Health systems have long struggled with disconnected data spread across procurement platforms, EHRs, and inventory tools. The push toward what the industry is calling the "intelligent supply chain" aims to break those silos by applying analytics and automation at each stage — from contract compliance and purchasing decisions to real-time inventory visibility and clinical utilization tracking.
The pressure driving this is familiar: margin compression, post-pandemic supply disruptions, and the lingering effects of single-source dependencies that left hospitals scrambling during shortages. Automation tools and AI-assisted demand forecasting are being positioned as the answer, giving supply chain teams earlier warning on stockouts and better data for negotiating with vendors.
For HTM and clinical engineering teams, the downstream effects matter. Device utilization data — how often equipment is used, by which department, and at what cost per procedure — is increasingly part of the conversation supply chain leaders want to have with biomed. Teams that can pull clean utilization data from their CMMS and connect it to broader supply and capital planning discussions will be better positioned as health systems build out these integrated platforms.
Source: HPN Online