--- title: Five To Save | Vetting Vendors During COVID-19 description: Because Z5 is back in hospitals, we wanted to offer some advice on what vendor-hospital partnerships should look like during COVID-19. image: https://www.z5inventory.com/hubfs/FTS%20-%20covid%20vendors.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/five-to-save-vetting-vendors-during-covid-19#main-content) [![Group 1211](https://www.z5inventory.com/hubfs/Group%201211.png)](https://www.z5inventory.com) - [Solutions](https://www.z5inventory.com/solutions) - [Z5 Count](https://www.z5inventory.com/solutions-2021-0-1) - [Z5 Fixed Asset](https://www.z5inventory.com/solution/fixedassetcount) - [Z5 Analytics](https://www.z5inventory.com/solutions-2021-0) - [Z5 Optimization](https://www.z5inventory.com/solutions-2021-0-0) - [Who We Serve](https://www.z5inventory.com/solutions-2022) - Company - [About Us](https://www.z5inventory.com/contact-2021) - [Contact Us](https://www.z5inventory.com/contact) - [Careers](https://www.z5inventory.com/careers) - [Blog](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog) - [Login](https://prod.z5development.com/) # Five To Save | Vetting Vendors During COVID-19 [Alex Diamond](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/author/alex-diamond) 6/9/2020 ![The Z5 Piggy Bank is safely stationed amid hospital supplies, but not all vendors are lucky enough to be back in hospitals yet.](https://www.z5inventory.com/hs-fs/hubfs/FTS%20-%20covid%20vendors.jpg?width=1200&name=FTS%20-%20covid%20vendors.jpg) We thought we'd put together advice for vendors on what hospitals are requiring - and for hospitals on what they ought to require from vendors - during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.  You can find some of that in our podcast episode this week, in which our VP of Operations - who's been coordinating with and within hospitals since the pandemic began - shares his observations about how hospital protocols have evolved and how hospitals' partners can come prepared for that first temperature check.    Onward with other people's advice:  1. [Supply chain is a rising concern](https://www.beckersasc.com/supply-chain/supply-chain-now-healthcare-leaders-no-2-concern-4-survey-insights.html) for healthcare execs right now, and rightly so. So you need a partner that's actively [redesigning their supply chain](https://www.jhconline.com/reflection-and-renewal.html) to prepare for crises.  2. If you can do all your vetting online, great. There's [lots of technology](https://www.z5inventory.com/en-us/count-ppe-for-free) you can take advantage of [without any in-person meetings](https://sifted.eu/articles/telehealth-remote-medicine/) or installations. But be careful, because... 3. While we've talked about [increasing your security](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/5-ways-to-strengthen-your-healthcare-cybersecurity) before, that conversation needs to be increasing, since breaches have risen during the pandemic. [Choosing your vendors for their security strength](https://securityboulevard.com/2020/06/managing-cybersecurity-risks-up-down-the-supply-chain/) isn't a bad idea\*.  4. One thing vendors and providers alike will need to [address are the mental health needs](https://www.modernhealthcare.com/opinion-editorial/will-we-see-wounded-generation-because-covid-19) of basically everyone they encounter - especially in hospitals. The risk of emotional damage from this period of unrest is high.  5. We salute the clinicians who are relieving the physical and mental health burden placed on the Black Lives Matter movement -- through [doctor](https://13wham.com/news/local/urmc-healthcare-workers-kneeling-to-raise-awareness-of-racial-injustice) and [nurse](https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/06/9849136/nurse-black-lives-matter-protest-response) [shows of solidarity](https://kdkaradio.radio.com/galleries/healthcare-workers-outside-of-ahns-west-penn-hospital-kneel-in-support-of-black-lives) and the ongoing care they provide\*\*.    \*The data that is accessed, processed, and provided by Z5 Inventory every day includes no patient data, so we're rarely required to interact with IT departments, but we are overcautious about encryption and accessibility all the same. We believe that's what good partners do.  \*\*We believe good partners also align their values with yours. It might be worth investigating whether they're dedicated in [making the "care" in "healthcare" competitive](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/five-steps-to-making-your-care-competitive). (And maybe whether your organization is, too.)    [selling medical inventory](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/topic/selling-medical-inventory) [reallocation](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/topic/reallocation) [contracts](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/topic/contracts) [digital supply management](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/topic/digital-supply-management) [cybersecurity](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/topic/cybersecurity) [healthcare inventory](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/topic/healthcare-inventory) [buying medical supplies](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/topic/buying-medical-supplies) [2020](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/topic/2020) [coronavirus](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/topic/coronavirus) [covid-19](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/topic/covid-19) [take 5](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/topic/take-5) [vendors](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/topic/vendors) ## Leave a Comment ## Related Posts ### [11/6/2018 Version 2.9 Of The Z5 App Eliminates Counting Errors](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/version-2.9-update) ### [10/12/2021 Shortages Of Supplies, Staff To Worsen | Five To Save](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/shortages-of-supplies-staff-to-worsen-five-to-save) ### [6/21/2017 New Client Spotlight: Boston Children's Hospital](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog/new-client-spotlight-boston-childrens-hospital) ![Group 1212](https://www.z5inventory.com/hubfs/Group%201212.png) Z5 Inventory was founded with the purpose of saving health care providers nationwide from expiring product, empowering them to Count, Reallocate, and Buy their inventory all in one place. - [Solutions](https://www.z5inventory.com/solutions) - [Z5 Count](https://www.z5inventory.com/solutions-2021-0-1) - [Z5 Analytics](https://www.z5inventory.com/solutions-2021-0) - [Z5 Optimization](https://www.z5inventory.com/solutions-2021-0-0) - Company - [About Us](https://www.z5inventory.com/contact-2021) - [Contact Us](https://www.z5inventory.com/contact) - [Careers](https://www.z5inventory.com/careers) - [Blog](https://www.z5inventory.com/blog) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.z5inventory.com/privacy-policy) - [Get The App](https://www.z5inventory.com/platform) - [Apple App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/z5-count/id1557711721) - [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.z5inventory&gl=US) - [Dashboard Login](https://prod.z5development.com/) © 2026 All rights reserved. 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