Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Driving Value Through Strategic Supply Chain Leadership at RWJBarnabas Health

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Driving Value Through Strategic Supply Chain Leadership at RWJBarnabas Health · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

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This is Laura Dierda with the Becker's Healthcare
0:02
podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by
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Bob Taylor, senior vice president and chief supply
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chain officer at RWJBarnabas
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Health. Bob, it's a pleasure to have you
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on the podcast today.
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Thank you very much, Laura. I appreciate the
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opportunity.
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Absolutely.
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Now I'm excited for our conversation because I
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know supply chain is a very dynamic space.
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And especially right now, there's a lot of
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things happening, within the supply chain function. And
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so I'm looking forward to learning a little
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bit more about what you're doing at RWJBarnabas
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Health as well as how you're thinking about
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the future. But before we dive in, can
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you introduce yourself and just tell us a
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little bit more about the health system?
0:35
Sure. Absolutely.
0:37
So Bob Taylor. I have been at RWJBarnabas
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Health now for approaching ten years in total.
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And in the industry,
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kind of a shocking number for me, but
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I've
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on my thirty ninth year
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of health care supply chain
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and I've worked in a variety of different
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settings and and locations as far as for
1:00
profit, not for profit, academic medicine,
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over the course of my total career.
1:06
RWJBarnabas
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Health
1:09
is the leading health care system
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in the state of New Jersey.
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It's a New Jersey is the most densely
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packed state
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in the country based on the number of
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people per square mile
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and our new VAJBarnabas
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Health hospitals
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are located in the northern half of the
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state, which is the most densely packed portion
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of the state.
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So we are in a a very crowded
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market as far as the number of people
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and it's a very competitive market with other
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large health systems
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that are also in the space in the
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Northern New Jersey market.
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At the moment, we are 12 acute care
1:48
hospitals. We have a specialty
1:50
children's hospital,
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a behavioral health hospital,
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about 400
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physician practice locations,
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and a very sizable joint venture,
2:02
portfolio with many providers across the state of
2:05
New Jersey.
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And we are
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in the process and it has been announced,
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so it's not confidential
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of acquiring our thirteenth
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acute care hospital in the state of New
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Jersey,
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which could be,
2:19
twenty twenty seven when that transaction closes.
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Wow. That's a a ton of, you know,
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building and growing that you've been able to
2:28
do over the last few years and and
2:30
still for the future. So that's exciting to
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hear, and I know you have a really
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great patient population and community that, you know,
2:37
you are serving in New Jersey. And so,
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when you think about the last year or
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so, could you tell me about the most
2:42
important initiative that you led? What did you
2:44
do and what were the results?
2:46
So we've actually had several. I always like
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to qualify that when I say I may
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have led an initiative,
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it's always important to realize that the person
2:54
at the front doesn't necessarily have,
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sole and exclusive responsibility
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nor should they take sole and exclusive,
3:01
accountability
3:02
for the results. So we've had a couple
3:05
of very big initiatives this year that we've
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worked on in collaboration
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with the rest of the organization.
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We have
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this is in the first year. We have
3:15
assumed
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a
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much more full responsibility
3:19
for contracting in the IT space
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and that's been a great partnership with our
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IT,
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business partners where we bring the rigor and
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the contracting diligence that supply chain generally brings
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to the rest of the organization
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for supplies and services and equipment.
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And we have brought that and partnered with
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IT to put that same rigor in place.
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And results of this just in the in
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the past twelve months have been in excess
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of $10,000,000
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worth of savings
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that we've been able to facilitate and help
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realize for the organization
3:54
through a much more rigorous and strategic,
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process of going through the contracting
4:00
steps.
4:01
We've also implemented
4:02
and executed,
4:05
similar rigor
4:06
in a lot of our capital investments.
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So we have
4:11
standardized many of our capital categories, capital equipment
4:15
categories across the organization
4:17
where if we are going to go to
4:19
the market, we're gonna get a piece of
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imaging equipment.
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We have entered into very long term contracts
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with strategic vendors
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and suppliers to make sure that we are
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standardizing
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our equipment portfolio
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and we're doing that in exchange for the
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greatest value
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that the suppliers are able to offer for
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that extended and broad commitment.
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And we are up to probably about 50
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different categories of capital equipment
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that we've developed standards and standards range from,
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vendor specific all the way down to model
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specific and configuration
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specific.
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In some cases, where we have worked with
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clinicians to develop
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a standard, for example, for beds and stretchers
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for the organization
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in exchange for favorable pricing.
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And I think the third
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very large initiative that is still ongoing, it's
5:14
not completed,
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but we went through an RFP process
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and partnered with our group purchasing organization
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to look at
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how we might wanna engage
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with one of the companies in the space
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to manage support services.
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So specifically the management of food service, environmental
5:35
services, and patient transportation,
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and that was a very long process that
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culminated in a decision
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and a preliminary
5:45
award in December. Now we're going through the
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implementation process
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to standardize all of those services
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into a single relationship with a single industry
5:55
provider.
