Endeavor Health (Formerly NorthShore University Edward Elmhurst Health System), one of the larger integrated health networks in Illinois, has been using the OpenMarkets CAP Connect platform since 2014 to budget, release and requisition their capital funds.

Starting in 2021, Endeavor Health made a strategic decision to begin five-year forecasting for capital planning and budgeting. This organizational initiative to expand their capital plan to include 5 years of spend data provides better understanding of future organizational needs. Without OpenMarkets CAP Connect software, Endeavor Health may have been forced to rely on Excel. This would limit the health system's ability to aggregate and manage data, resulting in lack of security and collaboration. CAP Connect - already used for all things capital at Endeavor Health - was a logical next step for Finance and Supply Chain to optimize this new initiative.

“We have used OpenMarkets for years and every time we have presented them with a workflow challenge or need from their software they’ve come through” said Jeff Friant, Vice President Finance, North Region at Endeavor Health. “When looking to expand the scope of our capital planning strategy, OpenMarkets once again delivered." 

CAP Connect was already being used across multiple departments, so education for the additional user group was quick and easy. OpenMarkets was able to build in different data points for their 5-year plan, enhancing their reporting abilities for things like multi-year projects and building new workflows to support fiscal year transitions.

“Finance and Supply Chain working together has been key to the success of Endeavor Health” said Matthew Hess, Vice President, Supply Chain Operations at Endeavor Health. “While this initiative is driven by Finance, the data we are able to gather based on our future departmental needs gives the Supply Chain department a strategic edge to understand fleet replacements, bulk buy opportunities and strategic partnerships with suppliers. This data and these initiatives create efficiencies and savings for Endeavor Health.”

While most health systems approach capital budgeting and planning on a three-year horizon, Endeavor Health is one of the first to do a full five-year plan on OpenMarkets.

“Endeavor Health has always challenged us to improve our systems to meet their organizational needs. Transitioning to a five-year forecast is no different. This helps us push the solution forward and create scalable features that can expand to other organizations” says Dan Turner, Director of Implementation at OpenMarkets. “Building new workflows, data points and reports to support this initiative has only strengthened our partnership and enables Endeavor Health to use our software to meet their organizational goals.”