Building The Medical Supply Chain's Immunity To Disruption

By Stephen Cloughley

The causes of all the supply chain disruptions we have witnessed over the past 20 months are pretty clear, from worker shortages and factory closures to the bullwhip effect and overly aggressive lean-inventory practices. For the various segments of the medical supply chain, the challenge now is to apply the lessons from these disruptions to create the resiliency we must have to better support healthcare providers’ efforts to deliver on their top priority: serving patients. Here are three approaches I see being particularly effective in that regard.