In this episode of RPI Tech Connect, RPI Consultants’ Dan Farruggio and Juan Menendez unpack the biggest insights from the 2025 GHX Summit.
With decades of combined experience in healthcare supply chain, Dan and Juan break down key challenges—like data quality, training effectiveness, and testing strategies—that continue to impact ERP system implementations. They share what stood out from this year’s conference and explain why bringing supply chain to the table early on during ERP decisions can make or break long-term success.
Whether you’re navigating a CloudSuite rollout or just trying to manage your item master, this episode offers real solutions for building resiliency in your supply chain.
Interested in listening to this episode on another streaming platform? Check out our directories or watch the YouTube video below.
Meet Today’s Guest, Dan Farruggio
Dan Farruggio is a Principal Infor CloudSuite Supply Management Consultant with over a decade of experience guiding organizations through successful Infor implementations and upgrades. He brings deep expertise in leading discovery, design, and deployment efforts across Infor CloudSuite Financials and Supply Management (FSM) in multi-tenant environments.
Dan is known for driving process improvement initiatives and encouraging innovative, practical solutions tailored to each client’s needs. His leadership has been instrumental in architecting and configuring integrations with CloudSuite and related systems, including EAM, legacy platforms, and third-party vendors.
As Practice Manager for RPI’s Supply Management team, Dan oversees consultant development, training, and project execution.
Meet Today’s Guest, Juan Menendez
Juan is a Principal Consultant with over 37 years of experience in supply chain management. He has been successful in developing and establishing data management standards and implementing new supply chain processes within a Healthcare environment in over 43 hospitals.
He was also the Director of Supply Chain for Cath Lab and Surgical Services for nine years at Park Nicollet Healthcare in Minneapolis. His track record with inter-personal communications and successful driving outcomes with business stakeholders and technical developers is exceptional.
A leader in managing multi-specialty work teams within matrix organizations, he has worked as an Operations Manager, Director, and Project Lead, managing critical supplies for nursing and surgery centers, and implementing Supply Chain process improvements and Infor Lawson Finance and Supply Chain solutions.
Meet Your Host, Chris Arey
Chris Arey is a B2B marketing professional with nearly a decade of experience working in content creation, copywriting, SEO, website architecture, corporate branding, and social media. Beginning his career as an analyst before making a lateral move into marketing, he combines analytical thinking with creative flair—two fundamental qualities required in marketing.
With a Bachelor’s degree in English and certifications from the Digital Marketing Institute and HubSpot, Chris has spearheaded impactful content marketing initiatives, participated in corporate re-branding efforts, and collaborated with celebrity influencers. He has also worked with award-winning PR professionals to create unique, compelling campaigns that drove brand recognition and revenue growth for his previous employers.
Chris’ versatility is highlighted by his experience working across different industries, including HR, Tech, SaaS, and Consulting.
Show Notes
About RPI Tech Connect
RPI Tech Connect is the go-to podcast for catching up on the dynamic world of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Join us as we discuss the future of ERPs, covering everything from best practices and organizational change to seamless cloud migration and optimizing applications. Plus, we’ll share predictions and insights of what to expect in the future world of ERPs.
RPI Tech Connect delivers relevant, valuable information in a digestible format. Through candid, genuine conversations and stories from the world of consulting, we aim to provide actionable steps to help you elevate your organization’s ERP. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or new to the ERP scene, our podcast ensures you’re well-equipped for success.
Tune in as we explore tips and tricks in the field of ERP consulting each week and subscribe below.
Transcript
Chris Arey
Welcome to another episode of RPI Tech Connect. I’m your host, Chris Arey. Today we’re digging into the world of healthcare supply chain and unpacking insights from this year’s GHX Summit.
Joining me today are two of RPI’s top supply chain minds, Dan Farruggio, who is the supply chain practice manager here at RPI, and Juan Menendez, who is a principal supply chain consultant.
They were on the ground at GHX and are here to share what they learned, and what it means for healthcare organizations looking to build more resilient supply chains.
Dan, Juan, it’s an absolute pleasure to have you on the program today. Where are you guys calling in from?
Dan Farruggio
Thanks for having us, Chris. I’m calling in from Southwest Florida today.
Chris Arey
Okay, Juan.
Juan Menendez
I’m calling in from Hollywood, Florida. So just on the other side from this. Rainy and about 86 today.
Chris Arey
How’s the weather today in Florida?
Dan Farruggio
Humid and rainy for sure.
