We’re pleased to share that Rodney Brown, SVP of North America & Global Planning and Analytics at HAVI, has recently been featured in Forbes. In the latest article, “Inventory Strategy Is Emerging As A New Patient-Care Imperative,” Rodney, through the insights of the GPA Healthcare team, explores how smarter, data-driven inventory planning is becoming critical to improving clinical reliability and strengthening patient care outcomes. The article highlights the growing connection between supply chain strategy and healthcare performance, emphasizing how better visibility, flexibility, and foresight can directly support patient well-being. We are pleased to share these insights with you all.
Inventory Strategy Is Emerging As A New Patient-Care Imperative
In healthcare, inventory management has traditionally been a back-office function. One that is necessary but seldom strategic. The phrase “materials management” reinforces that mindset. It brings to mind counting boxes, managing shortages and keeping supplies moving, rather than shaping the organization’s flexibility, financial health and patient experience. But shifting clinical demand, supply chain disruptions, the rise of AI and tighter financial pressures require a different approach.
I believe inventory needs to now be considered an enterprise-level capability. Proper handling of inventory improves clinical reliability and cost performance while enabling organizations to adapt more quickly to change. Inventory strategy is a reflection of leadership in action.
AI And Predictive Analytics Are Changing What’s Possible
AI and predictive analytics offer health systems the unprecedented ability to more precisely match inventory to real-world clinical use. Modern forecasting models can factor in market behavior, patient trends and historical consumption, so supply levels can automatically adjust as patterns shift. Because these tools continue to learn over time, accuracy improves with every cycle.
Instead of manually pulling reports, AI can scan data across ERPs and inventory platforms, surfacing trends and insights that teams need to act on. Additionally, AI agents can handle routine tasks (placing replenishment orders, checking on delayed shipments or flagging emerging issues) before they become disruptions.
AI also gives leaders a wider view of what’s ahead. By scanning public information, such as injury trends, early signals of infectious disease or environmental changes, AI can help anticipate upcoming shifts in demand. That allows health systems to prepare rather than react, which can make a meaningful difference to both costs and patient care.
Inventory Needs To Be An Enterprise Capability, Not A Department Function
Historically, inventory was managed within a single department. But today’s challenges encompass more than one team’s responsibilities. Decisions about supplies affect clinical workflows, financial constraints, operational capacity and risk planning. One function alone simply cannot solve these issues.
That’s why so many organizations are adopting cross-functional structures that bring nursing, physicians, finance, supply chain, IT, performance improvement and sustainability teams together. One model that is gaining traction is the Stock Analysis Value Recapture (SAVR) committee, a group focused on shaping inventory strategy across the enterprise and coordinating large-scale improvements.
These committees help organizations move faster by aligning decisions across departments and making sure that supply issues aren’t being solved in isolation. Just as importantly, they help shift the culture from viewing inventory as a transactional activity to seeing it as a strategic lever for clinical and financial performance.
Measuring What Matters Means Telling A Clear Financial Story
While most health systems track supply metrics, those metrics mean little unless they translate into a financial story that leadership can understand and act upon. That story should include such things as excess stock, carrying costs, labor tied to materials handling, courier and distribution fees, rebates, price-protection opportunities, expired inventory and even losses due to shrinkage or misplacement.
Health systems also need to clearly document intentional inventory decisions, whether stocking up to avoid tariff risk, maintaining extra product due to a physician’s preference or preparing for a potential shortage. Distinguishing between thoughtful choices and preventable waste is key to building trust and transparency across the organization.
When the inventory strategy is working, the results should show up directly on the income statement, in the form of fewer disruptions that delay care, better cash flow, lower operating costs and more predictable financial performance.
What Healthcare Can Learn From Other Industries
Other industries, such as retail, consumer goods and automotive, have long invested in structured collaboration with suppliers, shared forecasting and more transparent data flows. Healthcare is starting to move in this direction, but there is still room to learn.
Regular planning sessions, joint forecasting exercises and shared dashboards help both sides identify issues early and coordinate responses. Furthermore, technologies such as RFID, barcoding and connected data platforms allow for more precise tracking of products from manufacturer to point of care. And clear processes for supplier performance reviews create more accountability and greater partnership over time.
Healthcare doesn’t need to reinvent these practices. It needs only to adapt them in a way that supports clinical care and regulatory requirements.
Building Partnerships That Go Beyond The Product
The next evolution in supplier relationships will be to move beyond transactional purchasing into deeper collaboration. Many suppliers can be valuable partners in areas like clinical research, technology pilots, sustainability programs and even philanthropic or community-impact initiatives.
Making such partnerships work requires that health systems have easy, dependable ways of tracking performance over time. The purpose of an automated supplier scorecard is to measure such things as cost, quality, reliability of delivery and contribution to innovation. It also prevents long-term initiatives from getting lost in the shuffle of daily operations.
Not all suppliers are created equal. Some provide commodity items and are best managed through efficiency and flexibility. Others offer specialized products that directly affect clinical outcomes and should be approached as strategic partners. Understanding this difference helps organizations invest their time and attention where it creates the most value.
The Leadership Mindset Behind Strong Inventory Strategy
Technology and process improvements matter, but they’re not enough on their own. A strong inventory strategy requires building the right team, enabling autonomy, asking thoughtful questions and being willing to see inventory as a strategic vector for patient care and financial strength.
It also means being curious about how the system really works, staying open to input from clinicians and suppliers and being comfortable making decisions in an environment where demand can shift quickly. Leaders who approach inventory with this mindset can turn a historically overlooked function into a source of competitive advantage.
