Objective:
To improve the ability to quickly issue rush orders to suppliers
Calculation:
| Number of rush purchase orders issued to suppliers in the same day | ||
| x 100% | ||
| Total number of rush requisitions received |
Target
≥ 95% of orders issued to supplier in same day
Background Details
Rationale
Rapid response to customers’ rush orders by the supply chain department is critical in the healthcare setting. If customers do not have access to the supplies they need, patient care may suffer. For this reason, the department’s performance in this area should be monitored regularly.
Benefits
Patient Care
Supporting patient care requires that customers, i.e., doctors and nurses, have access to the right product at the right time. Ensuring that rush orders are quickly issued will directly support the
customers’ ability to provide patient care by minimizing the number and length of stock-outs.
Process Efficiency
Reducing the response time of supply chain staff requires establishing streamlined and efficient processes for receiving rush requests from customers and issuing rush orders to suppliers.
Customer Service
Ensuring appropriate mechanisms for processing rush orders quickly and monitoring and addressing customer’ concerns provides a higher level of customer service.
Underlying Leading Practices
Contract Centre of Excellence
A common repository for supplier contract data, including current pricing and lead-time requirements, provides a central location to obtain the information required to place rush orders.
“End to End” eSupply Chain
Automated processes from requisition to purchase order (PO) generation enable supply chain staff to issue rush orders more quickly.
Target Considerations
Establishment
This metric is difficult to monitor. The few hospitals that are currently measuring it are using different
calculation methods, which made it difficult for the Working Group to establish an initial target.
It is therefore recommended that a review of the proposed target take place six to twelve months
after implementing this common metric definition to establish an appropriate target level.
Related Metrics and Standards
| Related Metrics: | Related Standards: |
|---|---|
| 1.1 Percentage of Active Items under Contract 2.1 Average Cost to Issue a Purchase Order 3.2 Percentage of Rush Purchase Orders 4.2 Fill Rates to Customers |
3.1 Contracts Database 4.1 Customer Survey Tools and Processes 4.2 Item Master Management Policy and Processes |
Implementation:
Calculation Parameters
Calculation:
| Number of rush purchase orders issued to suppliers in the same day | ||
| x 100% | ||
| Total number of rush requisitions received |
| Variable | Include | Exclude |
|---|---|---|
| Number of rush purchase orders (POs) issued to suppliers in the same day | Include the number POs issued in a single day that are both for:
|
Do not include POs issued on this day that are either for:
|
| Total number of rush requisitions received | Include the number of purchase requisitions received by the supply chain department on this day that are both for:
|
Do not include requisitions received by the supply chain department on this day that are either for:
|
Data Accessibility Rating
DIFFICULT - Data do not exist and are difficult to obtain
Possible Data Sources
Electronic
Procurement Module:
To automatically measure and report the Number of rush purchase orders issued to suppliers in the same day and Total number of rush requisitions received, an organization’s information system must be able to (1) flag rush orders and (2) time stamp when a requisition was received and a PO released. This functionality is often lacking. Organizations could consider installing a customized software solution and specialty reports.
Manual
If customized reporting is not available, the organization could consider using a logging method throughout the month or selecting a representative time period (one day, one week, etc.) to collect a subset of data. Organizations should select the option that balances the cost of collecting the data and the associated accuracy with the benefit of reporting the metric.
Implementation Challenges
Challenges:
- Data may be unavailable from current information systems. Due to the importance of this metric, organizations should consider a manual process to monitor performance, such as implementing a logging system or investigate adding the dates to requisition and PO input fields to enable automatic reporting.
