Friday, November 26, 2021

Remember Ronald Reagan?

 



The most terrifying words in the English language are: 
I'm from the government and I'm here to help.
- Ronald Reagan

See below for the OpEd portion of our blog this week.. But I did want to point out to all of you selling drugs to pharmacies and dispensers that although they now have until 2023. to comply with the DSCSA Serialization Initiative, It's already law for distributors so you had better get with the program.  Need help?  The MDS-Nx System is fully compliant and allows you to track and trace any product drugs , food etc.

Now we return to your regular programming.  This a repost from
Susan DeVore on WSJ. 
http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/tag/susan-devore/

It’s no secret that health care today is fragmented, with each provider in the system implementing its own individualized care processes, protocols and operations. Because each provider operates independently, there is incredible variation across the system, which leads to unnecessary costs and inefficiencies that can end up affecting patients. And this is all the more true in the healthcare supply chain.

Over the years, providers have tried in earnest to overcome this fragmentation by implementing information technology to automate when they can, and eliminate tasks that used to be completed manually, at an individual’s discretion. But in the process, each provider has put in place a series of different technologies, systems and platforms, everything from billing software to electronic purchasing systems, and scheduling tools to clinical decision support. Each of these systems is provided by a different vendor, which means that many of them can’t interoperate easily, and few interconnect data on one integrated platform. The end result tends to be more fragmentation, rather than less, as pieces and parts get stitched together.

Just one example illustrates the point. Let’s say a hospital wants to start buying a new line of surgical mesh. They go to one system to figure out which vendors even sell this mesh. They use another system to figure out their pricing. And yet another system to actually purchase the items. Later, they need to access a separate system to track where this mesh was actually used. And they have to complete this same process for each of the thousands of items they order. It’s an antiquated and inefficient process that’s ripe for a radical overhaul.

Moreover, fragmentation inhibits the ability to evaluate clinical efficacy of purchased supplies, as well as identify opportunities to improve efficiency. Since the purchasing systems tend to operate independently of clinical tools like the electronic medical record, it’s difficult for health systems to evaluate products and standardize around those that are yielding better outcomes for patients. Because all the health system’s purchasing data isn’t sitting on a common platform, it’s also difficult for hospitals to analyze spending across their network to determine which facilities or departments have outlier spending and why. It’s a narrow view that only provides a glimpse of the bigger picture. It’s the equivalent of trying to figure out who’s at the door by looking through the side window as opposed to using the peephole.

What’s truly needed in health care are integrated, supply-chain-technology solutions that look to better manage every work stream, from planning to payment, all on a common system. With an integrated platform where all these disparate applications can work together, we can drive more efficient care and better clinical outcomes across the continuum.

We have this today in most consumer markets, where individuals can shop for a pair of shoes, compare pricing, check availability, place an order and track the shipment, all on a single device, enabled by data stored in the cloud.

In the supply chain, it’s high time we interconnected sourcing technologies and analytics to enable total visibility into operational processes, and replicate the IT experience of the smartphone. It is only with this functionality that we will truly be able to modernize and achieve the efficiency gains that health systems desperately need in order to remain financially solvent and make better decisions for patients like you and me.

Susan DeVore is president and CEO of Premier Inc., a health-care performance improvement alliance of 3,000 U.S. community hospitals.

Could not agree more with Susan and second the cause. For those of you who don't get the implication of the quote, If we don't do it ourselves the government is not going to help.  

Do you need a new system to move your supply chain into the future?



For more information on TSH or MDS call The Systems House, Inc. at 1-800- MDS-5556. Or send a message to sales@tshinc.com

Click here and tell us how we can help you with your business solutions.

Friday, November 19, 2021

Getting Paid Faster by Making it Easier.

 

Give your customers flexible billing options and build customer loyalty.



Customers often require multiple different and sometime complicated billing options. To make sure they stay your customers and you don't have to spend hours creating customized billing reports and remembering to run the invoicing process at a specific time, the MDS systems offers a number of options to simplify your customer's requests. 
And easily manage the process ensuring you get paid in a timely fashion as well as keep your customers happy. 

Differentiate your company in the marketplace by giving customers what they want, with little or no work on your companies part.

Invoicing Options Include: 

    Image result for flexible options
  • Monthly/Periodic billing - Create invoices per transaction but hold until a period statement is sent to a customer common options are monthly or bi-monthly.
  • Consolidated A/R - Create a single invoice to "roll-up" all transactions for a period , also offer options to create a rolling balance for all prior invoice so that a partial payment from a prior period will just roll into the consolidated bill.
  • Break down by Cost Center or G/L Code - Add the ability to tag specific product classes or specific products to a customers G/L code or Cost Center so that they can easily reconcile your invoices. 
  • Create Detailed Item Level customer specific exports for importing into their ERP/Billing systems.
  • Generate EDI 810 Invoice documents for a customer account 
  • Create Master A/R accounts to generate one bill to a corporate office but keep usage by branch

By making the customer happy you will build the loyalty and keep them coming back to increase your business.


For more information on TSH or MDS call The Systems House, Inc. at 1-800- MDS-5556. Or send a message to sales@tshinc.com
Click here and tell us how we can help you with your business solutions.

Friday, November 12, 2021

End of Year Cleanup...

As the holidays roll around and we plan for next year, one often overlooked area is our overstock or items that just are not selling. For whatever reason it's likely a good time to see what you can put on "special" for that End of Year sales push and or just to make some space in your warehouse. 


One Solution to the problem... Using your Software Systems analytics tools to find those items and get rid of them. 

 Inventory Management – Explore the expanded purchasing capabilities incorporated into MDS. The objective is to identify the vendors and products in need of replenishment. The Inventory Management module attempts to minimize inventory investment while reducing stock outs and backorders.

The MDS Inventory Management System gives you the Inventory Analysis Tools to identify items that can be eliminated from inventory.  


"The analysis identifies all stock items that are contributing less than 1%, or 5%, or
whatever level you select of the sales.  You could get rid of all those items and risk
losing only 1% of the sales you experienced during the last 12 months.  A branch
manager might really want to argue this statement.  "We have to keep that stock
item to assure that we'll get the good stuff that Company X buys from us !"  No
problem.  Keep it.  Keep every one of the items someone can give a specific reason
for retaining.  But get rid of the rest.  The fact is, they are contributing nothing!
- In too many distributor's inventories, as much as 30% or 40% of the total investment
may be below the 100% sales line.  Zero turns per year.  No sales activity at all.
Obviously, these are the candidates for disposition.  Realistically, you should cut
more deeply.  "


Items below the 98% sales line ought to be dropped from stock as a

general rule. It's a simple rule but without the right analytical tools it may not be a one click easy report. 

Using our Dead Stock Export you can easily send these items off to a number of different industry Inventory Overstock Experts..

Turn your idle assets into cash by selling your overstock inventory 





For more information on TSH or MDS call The Systems House, Inc. at 1-800- MDS-5556. Or send a message to sales@tshinc.com
Click here and tell us how we can help you with your business solutions.