Photo By Teodora Mocanu | Paul Flach, of the healthcare information technology firm McKesson Inc.; DLA Vice...... read more read more
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FORT BELVOIR, Va. - The pharmaceutical and surgical industries have greatly helped the Defense Logistics Agency decrease material costs, DLA Director Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek said June 4 during a “Captains of Industry” roundtable focusing on medical support at the McNamara Headquarters Complex.
Harnitchek lauded DLA’s industrial partners for increasing long-term contracts and using reverse auctions to achieve lower prices on competitive contracts.
Although military customers will have about 30 percent less money than they have had over the past 10 years, DLA will be expected to provide the same level of logistics support, the director said.
“The tough part is the requirements are going to be the same. We really have to be able to do exactly what we’re doing now, but we have to be able to do it for less money,” he said, adding that many of the ideas that have generated savings in the past have come from collaboration with manufacturers.
The event brought together leaders from DLA Headquarters, DLA Troop Support and commercial manufacturers.
DLA Troop Support Medical Supply Chain Director Geneva Polini gave an update on efforts spawned from previous roundtables. The agency continues to partner with the new Defense Health Agency to reduce credit card purchases and promote the use of electronic catalog contracts. It is also partnering with medical products supplier Owens & Minor on commercial price benchmarking, an effort that includes working with the vendor base during negotiations to reduce the cost of material as well as tracking and evaluating Defense Department pricing strategies against industry best practices.
Roger Dixon, who directs supplier operations for the medical supply chain at DLA Troop Support, said medical sales are expected to rise in the next 10 years, with the largest percentage going toward pharmaceuticals, followed by medical and surgical equipment.
“This is the only supply chain we have that shows this sort of positive slope,” Harnitchek said.
As business increases, the agency will seek savings of more than $3.5 billion by fiscal 2024.
“We know we can reach these goals, and they’re pretty aggressive, especially in standardization and price benchmarking,” Dixon said.
The event concluded with presentations from several vendors that described industry challenges and potential ways they can help DLA reduce costs and improve support.
| Date Taken: | 06.04.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2014 14:26 |
| Story ID: | 132919 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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