Inclusive, local sourcing: Purchasing for people and place
Across the country, healthcare institutions are recognizing that they can creatively leverage their supply chains to address the upstream economic and environmental conditions that have the greatest impact on the health of local residents. In doing so, they can create family-supporting local jobs and build community wealth. This toolkit on local and diverse purchasing showcases examples of how hospitals and health systems are reevaluating their roles as their community’s largest purchasers, understanding that a thriving local economy is fundamental to a healthy community.
The sourcing of goods, services, and food that your hospital or health system does every day, when aligned with your mission, can help build local wealth in the communities you serve. By supporting diverse and locally owned vendors and helping to incubate new community enterprises to fill supply chain gaps, hospital and health systems like yours can leverage existing resources to drive local economic growth and build a culture of health in their communities. This toolkit can help you get started.
Case Studies
University Hospitals
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Parkland Health and Hospital System
Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC)
Chicago Anchors for a Strong Economy (CASE)
Key Strategies
Creating Connections
Adjusting internal practices to facilitate connections with local vendors not only shifts procurement dollars in a way that fosters local employment, which in turn promotes community health, but it also grows these businesses over time, allowing for a more responsive and resilient supply chain. Learn more about strategies to create connections
Building Capacity
A capacity building approach helps address supply chain gaps, meet specific product needs, and improve the efficiency and resiliency of the supply chain. Learn more about strategies to build capacity
Diving In
Simple Policy Fixes
- Create department and staff positions dedicated to inclusive, local sourcing
- Require that local and/or diverse vendors are considered in Request for Proposal (RFP) pool
- Make inclusive, local sourcing an explicit goal...
Quick Practice Upgrades
- Adjust payment periods and invoicing processes to accommodate small businesses
- Incorporate local and diverse spending objectives into job descriptions and evaluations for supply chain
- Communicate with community partners...
Readiness Checklist
The Big Questions
What does “local” mean to your institution?
What does “community” mean to your institution?
Which institutional priorities would be met if your purchasing was more inclusive and local?
Learn how to ask — and answer — the big questions
Laying the Foundations
Measure your supply chain baseline
Survey your procurement policies and practices
Identify your partners
Map your community's assets
Understand your purchasing pipeline
Scale and sustain impact
The Return on Investment
Savings
KEY BENEFITS TO YOUR BOTTOMLINE
- Create a more efficient and resilient supply chain
- Decrease community need for and use of uncompensated care
- Leverage philanthropic and public resources
Additional Benefits
A MORE EXPANSIVE NOTION OF ROI
- Improve overall community health and well-being
- Become a provider of choice
- Meet other strategic goals, such as sustainability
Overcoming Barriers
- Existing contracts prevent switching to or working with a local, diverse vendor….
- No existing vendors provide the good or service needed…
- Public regulations prevent preferences for local and/or diverse vendors…
- Contract with Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) limits the amount of discretionary spending available…