Buffalo Hospital Supply's Solution For Rapid Supply Chain ROI

Buffalo Hospital Supply (BHS) is one of the leading distributors of disposable medical supplies and equipment in the northern U.S., delivering quality products and services to hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies across New York State and northwest Pennsylvania. BHS differentiates itself from competitors by concentrating sales and marketing, logistics and management efforts in a well-defined area and focusing on its core competency—distribution— while offering flexibility to meet customer requirements.

BHS's decision to update its supply chain came after several consecutive years of 20-25% annual growth. With inventory growing more than 30% a year, visibility to stock became more critical, but was difficult to maintain using a primarily paper-based distribution process. Inventory control efforts were time-consuming and required an excessive level of permanent and temporary staffing to complete tasks. With limited visibility to product movement within the distribution center (DC), BHS was forced to increase inventory in order to maintain required service levels. As the company began to experience decreased order accuracy, lower service levels and higher operational costs, BHS decided to implement new supply chain processes that would deliver increased visibility and continued effectiveness as the business grew.