Quick Snapshot: Tell Us What's Top of Mind

• In one sentence, how would you describe the current state of your supply chain and purchasing operations?
• Which of these best captures your immediate priority right now? Options: Solve chronic shortages, Improve contract compliance, Reduce days‑on‑hand, Improve clinical adoption of preferred products, Improve visibility / analytics, Other
• Who on your team is most frustrated today — inventory, pharmacy, procurement, clinical leadership, or finance? Tell us which and why. Options: Inventory/Materials Management, Pharmacy Director/Team, Procurement/Purchasing, Clinical Department Leadership, CFO/Finance, Other
• What feels most urgent when you think about the next 90 days: availability, contract savings, regulatory risk, or operational stability? Options: Product availability, On‑contract compliance and savings, Regulatory/compliance risk, Operational stability and continuity, Other
• If you had to name one number that matters most today (e.g., fill rate, % on‑contract spend, days‑on‑hand), what is it and why?

If You Had to Pick a Single Uncomfortable Truth…

• What’s the one supply or contracting problem you secretly think is worse than leadership knows?
• How often does that problem produce a measurable clinical or operational disruption? Options: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Rarely
• When that disruption happens, which of these consequences is most likely to follow? Options: OR case delays/cancellations, Medication substitutions with extra charting, Emergency off‑contract purchasing, Increased labor for sourcing, Patient dissatisfaction/impact
• Tell us about a recent example where this issue cost time, money, or clinical confidence — what happened and what was the outcome?
• How long have you been tolerating this gap before it felt worth trying a new approach? Options: Less than 6 months, 6–12 months, 1–2 years, More than 2 years

When Shortages Strike, Who Bears the Heat?

• When a shortage hits, who in your organization is immediately forced to find alternatives — pharmacy, clinicians, materials, or sourcing? Options: Pharmacy team, Clinical staff (physicians/nurses), Materials/Inventory team, Sourcing/Procurement, Other
• How predictable are your shortage events — are they seasonal, supplier‑specific, or seemingly random? Options: Seasonal/predictable, Supplier or SKU specific, Tied to contract expirations, Random/unpredictable
• When you switch to alternatives during shortages, which of these is the most frequent barrier? Options: Clinician acceptance, Supply availability of alternatives, EHR/order entry updates, Cost/approval constraints, Documentation/training requirements
• What processes or external partners have you tried to minimize shortages, and what worked or failed?
• How would you describe the emotional toll on teams when shortages recur — frustrated, resigned, firefighting, or energized to fix it? Options: Frustrated, Resigned/accepting, Constantly firefighting, Motivated to change

Where Contract Savings Slip Through the Cracks

• If I told you 5–10% of your spend is routinely off‑contract, would that surprise you or feel expected? Options: Surprised — lower than expected, About right, Worse than expected, Unsure
• Which of these are the top root causes of off‑contract purchases in your system? Options: Physician preference items, Decentralized departmental buying, ERP integration gaps, Urgent/emergency buys, Vendor reps/promotions, Formulary management issues
• How do you currently detect off‑contract buys — periodic audits, real‑time alerts, vendor reports, or not at all? Options: Real‑time alerts, Periodic audits, Vendor/GPO reports, No reliable detection, Other
• Describe a recent example of contract leakage: which category, why it happened, and how much it cost (approximate)?
• If you could eliminate one driver of leakage tomorrow, which would unlock the most savings and why?

Cost Versus Care — When Choices Collide

• How often are clinical preference or physician choice the decisive reason for off‑contract spend or higher‑cost items? Options: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never
• Who typically makes the final call when a lower‑cost, on‑contract option conflicts with clinician preference? Options: Physician/provider, Pharmacy director, Supply chain VP, Clinical committee/Pharmacy & Therapeutics, Procurement
• What non‑financial factors matter most to clinicians when resisting standardization (efficacy, workflow, habit, training)? Options: Perceived efficacy/safety, Workflow convenience, Habit/comfort, Lack of evidence or data, Patient preference
• Share a story where aligning clinical and financial goals succeeded — what changed culturally or procedurally?
• Which KPIs matter most to you for balancing cost and care: fill rate, on‑contract %, days‑on‑hand, stockouts, or clinical outcomes? Options: Fill rate (%), On‑contract spend (%), Days‑on‑hand, Number of stockouts, Clinical outcome indicators (adverse events), Other

Data That Actually Helps — or Just Creates More Work?

