chain.