Volume 1 | October 27, 2017
News-Insights-Trends-Opinions
Welcome to the first ever issue of National Accounts Weekly ! This weekly newsletter is for all Corporate and National Accounts Executives in the US Healthcare Supply Chain. This is a special edition of your Journal of Healthcare Contracting's Dail-E News subscription.

I hope this will grow to be your most anticipated resource for news and insight about the people, organizations, and trends….so you are in the know!

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I hope you enjoy this first ever issue of National Accounts Weekly!
New Vizient CEO named; new direction to come?
The industry’s largest GPO gives the nod to Byron Jobe to succeed Curt Nonomoque effective March 31, 2018.

It’s been a fascinating journey Nonomoque has taken this organization through from VHA to what Vizient is today. Think of all that has happened in the last 10 years or so of combining the three GPOs with the contracting arm Novation then acquiring Medassets and melding it into Vizient. Talk about a cultural challenge getting that group centered and working in the same direction.

I don’t know Byron Jobe but I look forward to seeing how he puts his mark on Vizient. I think there is a lot of passionate leaders at Vizient including Pete Allen, Rand Ballard and two of my favorites in the industry Cathy Denning and David Gillan. My guess is we won’t see huge changes, but we will have to see.

On another note while talking about Vizient I really admire their commitment to supplier diversity under the guidance of Mark Cartwright. Supplier diversity is so much more than just the right thing to do, simply put it is good business. If you ever get a chance to spend time with Mark it will be time well spent!


Nationwide shortages result due to Hurricane Maria's impact on Puerto Rico
Johnson & Johnson, Stryker, Medtronic, Baxter and many more shipments have been impacted as a result of damage from Hurricane Maria.

“We here at Vizient had an ‘aha’ moment when we realized how much manufacturing actually takes place in Puerto Rico,” said Cathy Denning, the Senior Vice President of Sourcing Operations at Vizient.

It is estimated that 10% of all drugs consumed by Americans are manufactured in Puerto Rico and that many firms are operating at less than 20% capacity.

A Hospital Story: Going Amazon
Here is a great first-hand account of how one hospital is relying increasingly on Amazon. I have long contended that Amazon or an Amazon like experience is what buyers are demanding. If you do not understand or are nervous about Amazon this is a must read!

Clinicians get Alexa will be in the next chapter of this series.

To understand Amazon,
you need to Understand Millennials!
Paul Keckley has the best break down of the millennial effect on healthcare that I have seen. He uncovers what millennials mean to providers and payers not just as patients.

What do millennials mean to Suppliers and National Accounts Executives?

Here are 5 things you need to know about how Millennials will change the GPO/IDN Contracting market.

1.       The millennial buyer will want a swipe, swipe click experience from their suppliers and internally from the Materials Management department.

2.       Suppliers need to communicate differently. How you marketed to healthcare the last 30 years no longer works.

3.       They love peer reviews, not sales calls! How are you helping them connect with your brand’s ambassadors?

4.       As boomers retire, millennials are taking over. Have you adjusted your account management routine accordingly?

5.       They are buying by committee. There are more people in the loop to decide if they want to convert to your products or services. Are you connected with everyone? Or are you connected to the same people as when you had a phone hanging on your kitchen wall?

This article is only for the top
10% of National Account Executives
I am serious about this! Only the top 10% will want to understand where the nations IDNs are on the Sourcing Maturity Scale. The way you prospect, present and pitch an IDN should vary tremendously dependent on how evolved they are in the Sourcing Maturity Scale.

If you were selling widgets to the grocery industry you wouldn’t approach Wal-Mart the same way you would the locally owned convenience store. But great healthcare brands are contracting with Paducah Health System and Mayo the exact same way! This must stop! Not all customers and prospects are created equal, some are more equal than others!

Thanks to one of the brightest minds in our industry, Joe Walsh of Pensiamo for sharing this on LinkedIn. It is a great discussion on Strategic Sourcing vs. Category Management by Anne Kohler of The Mpower group.

Remember this is not for everyone….

From the Lobby!
From the Lobby is our weekly survey of readers and their opinions on all things in the contracting arena.

This is where we bring all those quick discussions shared in the GPO or IDNs lobby waiting for your Contracting Manager to come escort you to a windowless conference room!

All responses are blinded and confidential!

This week’s survey will be discussed in next week’s edition of National Accounts Weekly!

The topic of this week’s survey asks what is the most frustrating aspect of today's contracting environment?

Steve Kiewet from BJC on Healthcare Supply Chain Radio!
Steve Kiewet from BJC Healthcare is the latest guest on Healthcare Supply Chain Radio. Steve has a fascinating background and brings a unique perspective to our market.

You will want to hear what he has to say about his objective to have BJC's clinicians operating at the top of their licensure!

People in the news and on the move!

Tom Finucane Joins Vizient
Well-respected industry stalwart Tom Finucane has joined Vizient as Senior Principal. Previously Finucane was VP of Health Systems for Cardinal Health. 

Industry Veteran Ron Spinuzzi Starts MDCS
Congrats to Ron for launching Medical Device Contracting & Strategies (MDCS). I have known Ron for a long time and wish him all the luck in the world and have no doubt he will be incredibly successful. Check out his website https://mdcstrat.com/

PDI Names Kent Davies President & CEO

Feel free to share!
I hope you enjoyed this issue of National Accounts Weekly. Please send me what you think of this newsletter and if you have news you’d like to be included in the next issue!

John Pritchard


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