Healthcare is among the most critical industries, whether it’s providing medical services or manufacturing and distributing drugs,  the entire operations and supply chain management allow minimal room for error. As covid surges taught us, planning the supply chain to meet the ever-varying demand with surges can be very challenging and also critical to saving lives. 

To this end, Oracle Cloud SCM for healthcare has supported companies in meeting these unique and highly regulated requirements.

In this article, we’ll help you understand what this integral part of the Oracle Cloud ERP systems is capable of and how it helps address certain key logistical issues in providing medical and patient care.

What is Oracle Cloud Supply Chain Management? 

Oracle Cloud Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a cloud-based application from Oracle. As a part of the larger Oracle Fusion cloud, this platform contains a host of tools and features designed to meet the end-to-end requirements of modern businesses, especially those participating in global supply chains.

The Oracle Cloud SCM includes the following modules:

  • Product management cloud/ Product lifecycle management
  • Production planning
  • Procurement
  • Supply chain execution cloud
  • Logistics cloud solutions
  • And more

As such, it has found various applications across different industries to resolve operations and supply chain management gaps.

How Oracle Cloud SCM for Healthcare Resolves Supply Chain Issues

With the stringent industry standards for the entire healthcare sector, this particular Oracle product ensures that organizations of different sizes and setups can meet the changing demands of both local and international chains.

To help you better understand how automation helps improve the entire sector of healthcare, medicine, and wellness, here are four key issues addressed by Oracle Cloud SCM.

1. Inaccurate Inventory

Inventory control remains the main challenge for most hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies. This could be due to several factors, from the lack of an overarching inventory process and the highly variable demand for materials to the reliance on outdated legacy systems, the last being a persisting concern for about half of the medical devices.

A lack of inventory accuracy can lead to a number of problems. For example, inaccurate stock holding levels result in higher costs, including waste in terms of procurement and storage. Many healthcare centers frequently write off a lot of ‘expired’ inventory while running short on others. The same can be true for material recovery or deployment, with a disorderly inventory causing an array of problems.

Does Your Hospital Need an SCM Solution?

Check out our ERP implementation checklist.

Read it Now

In this regard, Oracle Cloud SCM can help consolidate your entire supply chain—offering visibility for stock levels across different locations and to material in transit or on order. A case in point would be Adventist Health, an integrated health system across the country.

By regaining control over their overall inventory flow, medical staff spends less time tracking their on-hand and floor stocks. In turn, this helps in improving patient care while streamlining their services.

2. Efficiency Improvement Restrictions

Healthcare organizations’ lack of accessible data heavily restricts their ability to develop actionable efforts to improve efficiency. Poor inventory management keeps companies stuck in outdated and manual processes. Oracle Cloud SCM allows for the automation of regular inventory checks and replenishments.

Healthcare providers are moving towards IT systems that manage supply chain costs via value-based reimbursement models.

For an operations manager in the healthcare industry, a full ERP solution is highly recommended. As you automate critical business processes like finance or customer service, ensure that materials move smoothly with a dedicated Oracle Cloud SCM platform that works well with the rest of your IT systems.

Apart from the increased efficiency from automating key healthcare processes, the potential for customization of these platforms also helps drive opportunities for further efficiency improvement projects.

Oracle SCM Cloud for Healthcare
Credit: Irwan iwe

3. Interoperability Issues

Healthcare providers rely on legacy systems, designed for specific functions without considering other processes, creating a technology gap.

Contrary to a common misconception, supply chain management cannot be treated as an entirely discrete aspect of running a business. Ensuring the smooth transition from raw materials to finished products is critical for the healthcare industry’s manufacturing and service arms.

As such, Oracle Cloud SCM was designed to work with most Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, although it works best as a part of an overall Oracle Cloud solution that offers real-time intelligence on all moving parts of the organization.

4. Supply Chain Resilience

The healthcare industry heavily depends on a mix of local, regional, and global supply chains. This is especially true for hospitals sustained by their ability to maintain relationships with distributors and other third-party logistics providers. Collaborating with qualified suppliers who provide timely delivery is vital for better healthcare delivery.

Medical professionals’ skills may not include maintaining an efficient supply chain in hospitals.

Leveraging user-friendly automated platforms such as Oracle Cloud SCM on the Fusion platform helps bridge the gap between medical and logistical expertise. Modern best practices aim to automate clerical processes. This eliminates the risks of human error while freeing up your team members to focus on more important tasks, offering staff augmentation benefits for your organization.

Not Sure Whether To Host Your ERP On-Prem or in the Cloud?

Check out our primer on ERP hosting.

Read it Now

More importantly, it allows an organization to consolidate all its data in one place, usually in the cloud. The whole organization enjoys a consistent flow of information by having a single source of truth.

Supply chain visibility enables healthcare companies to track material flow across specific departments.

Apart from a robust supply chain system, the visibility offered by these platforms allows for efficient project management opportunities at various levels of the organization.

Start Adopting Oracle Cloud SCM for Your Healthcare Organization

It’s already a given that the adoption of a full Oracle Cloud supply chain management solution is a significant effort for most organizations. On the bright side, you no longer have to deal with the technical hardships of setting up the platform on your own.

From the design to the deployment, you can trust NexInfo to get everything done. With a trusted provider of SaaS solutions, you can expect a platform specifically tailored to your organization’s unique needs. 

Our experts will design your own Oracle Cloud SCM Fusion platform for healthcare. Contact us today for more information.