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So I think some of those are some
5:58
of the biggest
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notable projects that,
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either help lead or was at the forefront
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of bringing forward for the organization.
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I love that. And it's so apparent that
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having, you know, those processes in place and
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and really taking the right kind of rigor
6:16
into not only the contracts that you're working
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with, but also
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any other capital investments have made a big
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difference,
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for how, you know, you're able to create
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savings for the health system overall and then
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create better processes and procedures. I think, you
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know, when you're looking at those two things,
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and as you mentioned at the beginning, you
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know, all of them are are team and
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group efforts.
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How do you really begin the process of
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start planning and then, you know, actually go
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to implementation of standardizing these types of things?
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What do you have to
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figure out with your broader executive team and
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what discussions are important to have at that
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level before actually,
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jumping in and making some of these changes?
6:56
The first thing I think we've learned over
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time
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is we have to be very, very connected
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to the business partners and the business owners.
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So supply chain
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is
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a
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serves a very key role for the organization,
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but I think the most effective supply chain
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is the one that is partnered with the
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business owners who are ultimately the experts.
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They're the folks that know the most about
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either the technology, the software, the solution, whatever
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it is that we may be looking to
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acquire.
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And they're also the ones that once the
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decision has been made
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and a contract has been executed, we'll be
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using the equipment software
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or supply for the ultimate
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purpose of improving patient care.
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So I think the partnership is really what
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has become one of the most important things.
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It's just making sure that
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supply chain does not go out contract
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in a a solo a silo or without
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the engagement of the business owners. We partner
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with the business owners
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to make sure that we're bringing
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the best terms, conditions, value, and pricing
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that meets the requirements
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of the business owners that have helped operate
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the health care system.
8:12
Yeah. That's helpful to understand and, you know,
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what a great point, when you're thinking about
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the organization on the whole. Now looking ahead,
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what are some of the biggest priorities as
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well as headwinds that you're focused on for
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2026?
8:24
So I think from priorities and headwinds, I
8:26
did mention that we will have a thirteenth
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hospital coming into the system probably very late
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this year. We'll begin a lot of the
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planning process. We still have to get through
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some of the legal preamble work that has
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to be conducted for that to be an
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approved transaction.
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I think the other priorities and this is
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becoming a little bit more interesting, I think,
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for the supply chain is to become more
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proactive.
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So a lot of this is now looking
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to out
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and not necessarily
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reacting
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to either supplier proposals or
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reacting to
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past events, but really trying to be proactive
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and look at forward events.
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So an example would be there's been a
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lot of press lately, a lot of information
9:12
in the news. Everybody's aware about
9:15
tariffs coming into place and
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coupled with that are the increase in the
9:21
build out of,
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data centers
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mostly for artificial intelligence, which is now creating
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a strain
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on the supply chain
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for those particular assets. So
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now we're starting to have conversations
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about what does the future look like, what
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are our anticipated needs,
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And do we need to be a little
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bit more proactive and forward looking about making
9:45
those acquisitions now to support
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our technology needs, for example,
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in light of the expectation of tightening in
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the market both in
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availability and then increases in price just because
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of the normal supply and demand reaction.
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So I think that that's gonna be one
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of the bigger areas of focus.
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And then I think the other one and
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probably everybody
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looks at this is artificial intelligence.
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It's it's a buzzword.
10:14
I think we have a lot of automation
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that we have deployed. I don't know if
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I would always categorize it as artificial intelligence.
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Sometimes it's just spot automation,
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But I think looking for how can artificial
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intelligence be applied meaningful
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or in a meaningful way for supply chain
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to drive
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efficiency and value for the organization. So I
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think those are some of the bigger things
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we'll focus on this year.
10:39
Absolutely. I think that makes a lot of
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sense. I mean, you'll fascinating to hear about
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that,
10:43
discussion around, you know, the supply chain on
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the technology side and how you're trying to
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grow,
10:48
the technology business, but also seeing potentially some
10:51
of those shortages come up, for the materials
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you need in in that space, for example,
10:56
with the data centers or other,
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technologies. Can you just for a moment,
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talk a little bit more about that? What
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are some of the,
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materials or supplies that you're focused most on?
11:06
You know, what are some of the the
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areas that you think you'll be, potentially purchasing
11:11
more of this year as you're anticipating,
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you know, potential shortages or tariffs for the
11:16
future?
11:17
So I think some of it, is still
11:19
an evolving
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agenda for us. We did make some commitments
11:23
in the imaging space,
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in order to head off and
11:28
forego future price increases with our imaging partner.
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We're looking to expand that with a second
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imaging partner in a different space where we
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can make some longer term commitments
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with a little bit more specificity
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and a little bit more of upfront commitment
11:45
that may span several years
11:47
in order to
11:48
negotiate more favorable terms and pricing.
11:52
A lot of this is I think generated
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by looking at just what's in the news
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and taking advantage of whether it's Wall Street
12:00
Journal or some of the some of the
12:02
other publications that are out there that provide
12:05
insight that
12:07
can now be gleaned in order to
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determine how that's gonna impact us so that
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we can be in front of it rather
12:14
than reacting to it as an organization.
