Inventory Replacements
Helping buyers in SCM with bulk item replacements when a supplier fails to provide an item.
Overview
Buyers in supply chain often get notified by a supplier that they are unable to provide an item. In that case a buyer has to identify an replacement for that item and update their inventory systems so that the correct item is received on time and stocked in the inventory.
My Role
I collaborated closely with the Product Manager to gather and thoroughly understand the product requirements and workflow. Additionally, I partnered with another designer to work on the solution and worked alongside a developer to ensure the feasibility of implementation.
The Problem
Buyers in a healthcare organisations currently use various apps and spreadsheets to manage & track item replacements in the inventory. This was a slow and outdated process and with higher demands in healthcare it slows down overall supply chain resulting in delays affecting patient care.
Research and Insights
Slow process
The existing approach to identify and arrange replacements is manual hence takes a lot of time.
Handling Multiple locations
Buyers often handle multiple inventory locations across the country.
Replacing one location at a time
Once the replacements are identified replacement is done for one location at a time.
Communication and system gaps
Currently, supply disruption notifications are communicated through email or phone calls.
Quote from Buyer
“I want to be able to quickly identify and replace items required in the inventories”
Design Goal
Buyers need an effective way to initiate and track mass replacements of items across multiple locations together so that appropriate replacements are arranged on time and not affect patient care.
Design Phase
Final Designs
Impacted Organisations
Buyer can see all the healthcare organisations affected by a supply disruption at one place.
Select replacement method
Once the impacted organisations are identified, provide buyers a quick way to choose the appropriate replacement method and item.
Replace existing purchase orders
And then replace existing purchase orders with the selected replacement.
View Prototype
Once this is done, the inventory manager gets an update on the new item that needs to be stored in the inventory and procurement is updated with the new item for ordering.
Learnings and Impact
By consolidating all healthcare organisations that require replacements in a single page, the replacement process was significantly improved and expedited.
Buyers reported an increase in productivity in handling item replacements.
Ensuring that all the replacement items and are replaced on time enhanced the quality of patient care, as healthcare providers can now focus more on patient care rather than tackling inventory issues.
Entering the complex domain of SCM was challenging at first. I overcame this by creating journey maps and user flows to understand the problem and current workflows
Receiving
Assisting employees within an organisation in easily documenting the receipt of items or services they have ordered.
Let’s connect.
