How Eliminating Sourcing and Logistics Blind Spots Is a Game-Changer for OEMs and Distributors

Question: Which of these scrambles do you prefer? 

1.   The breakfast variety with meat, onions, veggies, and cheese
2.   The kind of rough trail terrain that demands you use your hands and feet
3.   The daily chaos of figuring out where things are and where they need to be tomorrow  

We’re guessing you’ve picked (A) or (B), because if you’re reading this, your team is just trying to survive (C) over and over every day. That’s because blind spots in your inventory visibility and immediate future demand create a 24-hour scramble cycle in which sales ops and reps—for OEMs and their distributors—are continually trying to solve the puzzle of who needs what when; who has what; and how they’re going to get it from where it is to where it needs to go today and tomorrow. They are tackling this perpetual problem with whiteboards, magnet boards, scrap paper, emails, texts, phone calls, and personal coordination. 

It’s exhausting—for everyone. 

Imagine, though, a different kind of workday. Instead of a scramble, it looks like this: 

• Reps are keyed into their surgeons’ rhythm: they enter the regularly occurring cases into a real-time online platform as a load-out template for that case scenario. 
• Demand is now visible, and sales operations personnel can see it.
• They can compare it to what is currently on hand and determine what needs to be made within what timeframe. For example, they know they have 17 cervical cases scheduled for the Thursday after next, and they have only 15 on hand. So, the OEM is going to need to find or make two more, and they have plenty of time to coordinate a loaner or produce more.  
• In addition, sales ops personnel now know where everything is today, right now—with real-time visibility.
• With that revolutionary sourcing ability, they can assign assets to scheduled cases.
• With drag-and-drop functionality, they can solve the logistics puzzle, including how to get those assets that aren’t needed at a certain hospital to where they’re needed—now, tomorrow, or next week—matching supply with market demand in a highly efficient way.
• Once assets have reached their intended destination, they can confirm delivery with pictures and notifications, cutting down on frantic back-and-forth communication.

What would that kind of real-time visibility and control mean for your productivity, profitability, and growth? 

For manufacturers, this visibility into demand is a game changer. They can see globally how many types of kits are needed, view demand much further out, and more efficiently handle the inventory they’ve consigned to distributors. With better sourcing and resource planning abilities, they can optimize their inventory footprint. 

Distributors benefit, too. They can see scheduled cases and immediate future demand up and down the chain between a manufacturer and their surgeon accounts. They can see where assets are and who is holding them and confirm they’ve arrived where they are needed—before scheduled cases ever take place.  

That’s the power of ImplantBase’s new Distributor Logistics module. Its revolutionary tools—like case load-out templates, drag-and-drop functionality, and asset scheduling—make that 24-hour time-horizon problem far less painful for everyone. The result is a new level of visibility and control that lets manufacturers and their distributors work more efficiently to deliver for surgeons and patients.  

At ImplantBase, we’re a leader in digital transformation for the orthopedic implant industry. Our platform provides manufacturers of every size with a unique cloud-based solution that transforms how the business operates on every level and across your critical functions of finance, sales, and operations. That means bringing automation—and revolution—to scores of mission-critical business processes—including your distributor logistics—so that your team can stop flailing in chaos and start driving improved performance. 

If you’re ready to embrace the future, ImplantBase can help. Give us 30 minutes to assess your performance and help you determine a roadmap to digital transformation—and you’ll see how our brand-new Distributor Logistics module can change the way you work for the better.