• If the data you have today could speak frankly, what would it confess about visibility and trust?
• Which systems feed your supply and contract data today (ERP, EHR, GPO portal, WMS, spreadsheets)? Options: ERP/Finance system, EHR/Clinical orders, GPO portal, Warehouse Management System (WMS), Manual spreadsheets, Third‑party analytics
• How timely is the data you need to act — real‑time, same day, weekly, monthly, or worse? Options: Real‑time, Same day, Within 24–48 hours, Weekly, Monthly, Less frequent
• What analysis or report today would change a decision if you trusted it — for example, supplier fulfillment risk score, bottom‑up contract leakage, or clinician utilization heatmap? Options: Supplier fulfillment/risk score, Contract leakage by department, Clinician utilization and preference heatmap, Days‑on‑hand forecasting, Shortage impact simulation, Other
• What integrations or data feeds are blockers for you (e.g., EHR order mapping, PO/AP sync, GPO contract feed)?

If Tomorrow You Could Snap Your Fingers…

• Imagine a future where product availability, contract compliance, and clinician adoption are all predictable — what would that day look like for your team?
• What three measurable outcomes would prove success to you (pick up to three)? Options: Fill rate (%), On‑contract spend (%), Reduction in stockouts, Days‑on‑hand optimized, Reduction in emergency buys, Time saved for staff
• How quickly would you expect to see meaningful financial impact after a well‑executed deployment — 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, or longer? Options: Within 3 months, Within 6 months, Around 12 months, Longer than 12 months
• What governance cadence would make you comfortable that improvements are sustainable — weekly ops, monthly exec, quarterly reviews? Options: Weekly operational huddles, Biweekly check‑ins, Monthly executive review, Quarterly strategic reviews
• What would make you confident to move from pilot to enterprise roll‑out (clear ROI, clinician adoption rate, SLA performance, or executive sponsorship)? Options: Clear ROI, High clinician adoption, Consistent SLA performance, Executive sponsorship, Regulatory/quality validation

What Would Make Us Partners, Not Vendors?

• What would make you describe a distribution partner as a genuine strategic partner rather than just a supplier?
• Who are the decision‑makers and influencers who must be aligned to move forward (title/role list)?
• What procurement or contracting constraints should we know about (budget windows, approval thresholds, GPO requirements)?
• Which of these pilot scopes would be most helpful to prove value quickly? Options: Single high‑volume SKU family, One hospital or campus, High‑risk shortages category, Contract compliance monitoring pilot, End‑to‑end distribution + analytics pilot
• What is your ideal decision timeline and any immovable dates we should plan around (fiscal year, contract renewals, executive reviews)? Options: Immediate (30 days), Short (30–90 days), Medium (3–6 months), Longer (6–12 months), Tied to fiscal/renewal dates
• What would we need to show in a short executive summary to get an immediate yes from your leadership? Options: Projected cost savings, Risk reduction / availability improvement, Implementation timeline and owners, Pilot design and success criteria, All of the above

• Scenario Intake & Current State Validation
• Consequence Quantification & Prioritization Workshop
• Live Distribution & Inventory Proof
• Analytics & Consulting Proof: Contract Compliance and Preference Optimization
• Executive Validation & Commitment to Pilot