Healthcare is among the most critical industries, whether it’s providing medical services or manufacturing and distributing drugs,  the entire operations and supply chain management allow minimal room for error. As covid surges taught us, planning the supply chain to meet the ever-varying demand with surges can be very challenging and also critical to saving lives. 

To this end, Oracle Cloud SCM for healthcare has supported companies in meeting these unique and highly regulated requirements.

In this article, we’ll help you understand what this integral part of the Oracle Cloud ERP systems is capable of and how it helps address certain key logistical issues in providing medical and patient care.

What is Oracle Cloud Supply Chain Management? 

Oracle Cloud Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a cloud-based application from Oracle. As a part of the larger Oracle Fusion cloud, this platform contains a host of tools and features designed to meet the end-to-end requirements of modern businesses, especially those participating in global supply chains.

The Oracle Cloud SCM includes the following modules:

  • Product management cloud/ Product lifecycle management
  • Production planning
  • Procurement
  • Supply chain execution cloud
  • Logistics cloud solutions
  • And more

As such, it has found various applications across different industries to resolve operations and supply chain management gaps.

How Oracle Cloud SCM for Healthcare Resolves Supply Chain Issues

With the stringent industry standards for the entire healthcare sector, this particular Oracle product ensures that organizations of different sizes and setups can meet the changing demands of both local and international chains.

To help you better understand how automation helps improve the entire sector of healthcare, medicine, and wellness, here are four key issues addressed by Oracle Cloud SCM.

1. Inaccurate Inventory

Inventory control remains the main challenge for most hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies. This could be due to several factors, from the lack of an overarching inventory process and the highly variable demand for materials to the reliance on outdated legacy systems, the last being a persisting concern for about half of the medical devices.

A lack of inventory accuracy can lead to a number of problems. For example, inaccurate stock holding levels result in higher costs, including waste in terms of procurement and storage. Many healthcare centers frequently write off a lot of ‘expired’ inventory while running short on others. The same can be true for material recovery or deployment, with a disorderly inventory causing an array of problems.

Does Your Hospital Need an SCM Solution?

Check out our ERP implementation checklist.

Read it Now

In this regard, Oracle Cloud SCM can help consolidate your entire supply chain—offering visibility for stock levels across different locations and to material in transit or on order. A case in point would be Adventist Health, an integrated health system across the country.

By regaining control over their overall inventory flow, medical staff spends less time tracking their on-hand and floor stocks. In turn, this helps in improving patient care while streamlining their services.

2. Efficiency Improvement Restrictions

Healthcare organizations’ lack of accessible data heavily restricts their ability to develop actionable efforts to improve efficiency. Poor inventory management keeps companies stuck in outdated and manual processes. Oracle Cloud SCM allows for the automation of regular inventory checks and replenishments.

Healthcare providers are moving towards IT systems that manage supply chain costs via value-based reimbursement models.

For an operations manager in the healthcare industry, a full ERP solution is highly recommended. As you automate critical business processes like finance or customer service, ensure that materials move smoothly with a dedicated Oracle Cloud SCM platform that works well with the rest of your IT systems.

Apart from the increased efficiency from automating key healthcare processes, the potential for customization of these platforms also helps drive opportunities for further efficiency improvement projects.

Oracle SCM Cloud for Healthcare
Credit: Irwan iwe

3. Interoperability Issues

Healthcare providers rely on legacy systems, designed for specific functions without considering other processes, creating a technology gap.

Contrary to a common misconception, supply chain management cannot be treated as an entirely discrete aspect of running a business. Ensuring the smooth transition from raw materials to finished products is critical for the healthcare industry’s manufacturing and service arms.

As such, Oracle Cloud SCM was designed to work with most Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, although it works best as a part of an overall Oracle Cloud solution that offers real-time intelligence on all moving parts of the organization.

4. Supply Chain Resilience

The healthcare industry heavily depends on a mix of local, regional, and global supply chains. This is especially true for hospitals sustained by their ability to maintain relationships with distributors and other third-party logistics providers. Collaborating with qualified suppliers who provide timely delivery is vital for better healthcare delivery.

Medical professionals’ skills may not include maintaining an efficient supply chain in hospitals.

Leveraging user-friendly automated platforms such as Oracle Cloud SCM on the Fusion platform helps bridge the gap between medical and logistical expertise. Modern best practices aim to automate clerical processes. This eliminates the risks of human error while freeing up your team members to focus on more important tasks, offering staff augmentation benefits for your organization.

Not Sure Whether To Host Your ERP On-Prem or in the Cloud?

Check out our primer on ERP hosting.

Read it Now

More importantly, it allows an organization to consolidate all its data in one place, usually in the cloud. The whole organization enjoys a consistent flow of information by having a single source of truth.

Supply chain visibility enables healthcare companies to track material flow across specific departments.

Apart from a robust supply chain system, the visibility offered by these platforms allows for efficient project management opportunities at various levels of the organization.

Start Adopting Oracle Cloud SCM for Your Healthcare Organization

It’s already a given that the adoption of a full Oracle Cloud supply chain management solution is a significant effort for most organizations. On the bright side, you no longer have to deal with the technical hardships of setting up the platform on your own.

From the design to the deployment, you can trust NexInfo to get everything done. With a trusted provider of SaaS solutions, you can expect a platform specifically tailored to your organization’s unique needs. 

Our experts will design your own Oracle Cloud SCM Fusion platform for healthcare. Contact us today for more information.