Juan Menendez
Yes, a lot of rain.
Chris Arey
That’s like on par for Florida this time of year, yeah? Okay.
Juan Menendez
Mm-hmm.
Dan Farruggio
Yeah, that’s good though. Good for the allergies. Much needed break,
Juan Menendez
Yeah, definitely. And the heat, it’s been really hot.
Chris Arey
Cool. Well, is there anything else you all want to share about yourselves before we jump in?
Juan Menendez
Sure, go ahead Dan.
Dan Farruggio
Yeah, sure. So like Chris said, my name is Dan Farruggio. I’m the practice manager here for our supply chain team at RPI consultants. And I have the privilege of working with of the best ERP supply chain consultants in the game today.
We primarily focus on supply chain transformations and optimizations in healthcare, and also multitude of public spectrum issues as well. I’ve been with RPI for coming up on 15 years now and I started that as a business analyst.
Chris Arey
Wow, 15? That’s gotta be a record here.
Juan Menendez
That’s a long time. Yeah, that’s a long time.
Dan Farruggio
Close to it, well yeah. Since starting as an analyst, I;ve worked on dozens of implementations, whether that’s a net new implementation, upgrades, optimizing business processes, or bringing practical solutions to complex challenges.
Chris Arey
Okay.
Dan Farruggio
That’s what we do as consultants. Yeah. And then outside of work, I’m a husband to an amazing wife of nine years and a proud dad to three awesome, really fun kids that definitely keep me on my toes here.
I have a daughter up here. She’s just finished kindergarten. I got twin boys who are two and a half and it’s crazy as can be, but awesome.
Chris Arey
Appreciate you sharing that, You’re gonna have to share this episode with them now. get a personal shout out in the pod.
Juan Menendez
Yes. To the wife too.
Dan Farruggio
It’s nice. Thanks.
Chris Arey
And Juan.
Juan Menendez
Sure, Chris. Again, my name is Juan Menendez and I’m a principal consultant here at RPI. I’ve been with RPI now for a little over three years, but I have been in healthcare longer than I’d like to say, over 35 years.
I’ve been in healthcare since I was in college and I never left. And I have been both in the director position within supply chain in several hospitals.
So I’ve worked in the hospital itself and as a consultant for many years. I’ve done about over 40 Infor/Lawson implementations, as I’ve been in the in for space since 1995.
I’ve seen the gamut of many different types of implementations and processes and designs and just a little bit of everything. Um, I’ve also worked within surgery for nine years.
One of my clients decided to hire me, so I moved to Minnesota for nine years and did that, which was a great experience.
After that, I decided to move back home to Florida. Yeah, I’ve been married for 25 years. Me and my husband have been together for about 26 years and we have two dogs. Again, we like to travel a lot. We have no kids, so our dogs are our kids.
Chris Arey
Yeah, I can relate to that. I have a dog myself and it feels like my son.
Juan Menendez
Yeah, they are kids for sure. I could buy a house with as much vet bills I’ve had, With these dogs.
Chris Arey
Definitely. Well, I appreciate both of you hopping on the program today. RPI is blessed to have you both. But let’s go ahead and shift gears here and talk about supply chain.
Before we get into these insights from the GHX Summit, I want to talk about the role that supply chain usually plays during an ERP system selection. Based on the discussions I’ve had with the various consultants around RPI it seems that the system selection process is usually led by finance and technical requirements and less so on the supply chain.
Dan, why do you think that is? And what are the downstream impacts from, from failing to include supply chain early on?
Dan Farruggio
Yes, this is a great question to start with here. First things first, you mentioned that the GHX Summit that we were both at here recently.
Should I take a moment to talk a little bit about what that is for a second? Just kind of say what that is so we’re on the same page.
Chris Arey
Sure.
Juan Menendez
Mm-hmm.
Dan Farruggio
So the GHX Summit, for those of who don’t know, is an annual event that’s hosted by GHX. And it brings together health care providers, suppliers, and distributors for three days of collaborating, learning, and networking.
It’s a great event, well planned out, and it usually plays a really important role in addressing the critical challenges that we face as an industry today in supply chain.
A lot of sessions are focused on supply chain resilience, digital transformation, and clinical integration and innovation. So yeah, so that’s kind of what it is. It’s a great networking event and is always well attended.
So now to get back into your question, you know, we have the supply chain’s role, what they do, and the question of their having a seat at the table when it comes to system selection.