12:17
So I think those are some some of
12:19
the the best things we can be doing
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looking forward.
12:23
Got it. That's helpful to understand. Thank you
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so much for explaining a little bit deeper
12:28
there. Now what do you think the hardest
12:30
thing you'll have to do in the coming
12:31
year will be?
12:33
So I think health care is interesting because,
12:35
health care is never an easy year
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and the agendas may change a little bit
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from year to year, but I think we
12:42
continue as the supply chain to look for
12:44
ways to drive value for the organization.
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And I do use the word value as
12:49
opposed to savings because savings
12:52
is a a very thin arc. It's important,
12:55
but it's not the totality of what we
12:57
do. So the partnership with the clinicians in
13:00
order to
13:01
make better choices
13:03
as in the aggregate for the care of
13:05
the patients, partner with the business owners, and
13:07
I think the the continuation
13:09
of needing to drive that value for the
13:12
organization
13:14
while we have some of the other,
13:17
activities that take place such as the acquisition
13:19
and the m and a activity that's pending
13:22
is gonna be some of the harder things
13:23
that we have to do this year. It
13:25
it does not get easier in this industry.
13:28
Every year, it tends to get a little
13:29
bit more challenging and the
13:31
headwinds and the economic headwinds that we talk
13:34
about
13:35
for health care are also experienced
13:38
by our key providers.
13:40
So we have a lot of our external
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business partners
13:44
have similar headwinds,
13:46
and trying to find ways to create value
13:49
collectively
13:51
leads towards, a more strategic approach in those
13:54
relationships.
13:56
That makes a lot of sense, and I
13:57
I think it's so helpful to have those
14:00
strong relationships and be able to withstand,
14:03
any kind of changes or,
14:06
policy shifts that come our way. And I
14:08
think especially,
14:09
for a team like yours on the supply
14:11
chain side, you know, I can imagine over
14:13
the last several years, they've really grown to
14:15
learn that nimbleness, flexibility, and resilience.
14:19
How do you see those coming through in
14:21
your leadership style? Is there anything that you're
14:22
planning to do differently as you're heading into
14:24
this next
14:26
year? The supply chain here has grown pretty
14:28
substantially over the past ten years. So I
14:30
think we would look to figure out how
14:32
can we continue to grow the team and
14:35
drive value. Those two things come together because
14:37
in order for us to grow the team,
14:39
we have to have
14:41
a return to the organization for that financial
14:43
commitment.
14:45
So I think those would be some of
14:46
the things that we look for over the
14:48
course of the year. I think we're always
14:49
looking for ways how we can better partner
14:52
with the business owners across the organization.
14:56
Like many organizations as well, we focus on
14:58
patient satisfaction. We look at employee satisfaction
15:02
because those are key indicators
15:04
for us and for what's going to drive
15:07
improved quality, improved outcomes,
15:10
and retention of our staff. So I think
15:12
this is a
15:13
pretty broad balance and a balanced scorecard type
15:16
of an approach
15:18
of where we need to focus all of
15:20
our leadership activity. It's not just in a
15:22
single area.
15:25
Got it. And that is helpful and definitely
15:27
makes a lot of sense. Now before we
15:29
wrap up here, I wanted to talk about
15:30
growth. Where do you see some of the
15:32
best opportunities
15:33
for growth within the supply chain? I know
15:35
you've mentioned continuing to
15:37
grow, in terms of your teams and how
15:40
you add value.
15:41
What does that look like for you in
15:42
the next couple of years?
15:45
I think growth in the supply chain, in
15:47
many cases, predicated on, growth across the organization.
15:50
So I think we continue to look for
15:53
how we can leverage and aggregate
15:55
all of the volume across the health system,
15:57
the vendor relationships along with the internal business
16:00
relationships
16:02
and look for those ways where value is
16:04
created
16:05
And it's not just gonna be created through
16:07
approved pricing. That's obviously one of the most
16:10
tangible things that we look at,
16:12
but it's also improving business processes, clinical care,
16:16
and in some cases that may mean deeper
16:19
partnerships with existing suppliers and in some cases
16:22
that may mean new relationships
16:24
with new suppliers.
16:26
And I think that's what we'll work through
16:28
over probably a never ending basis
16:31
to try to advance the supply chain specifically
16:34
here at RWJBarnabas.
16:37
Fantastic. Bam, thank you so much for joining
16:39
us on the podcast today. This has been
16:41
a really fascinating conversation, and I look forward
16:43
to connecting with you again soon. And I
16:45
know that you'll be speaking at our annual
16:47
meeting in April, and I'm excited to see
16:50
you in person there. I think there'll be
16:52
just so much to talk about it and
16:53
many teams to continue to dig deeper into
16:55
and, talk through. So I'm looking forward to
16:58
that and, really just being able to to
17:01
learn more from what you're doing at RWJ
17:02
Bar Mitz Health.
17:04
Very good. And I very much appreciate the
17:05
opportunity to talk to you and share a
17:07
little bit about what we're doing.