CASE STUDY
Saving Millions in Months
Through aptitude®, Memorial Hermann discovers a faster path to cost reduction. Managing the supply chain of the largest not-for-profit health care system in Southwest Texas is a big job. Seven people oversee $880 million in purchasing, handling hundreds of supplier relationships and thousands of individual tasks. For years, much of the contracting process – from creating requests for proposals (RFPs) to executing the final deals – was done manually, consuming a large chunk of the supply chain team’s time. Often, completing and executing a complex RFP could take six months to a year. Facing financial pressures and time constraints, the team at Memorial Hermann Health System (MHHS) wanted to explore new ways to expedite savings and boost the bottom line. At the same time, they wanted to increase the efficiency of their contracting efforts so they could make the most of their time. Using aptitude helped the system achieve both goals. “We were able to push more initiatives, in more categories, faster while reducing costs,” said Chris Toomes, MHHS Supply Chain Associate Vice President. In only five months, the team achieved $1.7 million in savings. An additional $3 million in RFPs is now in the pipeline on the aptitude platform.
“With some contracts we have opted for conversions and with others we have stayed with the same supplier, but in all instances, when contracting through aptitude, we save money.”