The client was a national leader in healthcare specializing in specimen collection and Lab diagnostics for medical professionals. The competitive landscape for provincial diagnostics had put pressure on profitability. The leadership team was exploring ways to drive cost improvement out of the supply chain from collection to diagnostic and, more importantly, improve customer service.
An assessment identified the following issues:
- Turn-around time of lab results was impacted in large part by the receiving time of specimens at the Lab, causing poor service to medical professionals
- Resources were not optimized to align with the time of day fluctuations in intra-day demand throughout the supply chain
- Courier logistics applied a ‘zone’ allocation for drivers which created a high degree of wait time for drivers during certain periods of the day
Carpedia partnered with the client to improve the overall planning of the supply chain to increase the volume of specimens collected and received at the Lab earlier in the day. The improved cycle time resulted in improved turn-around time of lab results back to the medical professionals they serve.
Key changes included:
- Improved scheduling of clinicians at the Specimen Collection Clinics (SCCs) to better align with intra day fluctuations in collection demand
- Dedicated shuttle service for high volume SCCs minimizing cycle time from collection to receipt at the Lab
- Layout redesign and planning during the receiving process in the pre-analytical area prior to Lab processing, ensured specimens were moved to the right area and processed in the right order
The Results
Before the engagement concluded, the client was acquired by another company, with financial results playing a crucial role in the valuation, as highlighted by the CEO.
Specific results include:
- 58% reduction in wait times at collection centers
- 33% of specimens collected were received at the Lab 2 or more hours earlier in the day
- 6.5% improvement in operational expenses
- 2.9:1 Return on Investment
