University of Houston Hospital Supply Chain Study Results

By Arunachalam Narayanan, David Peng, University of Houston

In the fall of 2014, the University of Houston conducted a national study on hospital supply chain. With the support and participation from the AHRMM community, the University of Houston collected data from 266 hospitals and at least 60 percent of the respondents have an official designation of supply chain director or higher. Thank you to those who participated in the study. Your contribution is invaluable in helping academic institutions, AHRMM, and collaborating organizations better understand supply chain perspectives and best practices.

Download the executive summary with corresponding tables (PDF File)

Download the appendix which contains the summary of survey responses (PDF File)

Supply expenses represent the second largest expense for hospitals after labor costs. Thus, effective supply chain (SC) management will greatly improve the bottom line of hospitals. This study aims to understand the supply chain practices of the hospitals in the U.S. and identify factors that are associated with hospital supply chain excellence.

Specifically, the study looks at:

Incentive alignment
SC training and competence
SC leadership and senior management support
SC processes
Information Systems (IS)
Data analytics
GPO relationships
Internal and external collaboration
Outsourcing