• Agree on a prioritized set of interventions with target KPI lifts and projected savings.
• Seller to deliver detailed model outputs (spreadsheet and summary slide) for selected scenarios within 3 business days.
• Customer to confirm or correct any assumption flags in the model and return feedback within 5 business days.
• Both parties to finalize scenario list and schedule live experience dates.
• One-sentence Future State for Distribution
• Demonstrate measurable improvement in fill rate and reduction in emergency sourcing for the tested shortage scenarios.
• Obtain customer confirmation that the simulated outcome matches their definition of 'better' in operational terms.
• Agree required SLA changes, exceptions, and owners to achieve the proven outcome in production.
• Seller to deliver simulation output files and a short findings memo tying metrics back to customer impact.
• Customer to validate simulation assumptions against frontline operations and return any corrections.
• Operations teams to draft SLA amendments for the tested flows for review in the next meeting.
• One-sentence Future State for Analytics Outcomes
• Prove analytics can reliably identify and quantify contract leakage and non-standard preference usage.
• Introductions and Meeting Objectives
• Define acceptance criteria and pilot scope for the analytics-driven interventions.
• Seller to provide dashboard exports, drill-down worksheets, and a one-page savings projection for the proposed interventions.
• Customer to nominate clinical and procurement owners for the pilot and confirm governance cadence.
• Both parties to finalize pilot KPIs and data collection requirements ahead of pilot kickoff.
• Executive Summary of Findings
• Obtain executive sign-off to proceed to the pilot defined by the agreed scope and KPIs.
• Confirm executive sponsors, budget owner, and governance cadence for the pilot.
• Capture any outstanding commercial or operational items required before go/no-go.
• Customer to provide formal pilot approval and assign executive sponsor and budget owner.
• Seller to produce a pilot Statement of Work including success criteria, timeline, and resourcing within 3 business days.
• Both parties to schedule the pilot kickoff meeting and agree on the first 30-day milestones.
• Produce one clear, one-sentence current-state summary for each scenario.
• Agree and catalog the datasets and evidence sources required to quantify consequence.
• Identify immediate gaps in evidence that must be closed before modeling.
• Customer to upload transaction-level spend, recent shortage incident reports, inventory snapshots, and list of physician-preference SKUs.
• Seller to map received data to required fields and confirm any missing elements within 48 hours.
• Both parties to agree on confidentiality and data access arrangements for analysis.
• Recap Validated Current States
• Agree quantified baseline metrics for each scenario (dollars, fill rate, days-on-hand, incident counts).
• Select prioritized scenarios to include in the Solution Experience based on impact and feasibility.
• Validate modeling assumptions and document any changes required before the live proof.
• Simulation Setup & Assumptions Review
• Data Quality Sanity Check
• One-sentence Current State Statements
• KPI Targets and Acceptance Criteria
• Model Overview & Assumptions
• Pilot Scope, Timeline, and Dependencies
• Shortage Event Walkthrough
• Live Simulation: Shortage Event Handling
• Live Dashboard Drill: Contract Leakage
• Financial Impact Modeling
• Operational and Clinical Consequence Modeling
• Inventory Rebalancing & Days-on-Hand Proof
• Intervention Simulation: Contracts & Alerts
• Decision and Commitments
• Contract Leakage Walkthrough
• Customer Validation Checkpoints
• Physician Preference Items Walkthrough
• Sensitivity & Risk Discussion
• Physician Preference Optimization Playbook
• Operational SLA and Exception Flow Discussion
• Validation and Pilot Design
• Data Integrity & Sources Check
• Prioritization and Pilot Candidate Selection
• Agree Next Steps and Pre-work for Quantification

• Next-day national pharmaceutical and supply distribution
• EDI/ERP automated ordering integration
• Enforce GPO and contracted pricing on orders
• Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) replenishment at hospital sites
• Consignment inventory stocking and on-site replenishment
• Alternate sourcing and fulfillment for drug shortages
• Cold-chain storage and temperature-controlled delivery
• Assemble and deliver procedure kits and sterile trays
• Deliver and install pharmacy automation equipment
• Just-in-time deliveries to ORs and procedural areas
• Handle returns, recalls, and reverse logistics
• Deliver spend visibility and utilization benchmarking reports
• Integrate GPO contracts into customer invoicing

