Vizient launches new supply chain resiliency solution for providers and suppliers of medical supplies

Vizient, Inc. announced the launch of its set of solutions to improve healthcare supply chain resiliency through greater transparency and predictability across trading partners. These solutions will offer health systems greater visibility into supplier manufacturing and distribution sites, tracking of impactful events and risk management services for a provider’s critical supply list.

Also included is a technology-enabled platform for Vizient members and suppliers for demand forecasting, real-time inventory availability and disruption alerts for end-to-end logistics management.

The Vizient resilience solution set has three foundational elements: supplier pedigree data, critical supplies management service and technology to support the resilience network platform.

• Supplier pedigree data involves the adoption and utilization of supplier data standards across the provider and supplier community, including securely collecting and maintaining information on the physical location of major manufacturing, distribution or critical raw material sites.
• Critical supplies management services provide disruptive event tracking and risk management of a provider’s critical supply list. Advisors monitor and share actionable information to supply chain managers that enable them to efficiently manage their inventory of critical supplies and quickly pivot to alternative suppliers and conservation strategies as needed.
• A resilience network platform is being established through a strategic relationship between Vizient and E2open, a leading network-based provider of cloud-based, mission-critical, end-to-end supply chain management software, to facilitate the rapid development of a multi-party collaboration platform. The platform will enable timely insights into forecast, inventory availability, transportation and consumption of goods with proactive management alerts for disruptions and imbalances to improve availability of health care products.

Once launched, the new technology will give members and suppliers participating in the resilience network platform secure, permission-based access for:

• Visibility into the geographical location of major manufacturing and distribution
• Real-time logistics visibility of shipments from the supplier to the health system
• Awareness of perpetual inventory status by location across suppliers, distributors and providers
• Forecast and consumption insights to predict usage and reduce impact of demand surges

Supply chain leaders at the forefront of driving innovation in healthcare at Vizient member health systems and contracted supplier organizations are participating as early adopters to provide insight into the development of the technology. The resilience network platform is expected to fully launch in early 2022.