RPI Consultants recently had the pleasure of attending the 2025 Advancing Health Care through Supply Chain Excellence (AHRMM) conference in Denver. The event, as it has in the past, proved to be an invaluable gathering for healthcare supply chain leaders.
Sessions were filled with forward-thinking ideas, candid conversations about the industry’s biggest challenges, and practical use cases of how organizations are adapting in a dynamic environment.
The widespread presence of AI in solving operational hurdles and the ongoing impact of tariffs on procurement were prominent themes this year, and understandably so. Both are reshaping the way supply chains function and subsequently pushing healthcare teams to become more nimble.
From our perspective, three key takeaways emerged: modifying software to support organizational workflows; increasing supplier transparency around rising costs; and the value of community.
These takeaways offer an actionable path forward for organizations eager to strengthen their supply chain and make the most of their ERP investments. Below we explain each in greater detail.
Supplementing Software with AI to Support Your Workflows
One recurring message communicated throughout AHRMM 2025 was that supply chain leaders do not have to wait for software vendors to deliver the “perfect” feature.
The truth is, sometimes to get the results you’re looking for, you need to take a little initiative and adapt your systems to support the way your business works.
To that end, several organizations shared how AI is helping them become more self-sufficient by implementing modifications that streamline processes and add intelligence where manual effort once slowed things down.
Take new item requests, for example. In CloudSuite today, organizations have the ability to set up automatic routing. With the help of AI, businesses can enhance that process by ensuring that requests meet specific criteria, such as qualifying for a minimum of three out of five categories, before having the request move forward.
Previously, the automatic routing would require manual review. With these additional rules in place, created with the help of AI, the routing process becomes more dynamic, pushing items to the relevant committees and reducing time spent reviewing. It’s just one of the ways organizations are leveraging AI to enhance workflows within their ERP system.
Another example involves Contract Management. Generative AI tools can identify common terms and conditions, spot contradictions, and even flag the nuances of arbitration versus litigation clauses.
Some organizations are even experimenting with using AI to draft or refine contract language. These kinds of modifications and enhancements aren’t about replacing core ERP capabilities, but rather supplementing existing tech to better align with how supply chain teams operate.
Protecting Against Tariffs with Increased Supplier Transparency
Tariffs remain a pressing concern, particularly as healthcare organizations manage tight margins and unpredictable global sourcing.
One of the most resourceful insights at AHRMM came from organizations taking proactive steps to demand more transparency from suppliers, especially when it comes to country of origin data.
The idea is straightforward but powerful: if every item master or vendor record includes a “country of origin” field, organizations gain the ability to anticipate future risk. If a product is sourced from a hurricane-prone region, alternative suppliers can be identified ahead of time. If tariffs are likely to drive up the cost of certain imports, supply chain teams can build contingency plans into their contracts.
Groups like the Healthcare Industry Resiliency Collaborative (HIRC) are pushing this effort forward, even going so far as to score suppliers on their willingness to provide item origin information.
For healthcare supply chain teams, this kind of transparency is critical for safeguarding against rising costs and potential supply chain disruptions.
Building Community Resources & Connections
At the end of the day, events like AHRMM 2025 are about bringing together like-minded professionals. This year, it became clear once more that community is everything.
AHRMM creates space for organizations to connect, share successes, and learn from one another. And the value of hearing how peers approach common challenges can’t be overstated.
Whether it’s exploring new ways to modify ERP workflows or building resiliency against global supply risks, the collective wisdom of the healthcare supply chain community is one of its greatest assets.
That’s why events like AHRMM matter so much. They serve as reminders that no organization is facing these issues alone. Networking with peers can be the spark that motivates a team to try something new or finally address an issue that has lingered too long.
Turning Insights into Action
If there’s one lesson from this year’s AHRMM, it’s that healthcare organizations don’t have to wait for change to happen around them. They can adapt their systems today, demand better data from suppliers, and leverage the community around them to stay ahead.
At RPI, we help organizations put these ideas into practice—whether that’s configuring smarter routing in CloudSuite, applying AI to Contract Management, or building visibility into sourcing data.
To find out how RPI can help your team explore creative solutions to supply chain’s greatest challenges, or simply to get more value from your ERP, contact us below.
