Materials management in multi-facility systems: a case study

Although the problems of managing materials in a health care institution are formidable, these problems increase when the institution is part of a multi-facility system. There are many issues of organization, standardization, centralization (or decentralization) of authority, reporting, and monitoring faced by the multi-facility system, which are not issues relevant to the single institution. The state of New York operates a centralized supply purchasing, warehousing, and distribution system through its Office of General Services. This system serves a number of state organizations, including the focus of this report, the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD), which is responsible for 20 residential facilities as well as day programs and community residences. Faced with the recognition that the cost of supplies ("commodities" in the official nomenclature) was becoming a significant and vulnerable part of the operating budget, OMRDD engaged Friesen International, Inc. to assist in analyzing and improving its commodity distribution system, with the object of holding the line on operating costs. This article describes the methods and results of the ensuing study, which began as a review of the procedures in place, and ended with on-site assistance in implementing changes at each of the component facilities. Neither HPM nor the authors suggest that any other system could, or should, proceed in exactly the same manner; however, apart from the specific information about particular commodities which can be gleaned from this report, there may be value for others in seeing how the task proceeded, and the authors' self-critical analysis of how well the employed methods worked.