Off-Site Warehouse Resilience
Following a decades-long focus on supply chain optimisation to minimise costs, reduce inventories, and drive up asset utilisation, the removal of buffers and flexibility meant that when the COVID-19 pandemic evolved, it illustrated that many companies and hospitals were not fully aware of the vulnerability of their supply chain. This lack of resilience has all contributed to the exposure of this frailty, resulting in UK Hospitals being blocked from ordering crucial critical care supplies and equipment via normal channels because of an ‘exceptional increase in national demand’.
Any new materials service should continue using the likes of Eleanor’s off-site warehouse as a strategic hub for all strategic, PPE and bulk holding of a variety of direct stock items such as theatre/blood culture packs, c-section packs and any other products that are either seen as bulky and/or presents a risk of running out or shortage in the supply chain.
Warehouse Order Approved
Once the warehouse order has been approved via the HOSLO staff PDA after the ward department scan, the order will auto-transmit to the warehouse via an instant FTP system link.
Warehouse Inventory & First Expiry Selection
Unless the hospital or a specific department has chosen to disable any product from their catalogue, the HOSLO system will always look at each product stored in the warehouse and all preferences to ensure that regardless of 1st and 2nd choice preferences, the system will always select the earliest expiry, this ensures no legacy/substitute products are left to expire within the warehouse and avoids unnecessary obsolescence.
Off-Site Product Order Picked, Packed, Despatched & Transported to Hospital
Once the medical orders have been picked, packed, labelled and despatched, the details of each pick are auto-transferred to our HOSLO system to update our records on the number of cartons arriving at each hospital’s goods in’ point.
Direct to Supplier Order Approved
For direct-to-supplier orders (i.e. not stored at Eleanor’s off-site warehouse), once the order has been approved via the HOSLO staff PDA after the ward department scan, the order will auto-transmit to the supplier, including NHS Supply Chain and other approved suppliers. This will require an IT integration from the HOSLO system to the Trust and out to the supplier.
