Mercy Hospital & Medical Center - Suture Express

CASE STUDY

MERCY HOSPITAL Lowering Costs and Maximizing Efficiency in Suture and Endomechanical Supply

OF 5-10% ON

ANNUAL SPEND WITH SUTURE EXPRESS

REDUCED

ON-HAND INVENTORY

DOLLARS BY

30-50%

OBSOLETE

UP TO 3

BY 10%

SAVED

CUT

SAVINGS

STOCK

HOURS OF LABOR

EACH DAY

Challenge Mercy Hospital & Medical Center Chicago, IL

Like all healthcare organizations, Mercy Hospital & Medical Center strives to reduce

• Medium-size teaching hospital

leaders look to the supply chain for opportunities to lower costs and maximize

• 400+ licensed beds

efficiency. Issues that are commonplace when purchasing supplies from broadline

• 25-30 surgeries each week

distributors or manufacturers – issues like backorders and resulting rework, pricing

• Suture Express customer since 2013

errors, and the need to overstock “just in case” – create waste and inefficiency in

Results • Savings of 5-10% on annual spend with Suture Express • Reduced on-hand inventory dollars by 30-50% • Cut obsolete stock by 10% • Up to 3 hours of labor saved each day

spending wherever possible. In the quest to go lean and eliminate wasteful expense,

hospital supply chain operations.

Solution As a specialty distributor, Suture Express offers more products and superior service to help Mercy Hospital & Medical Center establish a lean supply chain, cut costs, and avoid hassles. High next-day fill rates on 6,000 core and non-core items enable cost-saving inventory reduction and other value-added benefits that maximize end-to-end savings.

Suture / Endo / Mesh / Energy

“

What I value most about Suture Express is their service. We try to be as lean as possible with our inventory, and Suture Express’ high next-day fill rates help us achieve that.

”

– Quincy Stanley, Supply Chain Manager Mercy Hospital & Medical Center

Mercy Hospital Achieves Significant Supply Chain Savings with Suture Express Quincy Stanley, Supply Chain Manager at Mercy Hospital & Medical Center, cites Suture Express’ just-in-time delivery as an essential key to lowering costs. “We now carry a lot less inventory because with Suture Express, we’re not worried about backorders or issues with supplies not arriving on time,” says Stanley. High next-day fill rates have helped Stanley cut suture and endomechanical carrying costs nearly in half, and because he’s been able to eliminate stockpiling, he has also seen a doubledigit decrease in wasted/obsolete suture stock.

Efficiency Gains and Added Savings Fewer products sitting on shelves also translates to labor savings: where Stanley’s team previously spent 2-3 hours a day stocking and counting suture and endomechanical inventory, they now dedicate that time to optimizing other areas of their supply chain as needed. “Suture Express saves us both time and money,” says Stanley, adding that transactional savings alone, such as low markups and flat shipping rates, have decreased his annual spend on suture and endomechanical supplies by 5-10%.

Simple Setup, Seamless Service The switch to Suture Express was seamless for Stanley. Setup took only one day, and he received the first full shipment the next morning – an unrivaled level of service that Suture Express has maintained ever since. “From day one, Suture Express has consistently delivered on every promise they’ve made to us,” says Stanley.

About Suture Express

Suture Express is the nation’s leading specialty distributor of suture, endomechanical and related surgical products, with more than 6,000 SKUs always in stock and ready to ship. The company’s centrally located operations enable rapid service and delivery to any customer in the United States.