Next-day national pharmaceutical and supply distribution

• Which locations require next-day delivery service? Options: All sites, Main hospital campus only, Select campuses/clinics (list), Pilot sites only
• What is the required daily cut-off time for next-day orders? Options: 12:00pm local, 3:00pm local, 5:00pm local, Custom (enter time)
• Are controlled substances, hazardous materials, or special handling SKUs included in next-day coverage? Options: Yes, No
• Estimate average daily order volume (lines or cases) that will use next-day distribution.
• Are there restricted access or after-hours delivery requirements (e.g., security desk, bedside)? Options: Yes, No
• What on-time delivery SLA do you require for next-day shipments? Options: 95% on-time, 98% on-time, 99% on-time, Custom (enter SLA)

EDI/ERP automated ordering integration

• Which ERP/eProcurement or EHR systems must be integrated? Options: Epic, Cerner, Oracle/PeopleSoft, Infor, McKesson Paragon, Other (specify)
• Which integration methods are acceptable? Options: EDI (850/810/855), API (REST), Flat-file SFTP, HL7, Other
• Which transaction types must be supported (select all required)? Options: Purchase orders, Order acknowledgements/997, Advanced Ship Notice (ASN), Invoices, Inventory updates
• Do you have existing data mappings, product catalogs, or vendor catalogs to import for integration? Options: Yes, No
• Estimated monthly transaction volume for automated ordering (orders/transactions per month). Options: Less than 500, 500-5,000, 5,000-20,000, More than 20,000
• Which internal teams will own testing, UAT and final sign-off for integrations? Options: IT / Integration team, Supply chain / Materials, Pharmacy, Vendor management / Procurement

Enforce GPO and contracted pricing on orders

• Do you require SKU-level contract price enforcement at order entry? Options: Yes, No
• Is GPO membership and contract ID consistent across all sites? Options: Yes, No, Some sites differ
• How should off-contract purchases be handled at order time? Options: Block orders, Allow with warning, Require approval, Route to procurement
• How frequently must contract prices and terms be refreshed in the system? Options: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, On-demand / ad hoc
• Do you require retroactive invoice reconciliation and recovery for contract non-compliance? Options: Yes, No
• Who will provide master price lists, contract exceptions, and maintaining overrides?

Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) replenishment at hospital sites

• Which site types are candidates for VMI? Options: Main hospital, Ambulatory clinics, Retail/Outpatient pharmacies, OR supply rooms / Procedural areas
• Which replenishment model do you prefer for VMI? Options: Par level-based, Kanban (visual), Consumption forecast (automated), Hybrid
• Is real-time inventory visibility required (system integration or device-level scanning)? Options: Yes, No
• Who will be responsible for physical inventory counts and cyclical audits? Options: Vendor, Customer, Shared (vendor + customer)
• What target fill rate and stock availability do you expect for VMI-managed items? Options: 95%, 98%, 99%+, Custom (specify)
• Do you require vendor-supplied physical fixtures, lockers, or on-site cabinet installations for VMI? Options: Yes, No
• Are there SKU exclusions (e.g., controlled substances) from VMI? Options: Yes, No

Consignment inventory stocking and on-site replenishment

• Which product categories do you want managed on consignment? Options: High-cost implants / specialty devices, Specialty pharmaceuticals, Capital equipment spare parts, Other (specify)
• What consignment ownership model do you prefer? Options: Vendor owns until use (invoiced on use), Vendor invoices periodically, Hybrid (mix)
• How should usage confirmations be captured for invoicing (select all that apply)? Options: Automated scans at point of use, EDI consumption reports, Manual usage entry, Hospital inventory adjustment feeds
• What storage, security, and environmental controls are required for consignment items?
• What financial reporting cadence and visibility do you need for consignment inventory? Options: Weekly, Monthly, On-use / Real-time
• Do you require periodic vendor audit and reconciliation visits for consignment? Options: Yes, No

