BOOK SPOTLIGHT
SPONSORED BY CONDUCTIV
Significant Figures A Practical Guide to Unprecedented Cost Savings in Purchased Services
Supply chain and operational leaders know all too well the intricacies of what
ʯ Developing (Organizations in this
needs to happen behind the scenes to run a successful hospital. From sanitizing laundry
stage are at a critical point in gaining
and linens to keeping rooms clean to servicing a patient’s vital signs monitor to ensure
executive support, choosing the
it’s operating correctly.
right program leader, and gaining commitment from stakeholders)
ʯ Committed (These organizations have reached the inflection point
Indeed, third-party services are vital to a hospital’s operations and consume a sig-
from struggling with yesterday’s
nificant portion of budgets. But what many
problems to proactively focusing
don’t realize is that tackling third-party ser-
on tomorrow’s opportunities, and
vices represents an opportunity ripe for
will begin to pivot towards proactive
operational improvements and significant
initiatives, scaling activities and securing deeper investments)
savings. Based on Conductiv data, the
ʯ Advanced (Organizations that show
potential annual cost savings for hospitals across the industry is enormous – at
a willingness to experiment with new
$43 billion for third-party services spend.
techniques for spend management, adopting emerging best practices
So why aren’t more supply chain and finance teams prioritizing and optimizing
from other industries, and nurture a
this high-potential category?
culture of continuous improvement)
“Significant Figures: A Practical Guide to In Significant Figures, you’ll also learn
Unprecedented Cost Savings in Purchased Services” simplifies the narrative around third-party
from successful peers that share real-
purchased services and breaks down an im-
world examples, including Jon Ellsworth,
portant topic that has been left largely unex-
who is championing strategic planning
plored due to its complexity and magnitude.
and prioritization based on data transparThe book also delves into answering key
ency to guide organizations to financial
category’s complexities, but also a practi-
questions –“Where are we in our pur-
success; and Melia Moore, who has identi-
cal roadmap for supply chain teams. The
chased services optimization journey, how
fied more than $25 million savings on $80
authors provide Conductiv’s Purchased
does that relate to others in the industry,
million addressable spend as Director,
Services Program Maturity Continuum
and where do we go from here?” The au-
Strategic Sourcing for Conductiv.
Survey, a helpful tool that can serve as a
thors share best practices for four stages
starting point for teams in addressing pur-
of the purchased services journey:
The book offers a deep dive into the
While it’s easy to become fixated on potential cost savings, the authors of
chased services and all along their jour-
ʯ Legacy (Organizations with the
“Significant Figures” make the case that
ney. The authors share that this maturity
most to gain from a purchased
better oversight through visibility of pur-
continuum relies on four levels measured
services strategy overhaul
chased services spend holds tremendous
across 10 operating factors (activities,
in terms of cost reduction,
power that allows organizations to improve
capabilities, and attributes) that drive a
terms improvement, process
supplier relationships and operations –
successful third-party services program.
standardization and risk reduction)
and deliver a higher quality of care.
The Journal of Healthcare Contracting | June 2022
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