Reducing healthcare waste through smarter procurement

The pressures facing the UK’s healthcare sector are well documented, with spiralling costs and an aging population adding to the challenge. According to data from the Office for National Statistics, healthcare represented a staggering 43 per cent of government spending on goods and services in 2024.

 

At the same time, healthcare organisations – encompassing hospitals, GP practices, community organisations and care homes – are facing broader challenges. These include the drive to reduce carbon footprints and operate in a socially responsible manner, and the constant threat of supply chain disruptions in an unpredictable political and economic environment.

 

Against this backdrop, procurement departments – either in-house or through consortia arrangements – have an unprecedented opportunity to step up and demonstrate the value they can bring to the organisation.

 

While much of the medical items required in the NHS will be sourced through NHS Supply Chain – and in private hospitals by specialist medical procurement professionals – there remains a considerable spend on indirect items.

These are typically products that do not impact patient treatment but which are essential to the smooth running of a hospital or other healthcare facility. Examples include IT equipment, furniture, stationery or non-medical equipment such as cleaning products.

 

Often such items are bought in an uncontrolled manner, with individual facilities purchasing them as and when they are needed. This can often be done by receptionists or administrative staff, whose main priority is to secure what they need as quickly and with as little hassle as possible. Even where procurement professionals are involved, they often do not have the time to focus on such items, which can see numerous small purchases being made across significant numbers of suppliers.

 

All this means that healthcare organisations fail to obtain the most cost-effective option and are left wasting money when they are most in need of it. It also deprives them of wider insight into how much they are spending and the chance to assess opportunities to reduce or eliminate spend. And it’s impossible to predict future requirements without having an accurate understanding of what has previously been purchased, and when.

 

Marketplace services, such as Amazon Business, are helping healthcare organisations get control over their spend, as well as enabling them to tackle broader challenges. Purchasing through a central platform allows those tasked with buying items to access the best prices, without having to spend hours researching different options.

 

Healthcare organisations can put in place controls around spend, mandating who can purchase items, implementing spend limits and even restricting the choice of supplier to those which meet certain criteria. This could include organisations that can demonstrate their sustainability or corporate social responsibility credentials, or those which are small businesses or based in a local area.

 

Crucially, though, such platforms can also provide vital management information, so purchasing teams can understand how much is being spent and on which categories. This allows them to identify areas where spend can be consolidated or reduced, as well as to better predict their future needs.

 

In turn, this enables them to maximise cash flow by purchasing items when they are needed to avoid the risk of either stockouts or overstocking. Accounts teams benefit too, by being able to access invoices for all items in one place, and reducing the number of claims being made for items on expenses.

 

One healthcare business that has already benefited from a better procurement set-up is HCRG Care Group. With more than 400 people able to purchase low-value items from around 2,000 suppliers, the previous set-up was unwieldy and inefficient, and the procurement team was unable to keep up with the level of requests it received. This meant orders and deliveries were delayed, putting additional pressure on both staff and, ultimately, patients.

 

The organisation turned to Amazon Business to help consolidate its purchasing arrangements. Now, healthcare staff can use a single platform to access items they need and buy from a list of preferred suppliers, freeing up time for them to spend with patients.

 

“Getting just two or three minutes back a day for some of these healthcare workers by being able to go onto an easy-to-use system and obtain the goods they want is hugely beneficial,” says Alex Blatherwick, head of procurement at HCRG Care Group. “Their main focus needs to be the patient.”

 

The procurement team has also benefited, as it no longer has a large number of orders with multiple suppliers to sift through.

 

“The efficiency savings we have made by consolidating our supplier list using Amazon Business means that we have more time within the procurement team to spend on projects, tenders and strategy,” says Blatherwick. “By reducing our supply base, we have simplified our processes, lowered cyber-security risks and can more easily abide by NHS standards.”

---

To find out more about how Amazon Business could help boost your sustainability credentials and get more control over spend, visit business.amazon.co.uk/en/work-with-us/healthcare