Diversity The Key To Surviving Supply Chain Crisis | Five To Save

90% of industry leaders are aligned on their top supply chain challenges and the best means of overcoming them.

Healthcare and supply chain leaders usually agree on what their problems are, because problems are obvious. Where they normally diverge is solutions. But we were pleasantly surprised by seeing some consensus as we perused this week's news stories. 

Let's start with the bad news. (We know, we know. You're running through a dozen topics and wondering which one we mean this time. Not a great place to be mentally. Hence the deceptive lightheartedness of this week's cartoon animal GIF selection.) 

1. Bad news: operating margins are down. Worse news: they're not going to get better.  
   
   
2. Provider finances aren't going to be helped by ongoing supply chain disruption that's only going to worsen in the last few weeks of 2021. Retail demand is going to pull resources away from healthcare's sourcing needs.  
   
   
3. Okay, so let's manage the problem. Because the vast, vast, vast majority of supply chain leaders agree that disruption is a problem, that sustainability is a problem, and that unsustainable supply chains are going to become disrupted supply chains. But sustainability might also be the solution in itself. 
   
   
    
4. Excuse us if this sounds redundant, but... sustainable practices are essential to the long-term sustainability of a practice. This has been proven through analyses across every industry, and its implementation in supply chain has obvious benefits. If you don't plan for the future, you'll have a hard time surviving the future.
   
   
5. And diversifying your supply chain doesn't hurt, either. Not just in terms of the size and location of your suppliers, but in terms of the makeup of their leadership and workforce. Investing in diversity helps everyone involved, and it's the right thing to do. Which, after all, is why we all got into the healthcare business, right? 

We've got a big announcement coming next week relating to just that. We want to help. Because managing supply chain is difficult, managing healthcare is impossible, and trying to manage both is certifiably insane. 

So let us take some of the burden off you. Sign up for our blog newsletter to be the first to know what we're up to. 

Till then, keep doing all the good work you do.