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In recent years the global orthopedic supply chain has faced mounting pressures, forcing those with sourcing responsibilities to act with flexibility and creativity. Familiar hurdles like forecasting, shipping and manufacturing capacity have been elevated due to COVID ramifications, causing sourcing professionals to become more resilient as they continue to face disruptions.
Orthopedic OEMs and suppliers will gather at OMTEC® this June to discuss and debate how best to handle the challenges of today and tomorrow. Listed are sessions we believe procurement and sourcing managers will find particularly useful, because they will provide attendees the needed tools to apply best practices and sound solutions in the workplace.
1. How Procurement Can Contribute as a Growth Engine
Procurement can play a significant role in organizational growth and profitability. This session is a must for managers within the ever-changing orthopedic supply chain. Leaders with experience at Zimmer Biomet, Stryker, Wright Medical and Xtant Medical will provide case studies on how they overcame specific challenges. Speakers will explore how ambitious procurement leaders scout innovation from suppliers, turn costs into competitive advantages and develop relationships across engineering, manufacturing and sales to propel efficiencies in processes and promote company growth.
Overall, the discussion will offer procurement managers strategies to turn their department into an ROI-generating strategic asset. Attendees will also learn best practices to find ways to implement cost reductions while increasing time to market and quality, as well as methods to influence and collaborate with essential departments within your company.
2. How to Overcome the Supply Chain Challenges of Today and Tomorrow
Orthopedic supply chains have faced severe disruption spurred by factors like the pandemic, natural disasters and staffing issues. This session brings together critical supply chain perspectives to discuss the challenges and opportunities that orthopedic companies face in serving their hospital customers.
Panelists, including Denise Odenkirk, Vice President of Supplier Sales at Global Healthcare Exchange, will discuss challenges impacting the supply chain today, market forces, and industry dynamics expected to impact the future supply chain. They will also discuss best practices that promote flexibility and agility when facing uncertainty, as well as lessons in developing stronger relationships throughout the supply chain.
We recently interviewed Odenkirk on trends that she sees in the supply chain. She noted a need for orthopedic device companies to focus on operational excellence, transparency and preparation for future disruptions.
“You have to look at the whole: What is required for a particular situation? If you don’t have the products, what products would you substitute?” Odenkirk said. “We need to get creative if we’re to save patients’ lives. If you’re a manufacturer, wouldn’t it be smart to give your healthcare professionals a Plan B playbook, so that they know what to do in a crisis?”
3. Global Roundtable: Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Regulatory Market Forces
The orthopedic market faces numerous complexities with its international scale. Manufacturing, labor, supply chain and regulatory considerations all play a role in a company’s ability to work in or serve a region successfully. The global roundtable brings together key players to discuss the complexities of the OUS markets. The conversation will cover practical business decisions as well as advice on responding to today’s market forces.
Companies must first understand the basics of the orthopedic business model to remain strategic and competitive in their sourcing and manufacturing decisions.
Session moderator Dale Tempco wrote about the orthopedic business model, saying, ”Long lead times have led to contention in the orthopedic supply chain over the last year, summoning questions about why and how the industry faces months-long waits for products to be manufactured. We’ve been in this situation before, and need to look no further than the orthopedic business model to know that we’ll likely be in this situation again.”
4. How to Drive a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Highly successful leaders and companies exhibit a culture of continuous improvement. This personal development session delves into the specific actions that engaged leaders take to ensure organizations fully embrace continuous improvement. Leaders and future leaders will examine why being clear on The Four Obsessions (Patrick Lencioni) provides a template to build a culture of execution.
Participants will get hands-on experience with a working model of a strategic plan that leads to execution. They will look at the importance of embedding continuous improvement into an organization’s core values beyond its vision and mission statements. They will explore how to review day-to-day operational tools like meeting agendas and employee recognition to ensure that they require the organization to focus on getting better every day.
Attendees will get clarity on the fundamental disciplines and practices of successful leaders, and they’ll learn a simple path to ensure that short-term strategies align with long-term goals. Attendees will also learn simple tools to ensure that resources are focused on the right objectives.
The orthopedic supply chain is highly complex. Sourcing leaders need to react to the obstacles in front of them and remain strategic in considering what their teams might confront in the years ahead. These OMTEC sessions aim to allow industry members to share, discuss and advise each other on how to best move forward.
