Why Hospitals Should Consider a "Best of Breed" Logistics Systems Strategy

The Growing Demand for Healthcare Logistics Solutions

The market for healthcare logistics (hardware, software, and services) dominated the industry in 2023 and is forecasted to reach USD 109.6 billion by 2032, according to a report from Global Market Insights.

As hospitals implement their technology strategies, leaders must decide whether to contract with a single provider offering a suite of products or to focus on acquiring hospital best of breed hardware and software components to fill their hospital logistics requirements.

Single vendor solutions may be easier, but are they more effective?

Many hospitals gravitate towards the simplicity and convenience of working with a single provider. After all, facilities management and IT personnel may already be stretched thin, and one vendor can install and support all products with less need to involve internal resources.

While it is understandable to gravitate towards a simpler, more expedient approach to acquiring new hospital technologies, the effort to simplify may box them into a less effective overall solution, missing out on the kind of cutting-edge innovation associated with suppliers who are dedicated to delivering a single solution or piece of software.

It’s difficult for a single vendor to deliver excellence across a broad suite of products.

That is why hospitals seeking to optimize performance of each system component are often willing to spend more time evaluating multiple vendors in efforts to acquire the best possible product to serve each area of need.

A good example can be found in hospital logistics systems and software and hardware used in pharmacies. These are large, complex modular systems that collectively handle all facets of medications management, from ordering to dispensation across the hospital campus. To gain the full benefit of each component of the total system, many hospitals opt to research and identify the most innovative technology in each area rather than trust a single vendor to deliver excellence across a broad suite of products.

Benefits of Acquiring Best of Breed Hospital Technologies and Systems

• Tailored fit. The ability to implement a perfectly calibrated solution for the hospital means there is no need to compromise on quality or efficiency.
• Open interfaces. Logistics software built by a specialized developer generally has open interfaces because they know that the user will need to integrate with other systems. A suite of applications is more likely to be locked to external systems and devices.
• Optimized hardware. The hardware components are equally important to consider. Single providers may lock hospitals into lower quality hardware that may impair overall performance of the system.
• Greater innovation. Providers of single solutions are laser focused on quality and efficiency and more competitive than providers of products that are spread across an entire line.
• Deeper knowledge of application. Technicians supporting a single product versus an entire line will be more adept at fixing issues with more hands-on knowledge of the nuances of the application.
• Open contracts. Purchases of product suites often involve contracts that lock the hospital into their brand, thereby prohibiting add on hospital logistics components from other vendors.
• More tailored to each hospital. There will be less development feature “bloat” with best of breed application. Many product suites contain a large feature set designed to fit a wide range of needs. This can result in features that a hospital may not need but must maintain.
• Safer from hackers. A single cyber security breach can bring down an entire suite of systems. Since best of breed systems are configured independently, if one is breached the others are more likely to remain intact.

Preparing for a Best of Breed Approach in Healthcare Logistics

While the best of breed approach clearly has its benefits, it will require planning, collaboration, and organization. Here are some tips which, if carefully followed, can enable a hospital to enjoy the best solutions with minimal disruption.

Strategic Planning

Research should be made into the options and providers with an eye towards design, scalability, and innovation. Many hospitals will opt for a phased implementation process, purchasing one module at a time to ensure each is properly integrated with other systems and is operating at optimum efficiency levels.

Collaboration

This means involving all the individuals who will be responsible for overseeing the applications. That includes the hospital’s IT, facilities management, and operations teams.

Service Agreements

Hospitals should negotiate maintenance agreements for each supplier that are compatible with the others. If management likes certain aspects of one contract, they should negotiate to have them included on the other contracts.

Vet the Vendors

Prepare a list of questions for each supplier. Questions might include:

• How long have you been in business?
• What references/testimonials do you have? Who can we call?
• How much flexibility can we have in our service maintenance contract?
• Does your organization develop environmentally sound products that adhere to green initiatives?
  
  

When hospitals take time to research and plan, best of breed solutions can add significant value.

While dealing with a single vendor is more convenient and easier on staff, the tradeoff could be a product line that includes weaker, poorly designed components, impairing the efficiency and performance of the entire system. When that happens, everyone is impacted, and what seemed like a more practical decision can result in issues that can ultimately affect quality of care.

Hospitals shouldn’t have to settle for less than optimum performance in their logistics systems and software. The marketplace is full of innovative developers who are dedicated to designing highly specialized applications to address the growing complexities of today’s hospitals and healthcare systems.

The key, however, is selecting the right provider, regardless of which approach is taken. When evaluating best of breed applications, hospitals should look for providers with deep knowledge of their industry and who understand how their technology will meet the hospital’s challenges.

Hospitals should align their acquisition strategies to take advantage of products developed by providers who are dedicated to innovation and quality. And they must be willing to do some work up front to vet each supplier and prepare the team in advance. Those who do will be rewarded in the form of greater efficiency and higher quality in the systems they depend upon to deliver care to patients, while providing greater value to their stakeholders.