Eighty-eight percent of finance executives at healthcare suppliers anticipate pressure to improve cash and working capital performance will grow during the next year, a Global Healthcare Exchange survey found.
GHX, a healthcare supply chain management solutions provider, commissioned the "Driving Performance Through Automation" survey. The survey included 100 finance executives from healthcare suppliers and was conducted in late February and early March.
Here are four survey findings.
1. Forty-five percent of respondents said improving receivables performance will be a top priority during the next year. Thirty-one percent said improving inventory management performance will be a top priority, while 24 percent said the same for payables performance.
2. Sixty-four percent of healthcare supplier finance leaders said customers' leverage over their company, regarding timing and mode of payment, exceeds their company's leverage over vendors and suppliers.
3. Respondents said order-to-cash processes are less automated than other financial processes, and reflect one of the lowest priorities for increased automation in the next year.
4. Seventy percent of healthcare supplier finance leaders said customer engagement and customer service is "highly automated" at their company. Sixty-eight percent said the same for financial planning and analysis, and 65 percent said the same for procure-to-pay process.