Alternate sourcing and fulfillment for drug shortages

• Do you require a dedicated shortage response and escalation team? Options: Yes, No
• Which therapeutic categories are highest priority during shortages? Options: Critical care / ICU meds, Oncology, Anesthetics / analgesics, Antibiotics, Other (specify)
• Which alternate sourcing strategies are acceptable to you? Options: Therapeutic substitution (approved), Dose form or strength change, Alternate licensed supplier, Borrowing across network
• What lead-time tolerance is acceptable for alternate sourced items? Options: Under 24 hours, 1-3 days, 3-7 days, Custom (specify)
• Are clinical or pharmacy approvals required before substitutions are fulfilled? Options: Yes, No
• What documentation traceability is required for alternate-sourced product (e.g., COA, supplier certification)? Options: Certificate of Analysis, Supplier license / credentials, Lot-level traceability, Other (specify)

Cold-chain storage and temperature-controlled delivery

• Which SKUs or product classes require temperature-controlled handling?
• What temperature ranges and tolerances must be supported? Options: 2-8°C (refrigerated), -20°C (frozen), Controlled room temperature, Other (specify)
• Do you require continuous temperature monitoring and signed temperature excursion reports for each shipment? Options: Yes, No
• Is IQ/OQ/PQ validation documentation required for cold-chain storage equipment? Options: Yes, No
• Are there restricted receiving windows or special receiving instructions for cold-chain deliveries? Options: Yes, No
• Who should own incident response for temperature excursions (vendor, customer, shared)? Options: Vendor, Customer, Shared (vendor + customer)

Assemble and deliver procedure kits and sterile trays

• Which procedure types should be supported with assembled kits? Options: OR surgical procedures, Cath lab / EP, Interventional radiology, Ambulatory surgery / ASC
• Are kits standardized or configured case-by-case? Options: Standardized kits, Case-by-case builds, Combination of both
• Who is responsible for sterilization and documentation (vendor, customer, third-party)? Options: Vendor sterilized, Customer sterilized, Third-party sterilization
• What are the required lead-times for kit assembly and delivery to the procedural area? Options: Under 24 hours, 24-48 hours, 48+ hours
• Do kits require barcode/UDI labeling and integration to your tracking system? Options: Yes, No
• Who will manage sterile storage, shelf-life tracking, and expiration notifications? Options: Vendor, Customer, Shared (vendor + customer)

Deliver and install pharmacy automation equipment

• Which types of automation equipment are in scope for delivery and installation? Options: Robotic dispensing systems, Automated carousels, Primary/secondary packagers, IV compounding systems, Other (specify)
• Do you require site surveys, power, HVAC and utility readiness assessments prior to installation? Options: Yes, No
• Is IT integration with pharmacy systems (e.g., ADC, medication management) required as part of install? Options: Yes, No
• Who will own equipment validation, acceptance testing and go/no-go signoff? Options: Vendor, Customer, Third-party validation
• What training model do you prefer for staff competency (select all)? Options: On-site vendor-led training, Train-the-trainer, Virtual/remote training, Hybrid
• Do you require ongoing maintenance contracts and uptime SLAs for installed equipment? Options: Yes, No

Just-in-time deliveries to ORs and procedural areas

• Which ORs or procedural suites require JIT delivery coverage?
• What delivery cadence and maximum lead-time do you require for JIT requests? Options: 15-30 minutes, 30-60 minutes, Same day (hours)
• Are there sterile environment handoff and access protocols we must follow? Options: Yes, No
• Do you require real-time tracking and ETAs visible to OR staff? Options: Yes, No
• Who authorizes last-minute additions or substitutions in the OR (role names)? Options: OR charge nurse, Surgeon, Pharmacy, Materials manager

• Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Service Level Agreement (SLA)
• Commercial Terms & Pricing Schedule
• Acceptance Criteria & Go‑Live Sign‑off
• Governance & Escalation Plan
• Integration & Data Exchange Annex
• Inventory Transfer & Ownership Agreement
• Operational Dependencies & Readiness Checklist
• Regulatory & Compliance Addendum
• Change Order & Scope Management
• Insurance, Indemnity & Liability Terms
• Termination, Transition & Exit Plan

• KPI Validation & Outcomes Review
• Lessons Learned & Continuous Improvement Retrospective
• Issue Triage & Enhancement Governance
• Executive Scorecard Review & Renewal/Expansion Decision
• Runbook Handoff & BAU Enablement

• Update issue tracker with confirmed owners, remediation steps, and SLA deadlines for top items.
• Agree remediation owners, timelines, and criteria for any non‑conforming KPIs.
• Establish ongoing reporting cadence and escalation path for SLA/KPI drift.
• Produce a consolidated KPI validation report (dashboard + raw data) and distribute to stakeholders within 3 business days.
• Document remediation plan for each open KPI with owner, actions, and target completion dates.
• Schedule recurring KPI review cadence (weekly or monthly) and invite required operational owners.
• Recap Objectives and Outcomes
• Produce a validated lessons‑learned record capturing what to keep, stop, and start.
• Agree a prioritized improvement backlog with owners and timelines.
• Ensure clinical, supply chain, and finance impacts are explicitly captured for each improvement.
• Create and share a formal lessons learned document including root causes and proposed fixes.
• Populate prioritized improvements into the enhancement backlog with owners and target dates.
• Assign resource commitments for high‑impact, low‑effort items to prevent regression.
• Review Open Issue Register
• Resolve or set clear remediation plans for top operational issues.
• Agree prioritization and timelines for enhancement requests with defined acceptance criteria.
• Establish SLAs and escalation paths for operational incidents and enhancement delivery.
• Runbook Walkthrough
• Add prioritized enhancements to the delivery roadmap with acceptance criteria.
• Confirm and provision the shared communication channel and notification rules.
• Executive Summary of Outcomes
• Secure an executive decision on renewal, expansion, or transition.
• Align on commercial and governance commitments required to execute the decision.
• Confirm prioritized strategic opportunities for additional value capture.
• Draft and circulate the renewal/expansion proposal with commercial terms and SLAs within 5 business days.
• If approved, schedule kickoff for expansion workstreams and update governance cadences.
• If transitioning, agree and publish an offboarding plan with timelines and responsibilities.
• Ensure BAU teams have documented runbooks, training, and access required to operate independently.
• Confirm owners and escalation paths to maintain SLA/KPI performance.
• Establish criteria and date for formal BAU acceptance and stage closeout.
• Distribute final runbooks, training materials, and knowledge base links to BAU stakeholders.
• Provision dashboard and report access to designated BAU users and validate logins.
• Capture BAU acceptance signatures and publish the stage closeout summary.
• Opening & Objectives
• Formally validate which KPIs meet acceptance criteria and which do not.
• Quantify operational and financial consequences associated with KPI gaps.
• Roles, Responsibilities & Escalations
• Wins — What Worked
• One‑Sentence Current State
• Financial Impact & ROI
• Triage Top 3 Impact Items
• Training Completion & Materials
• Gaps & Root Cause Analysis
• Operational Risk & Mitigation Status
• KPI Review: Baseline vs. Actual
• Enhancement Requests & Prioritization
• Consequence & Financial Impact
• Prioritize Improvements (Impact vs Effort)
• Opportunity: Expansion or Optimization Options
• Monitoring, Dashboards & Alerts Access
• SLA, Escalation & Acceptance Criteria
• Evidence Drilldowns (Proof)
• Action Planning & Ownership
• Communication Channel & Reporting
• Decision & Commitments
• Operational Acceptance & Closeout Criteria
• Q&A and Handoff Signatures
• Next Steps & Timeline
• Force Validation & Sign‑off
• Document Sharing & Follow‑up