Gartner's 2022 Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 is right around the corner—so we wanted to take a look back at last year's ranking to give you a preview of what to expect.
The 2021 review focused on U.S. health systems, incorporating community opinions and quantitative data from IBM Watson to create useful supply chain insights. While the 2022 survey might take a different angle on the healthcare supply chain, expect to learn from both surveys' supply chain leadership and organizational innovation.
Leadership insights
Three key takeaways dominated the 2021 report.
Improve risk and resiliency capabilities
Risk and resiliency were redefined by the rise of the COVID-19 delta variant, leaving some providers struggling to attract supply chain talent. Still, leaders found ways to build resilience in their organization, including building redundant stockpiles, partnering with other organizations (especially in terms of manufacturing), and looking for new ways to source products.
As a result, many organizations have emerged with supply chains that enjoy elevated status among leadership. Some organizations have begun bringing on staff to lead resilience initiatives and align supply chain response with their goals. Overall, healthcare organizations have resurfaced with a deeper focus on what's happening with manufacturing partners.
Expand ESG efforts
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) needs have risen to the top of the healthcare supply chain discussion, with organizations asking deeper questions about the role their supply chain decisions play in the ESG conversation. Leaders are asking questions around social determinants of health, chemical compositions of a product, and labor practices of organizations that they purchase manufactured products.
They are shifting toward a better understanding of health systems as contributing participants and how they can support organizational missions via the supply chain.
Focus on next-generation collaboration
The pandemic cemented collaboration in the healthcare supply chain as a highlight of last year's lessons.
Organizations, manufacturers included, learned that their missions rely on collaboration with health systems, while at the same time, health systems have recognized their needs for an efficient supply chain—one that employs the right product at the right place at the right time to best serve their patients.
2021 ushered in the age of “Collaboration 2.0" in which health systems map supply chain operations and how they support an end-to-end patient experience. This new era of collaboration can impact clinical outcomes including reducing admissions and readmissions, minimizing hospital-acquired infections, and decreasing length of stay. To get there, leaders have learned they need an emphasis on efficiency, transparency, visibility, and customer service—and that dedicated resources and mature capabilities pay off.
Looking forward to the 2022 Top 25
You should expect the 2022 report to offer you case-specific supply chain lessons from the top-ranking organizations on the list. Last year highlighted some of the leading organizations across a wide range of locations and levels of maturity in their supply chain strategy progress.
The shifts in ranking from last year's report to the coming report might be the most useful to you. Analyzing these alongside the supply chain management and leadership strategies at the respective organizations can be incredibly useful in understanding how your supply chain decisions can shape your organization's future.
To learn more about what you'll need to support decisions that support the supply chain of the future, visit Cardinal Health's Supply Chain Center, and to register for the Gartner Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 2022 Webinar this November, click here.