In today's evolving healthcare landscape, academic healthcare institutions are constantly seeking innovative ways to streamline operations, increase transparency, and realize cost-saving potential. A prominent academic healthcare center recently recognized the need for a holistic solution to address their capital budgeting and procurement challenges. Their choice to collaborate with OpenMarkets, a leading provider of cloud-based capital budgeting and procurement software, marked the beginning of a transformative journey toward enhanced process efficiency, transparency, and financial optimization.

Before integrating OpenMarkets into their operations, the healthcare institution's finance and supply chain departments faced an array of formidable obstacles. Challenges included an undefined and non-automated capital process and limited budget visibility, which presented significant hurdles for the supply chain team when making strategic procurement decisions. These procedural inefficiencies were exacerbated by the absence of a comprehensive reporting system. Moreover, the over reliance on manual and outdated methods, predominantly revolving around Excel and SharePoint, further complicated matters. It was evident that change was overdue.

Why OpenMarkets?

The healthcare institution sought greater visibility into end-users' requests and their pipeline. OpenMarkets provided a comprehensive, real-time overview of ongoing equipment requests across the organization, empowering the supply chain to strategize and plan for future needs.

The ability to create a 3–5 year capital plan and forecast future equipment needs was paramount for the institution. OpenMarkets offered the tools and resources required to develop and maintain a strategic capital planning approach.

OpenMarkets swiftly configured budgeting workflows, centralizing the process and facilitating communication across all departments. With a simple click, capital requests effortlessly navigated custom workflows, ushering in efficiency, and reducing manual workloads.

Access to an extensive equipment catalog using OpenMarkets, featuring tens of thousands of vendors and their products, simplified capital budgeting for end-users and provided administrators with data to drive standardization and informed decision-making while considering value for money.

The supply chain team at the healthcare institution commended OpenMarkets' efficient implementation process. Even after the go-live phase, the OpenMarkets team remained closely engaged, implementing necessary updates, and introducing new features as they became available.

Transformative Outcomes:

Proactive Sourcing Data: Since the adoption of OpenMarkets in February 2023, the healthcare institution has generated over $1.1 million in hard cost capital savings.

These savings were a result of the institution's ability to capture proactive sourcing data using OpenMarkets, enabling them to aggregate and export critical information. This empowered their supply chain team with valuable insights that supercharged strategic sourcing efforts.

“We heard about these savings within seconds after the Supply Chain team discovered them,” says the Director of Finance. “That’s fantastic for us to tout this achievement to everyone. I can’t wait to see what benefits it provides us as we move forward.”

Visibility & Transparency

The institution now has a comprehensive view of all requests, fostering transparency and accountability. Stakeholders across the organization have access to real-time information through OpenMarkets, encouraging cross-functional collaboration and informed decision-making.

OpenMarkets' software introduced organized, digital workflows, streamlining the funding flow, and enhancing control throughout the process. This heightened efficiency while alleviating administrative burdens.

The healthcare institution's partnership with OpenMarkets has resulted in significant cost avoidance in just a few months, with over $1,100,000 in savings already realized. Their collaboration and the adoption of OpenMarkets' cloud-based capital budgeting and procurement software have revolutionized the institution's equipment procurement operations. By addressing issues like limited visibility, manual processes, and a lack of transparency, the institution has achieved procurement efficiency, streamlined workflows, and substantial cost savings. The comprehensive solution empowered the institution to navigate the complexities of capital budgeting and procurement, allowing them to deliver top-tier healthcare while optimizing resources and expenses.

Interested in connecting with this Health System? Get in touch with the OpenMarkets team and we'll be delighted to facilitate an introduction!