More on UISS Update – Spring 2022 Newsletter

In the first quarter of 2022, the UISS team has been focused on assisting its GPO members with maximizing tools, technologies and programs that were rolled out in 2021 to help drive cost savings and supply chain efficiencies. In Q3, UISS implemented a new service delivery model that included the provision of Premier’s Spend Analytics tool through a shared service platform at no cost to its members. Four new members were onboarded during Q4 and several others are in cue for 2022. With the implementation of Spend Analytics, UISS is now able to review individual member purchase order data and provide additional support of contract activations for expiring agreements and identification of opportunities.

Technology & Data

In January 2022, UISS continued to make investments on behalf of its members by entering into a partnership with Nexera, Inc. to help power Premier’s Spend Analytics tool and provide enhanced data analysis and contract management support. In collaboration with the UISS Team, actionable business intelligence reports are provided to assist our members with optimizing the GPO and achieving their supply chain goals. By leveraging data and aligning UISS and Premier’s contract portfolio and programs , we are able to develop a joint roadmap for savings and improved supply chain efficiencies.

Purchased Services

Purchased services which is defined as all non-direct labor or outsourced services clinical and non-clinical can be difficult to manage and control. It spans over 615 categories and represents approximately 18% of a hospital’s operating expense, nearly equal to supply expense. The negotiation and management of purchased services agreements is typically fragmented falling outside of supply chain with multiple stakeholders owning contracts and their related performance without holistic oversight. Lack of governance, decentralized contracting and limited structure/process/benchmarking data etc. in purchased services can lead to increased cost and operational deficiencies. In fact, there’s estimated to be a 7-12% potential savings in purchased savings. Understanding that purchased services is an untapped area of opportunity for the IHA members that requires subject matter expertise and support to drive results, UISS announced a partnership with Conductiv in 2021.

About Conductiv

UISS partnered with Conductiv to unlock member savings, supplier diversity through industry-first purchased services GPO program. The multi-year partnership brings sustainable purchased services savings to United Iroquois Shared Services, Inc. (UISS) members with access to market-leading spend and category analytics, a carefully vetted contract portfolio, and individualized support. Conductiv was founded in 2004 to help organizations negotiate contracts for regionally sourced services and since their inception have helped hundreds of members identify and realize savings opportunities via sourcing services powered by purpose-built software dedicated optimizing third party service agreements.

Conductiv powers supply chains by seamlessly integrating A1-driven analytics, marketplace insights, express contracting negotiation strategies and proven category expertise. Sourcing automation enables members to engage with their own spend data, determine the competitiveness of their contracts, unite business stakeholders and accelerate the speed of RFP and negotiation.

UISS is looking forward to engaging with the IHA/UISS members to help tackle purchased services to reduce cost and improve quality. Several members have signed onto the Conductiv program and we are in the midst of collecting data to identify individual and potential aggregation opportunities for purchased services agreements. This program is available to all IHA members.