Medicine men use supply chain to stay healthy, says FedEx

More healthcare customers are using supply chains to stay competitive, according to a Frost & Sullivan report published on behalf of US parcels and logistics giant FedEx.
Improving Profitability, Improving Customer Loyalty, Improving Lives found that the supply chain was “a growing and important differentiator for companies in the fast changing $3trn healthcare sector.”
The express carrier’s vice president for global supply chain solutions and market development, Carl Asmus, said that consolidation and other changes in the sector were putting healthcare companies under financial and pricing pressure.
Said Asmus: “More healthcare companies are using their supply chain as a way to stand out from their competitors and realise their financial goals.”
Over 80 per cent of healthcare supply chain executives surveyed at a FedEx healthcare executive forum agreed that the supply chain was ‘extremely important’ in reaching profitability targets, while 61 per cent agreed that  cost reduction strategies in the supply chain had been similarly important in responding to customer pricing pressure.
Paul Higday, vice president of marketing and communications at Owens & Minor, a FedEx customer, added: “The supply chain plays a critical role in separating one product from another.
“If a product is always available and delivered in an efficient and cost effective manner, it’s harder for a competitor to take away your market share.”
FedEx has also launched a dedicated Global HealthCare Solutions website – www.fedex.com/healthcare.