The Importance Of Supply Chain Management In Nursing

Introduction

Many health organizations have complex supply management systems that are often the cause of time wastage and misuse of resources. For nurses, efficiency and speed is key in the delivery of nursing care. However, many researchers indicate that nurses waste immense amounts of time in the process of looking for supplies, as well as making orders for these supplies. Either way, some ordering systems are too complex, while others are not well-developed to meet the demands of the nurses and other medical staff (Denton 76). This makes it necessary to conduct frequent system evaluation to ensure that nurses can make orders for supplies in a timely and efficient manner. Additionally, too much bureaucracy is sometimes the downfall of ordering

This is an important process, since the unit manager has to determine the amount of supplies required and the order urgency. For example, if the healthcare facility has seen a sudden increase in the number of patients and requires considerably more cotton balls, applicators and swabs, the unit manager must indicate to the supplier that the order must be met within 24 or 48 hours. This is helpful in reducing the chances of delays and complications in the ordering process. Access to the electronic stock record system is necessary, as well as proper information about the required supplies. The unit director must also follow the preset ordering rules and regulations on the amount of supplies to be ordered. For example, the organization might indicate that cotton balls can only be ordered in dozens to regulate the

This is a very important part of the process. If the supplier does not send an acknowledgement, the unit manager may be forced to make another order to another supplier (Gillingham et al. 98). Therefore, when the unit manager receives the acknowledgement from the supplier, this is confirmation that the supplier can meet the order within the agreed deadline. In the acknowledgement, the supplier may make amendments to the order and talk with the unit manager on issues such as the timeline of the order. Next, the supplier will forecast the date of the delivery, depending on the schedule provided by the unit manager.

The next step in the ordering process is the delivery of the nursing supplies to the organization as agreed in the order form. The supplier is expected to contact the unit manager early enough, so that the delivery is completed according to the organization’s rules and regulations. Additionally, there is need to have the unit manager check that the order has been fulfilled in full and that all the nursing supplies ordered have been delivered (Denton 173). Additionally, the unit manager must check to ensure that the quality of the nursing supplies is per the standards agreed upon when making the