Melbourne successfully digitizes healthcare supply chain

From using drones to deliver medical supplies to using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to guide clinical decision making, the healthcare industry has made great strides in leveraging cutting-edge technology in efforts to ultimately save or improve people’s lives. One recent example of the use of technology in the industry is Melbourne Health Logistics (MHL)’s Supplier Improvement Pilot Project. The project involved 10 Australia-based small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) and aimed to address the challenges in supply chain and inventory management through digitization. For those who participated in the project, there were three key areas to focus on. Namely, these include the implementation of data capturing technologies, improving data quality and introducing suppliers to the use of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Recognizing that such data-driven initiatives might be challenging for some suppliers that were not born digital-first, MHL partnered with the federally-funded AusIndustry Entrepreneurs’ Program to guide suppliers in building digital capability.