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To counter the perception that value analysis is too time consuming, let’s look at 5 "time-saving" facts about value analysis:

Fact No. 1: Value analysis is a shared responsibility not a one- or two-person show. 

Most value analysis committee(s) or team(s) are chaired or led by and organized by the materials management department where the full burden of the workload of the committee or team(s) falls. In reality, the best practice in value analysis is to share all of the responsibility of the value analysis committee(s) or team(s) among its members. It all begins with delegation of the full workload of the committee(s) or team(s) by the chairperson or team leader to their committee or team members. This is easily accomplished by assigning all committee or team work to project managers (your current committee or team members) for all of your savings initiatives. This alone will reduce your value analysis-related workload by 99.6 percent.

Too many value analysis committees and teams are used by material managers as communication vehicles and advisory boards to inform them of new group purchasing organization (GPO) offerings and other initiatives, and asked for their advice and council. This is a passive role. The ideal, active role for these value analysis committees and teams requires you to link them directly to your material management operations. This is accomplished by giving complete responsibility to your value analysis committees or teams for:

• Value justifications of GPO offerings

• Value justifications of new product, service and technology introductions

• Coordination of all savings and cost reduction initiatives

• Investigations of product, service or technology failures 

Linking your materials management operations to your value analysis committees or teams will effectively reduce your workload by tenfold and improve the quality of your operations.

By employing advanced value analysis tactics (customization, Pareto analysis, VA/VE Customer Mapping, FAST Diagrams, etc.) you will have more time for sourcing new vendors to meet your hospital, system or integrated delivery network’s functional requirements at the lowest possible cost. It will also give you more time to solve your nagging logistic problems. This is how you can really add value to value analysis.

Since your department heads and managers will know with certainty that their new product, service or technology requests will need to be vigorously value-justified by your value analysis committee(s) or team(s), most will stop sending requests that aren’t absolutely, positively necessary. Therefore, your workload will be noticeably reduced!

Many persistent problems (e.g., product failures, service levels or customer dissatisfactions) that could turn into emergencies can be quickly and permanently resolved because of the quality communications and improved relationships that your value analysis program will have fostered with your department heads and managers. As a result, you will have more dialogue and feedback so you can make mid-course corrections as needed to avoid "time wasting" surprises.

When you say that "perception is reality" you are actually ignoring the facts, especially when it relates to value analysis. As these five "time-saving" facts demonstrate, value analysis is the most efficient, effective and time-saving way for you to manage the millions of products, services and technologies you purchase annually.

Ignore these facts at your own peril!