The NHS spends over £1 billion every three days, and procurement has a crucial role to play in making the organisation more efficient. Although this spend presents a huge opportunity for NHS procurement professionals and supplying organisations to work together, the system and processes around NHS procurement can be complex.
Our sister brand Health Online, a new online community that aims to bring buyers and suppliers across the sector together, has released a report considering the theme of collaboration in the NHS, both in terms of how trusts work with the NHS ‘centre’ and how buyers and suppliers work together.
We review some of the key findings from this report below.
NHS procurement transformation
According to Health Online, the “NHS procurement landscape is evolving rapidly.”
The organisation is undergoing one of its biggest transformation projects in modern times as it strives to deliver services fit for today’s service users while continuing to demonstrate value for money and boosting efficiencies.
The project, titled the Procurement Transformation Programme (PTP), and the ongoing implementation of the NHS Supply Chain Future Operating Model represent significant opportunities to maximise the vast buying power of the NHS through national demand aggregation, a key enabler for securing value for money for both the NHS and taxpayers.
Impact of Procurement in Healthcare: Challenges and Opportunities 2019
Health Online has published the above survey considering the wider challenges and opportunities facing healthcare professionals today, to help understand the impact transformation is having on the NHS. The survey ran for five weeks, with responses from almost one in ten of all NHS Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups.
Key findings
One of the key findings from the report by Health Online is that “the need to deliver social value is expected to have the biggest impact on healthcare procurement strategies.” This was followed closely by the new NHS Supply Chain Operating Model and the growth in multi-agency collaborative working.
Statistics from the report illuminate several areas; some of the key figures include:
- 68% of participants engage with suppliers via NHS Supply Chain
- 59% view better value for money as the biggest benefit of the new NHS Supply Chain Operating Model
- 69% will review their procurement strategy to align with the new NHS Supply Chain Operating Model
- 58% include cyber security within their procurement strategy
Collaboration in healthcare procurement
Health Online has also established that the biggest perceived or requested benefit for any eSourcing platform is facilitating secure collaboration across multiple teams and departments, with 91% of healthcare professionals agreeing on this.
Collaboration can be a challenge for procurement professionals across the board, not just within healthcare, as managing discussions and ensuring integration between departments and organisations can be a time-consuming task.
A tool such as Delta’s Workspace Manager can support your organisation to overcome these challenges as the module brings all projects and collaborations together, offering an easily managed solution to any collaborative procurement process.
eProcurement strategy
One of the standout statistics from the Impact of Procurement in Healthcare: Challenges and Opportunities 2019 report is that the majority of organisations surveyed (77%) review their procurement strategy every one to three years.
With so much changing within healthcare procurement, now is the prime time for organisations in this sector to streamline their eProcurement strategy to ensure that they are achieving maximum productivity throughout the procurement process.
How can Delta support this?
We support your organisation by providing you with the eProcurement tools you need to address the challenges faced by healthcare professionals directly.
We don’t believe in ‘one-size-fits-all’; Delta eSourcing gives users the flexibility to choose from a range of eProcurement modules.
If you would like to find out more about Delta’s Workspace Manager module, request a free demo with a member of our expert procurement team.
Request a FREE demo
eProcurement 101
Have you been keeping up with our eProcurement 101 webinar series?
Our next webinar is designed for healthcare procurement professionals who want to streamline their eProcurement strategy and learn more about how our solutions can help them achieve this.
The session will cover:
- The impact of external factors such as social value, Brexit and GDPR on procurement approaches;
- How the healthcare sector engages with suppliers;
- Perceived barriers to successful procurement;
- eSourcing and how this is used across the healthcare sector;
- Training opportunities and requirements across procurement; and
- The impact of cyber security.
Find out when our next webinar is happening here and register for FREE!
