People are the focus of supply chain decisions for Jacquelyn Marcus, vice president for supply chain management at NYU Langone Health in New York City.
Ms. Marcus was drawn to healthcare supply chain after years in the consumer goods industry because she loved the idea of helping save lives.
Here, she answers Becker's five supply leader questions.
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
Question: What piqued your interest in healthcare supply chain?
Jacquelyn Marcus: I came to NYU Langone Health after managing supply chain in the consumer packaged goods industry because I was drawn to the mission in healthcare. I take pride in the fact that what we are doing here really matters and helps save lives. We are making sure critical supplies get into the hands of the medical professionals. It's an honor to play a part in ensuring that patients receive the world-class care that has come to define our institution.
Q: What are a few of your top priorities for 2023?
JM: The top priorities all relate to adapting to the new reality of the global supply chain. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted the way hospitals, including NYU Langone, have approached supply chain. Rather than stockpiling supplies, hospitals tended to order merchandise for just-in-time deliveries and immediate use. COVID-19 turned that model upside down and we have since pivoted to a hybrid model where many of our supplies and personal protective equipment are ordered in bulk and stored in warehouses to ensure an uninterrupted supply.
Q: What has been your biggest accomplishment as chief supply chain officer?
JM: The biggest accomplishment of my career was getting NYU Langone through the pandemic without any disruptions to patient care due to insufficient supplies. I started at NYU Langone nine months before the start of the pandemic without any background in healthcare. I was able to leverage my experience outside healthcare, specifically in product development, distribution, manufacturing and transportation, to get supplies into our institution as quickly as possible.
Q: If you could pass along a piece of advice to other hospital supply chain leaders, what would it be?
JM: Have the best team and know your customers and your mission. Work to have open lines of communication and strong relationships with your end users: the physicians, nurses and other medical professionals. Make sure that your priorities align with their priorities, and measure your success based on their success. For example, we measure the number of times that procedures in the operating room start late due to supply chain errors. When that percentage is low it is a measure of success for us and the clinicians.
Q: What's the best piece of leadership advice you ever received?
JM: One of my mentors once advised me: "Build the best team you can with people that have a wide range of skills that complement each other." I've always applied this advice to ensure that I have a dynamic team of strong, diverse players. Everyone has different strengths and it's important to build a team with diversity of thought and experiences in order to achieve the best outcomes.