Juan and I have the opportunity to not only sit in on a lot of presentations, but chat with other supply chain leaders. And we sort of see this theme emerge about changes.
A lot of organizations have gone through significant changes over the last five years, whether it’s mergers and acquisitions or new ERP implementations. We’ve never seen it on a scale like this, the number of organizations changing ERP systems in a short amount of time.
So this led us to wonder, know, why are all these organizations changing? And why are they still having the same issues as they did previously?
When it boils down to it, the spotlight is still put on the same issues and challenges that have been around for years. So when we were talking to some of these leaders and asking, what’s been your role or involvement in the system selection process, aside from providing a list of requirements and business needs, a lot of those decisions are driven from the finance or HCM or the technical side when it comes to that ultimate selection of which ERP systems are going to go with.
So when systems are selected for this primary audience that is not supply chain, supply chain departments are then having to work twice as hard to meet those same service levels and standards that they’re expected to uphold, right?
Chris Arey
Yeah.
Dan Farruggio
So if there’s different functionality or lack of reporting, it opens up this Pandora’s box of workarounds or third-party integrations and the introduction of more software, which tends to accelerate both fatigue and frustrations internally.
Not only that, but it also puts more pressure and risk on patient safety when you have to do more and less time with unfamiliar tools and processes.
Because of this, a big emphasis is placed on training now, right? And any system issues that come up or cause delays in processing, it could directly impact or affect patient safety.
Chris Arey
Okay. And Juan, I’m curious from your perspective, when supply chain isn’t fully represented during an ERP strategy, what gets lost?
Juan Menendez
Mm-hmm, right. Well, I will tell you Chris, I’ll reiterate what Dan said, the GHX summit was amazing, a great group of people. Very well-represented and very organized.
I’ve worked with GHX for many years and this was my first summit that I’ve attended, it was very well received but I will say this particular issue took me a little aback.
When Dan and I got back together and started talking about things, we were like, you know, supply chain wasn’t at the table for some of this decision-making.
I remember I was in a breakout session where it was a very large organization, over 60 hospitals. And the vice president of supply chain said that he, they had changed ERP systems and it could have been for multiple reasons, be it that, there was a lot of mergers going on.
And then I actually asked him after the session, you know, what was the decision to move to another ERP during these all these massive takeovers that they were doing, and he said he wasn’t asked to be at that table.
But he was also dealing with the same issues that any implementation is dealing with. The issues were still there: data, training, integrity of the system, the knowledge base, whether the system doing what you actually need.
A lot of what I found was that sometimes the processes weren’t really thought out. They could go to this new ERP system and it could be for a number of reasons, but the process wasn’t thoroughly thought out.
So that gap was being filled by a third-party system or by some other method, GHX was also involved in some of these filling in those gaps where they needed to be. So I think that that was a big issue.
And also, I think that when you leave supply chain out, the downstream effects from purchasing to AP, there’s a variable amount of things.
Plus, you are feeding into subsystems like Epic and such that could affect your overall processes within the organization. And I think that that’s why it’s so critical that supply chain is part of these discussions. And it seemed like many of them were not. So that was kind of shocking to me.
And I will go back to 1995 to my experience working for Memorial Health Care System, shout out to them.
When that decision was made to bring in a new ERP system, I was there at the table from the beginning and several of us from supply chain were, but I was definitely there and we were involved with that ultimate decision.
And to feel like you wouldn’t be part of that is kind of baffling. I was still little taken aback by that.
Chris Arey
Yeah. So it’s unfortunate that supply chain is like trying to strong arm its way into these discussions and it sounds like it’s maybe a more common thing than maybe people thought. Like this happens often, that they’re kind of an afterthought..
Juan Menendez
Yeah, it definitely did. Absolutely. And I mean, I pulled people aside to talk to people, you know, some people that I actually knew and I asked them, you know, how is this decision made? And many of them weren’t asked to be part of that decision making. So.
Chris Arey
You gotta think that’s gonna have a negative, like, come on, like, how does that not become a problem later?
Juan Menendez
Right, of course, you know, mean, because supply chain affects everybody within healthcare. I mean, the downstream effects are incredible.
And we’re not even discussing patient care. We’re talking just data and the processes, but you know, you’re leaving out the element of patient care, which is something we’ll touch base on a little.
Dan Farruggio
Right.
Chris Arey
Yeah.
Dan Farruggio
All of that compounds and it compounds quickly if the first step is not done right. And Juan also mentioned, you know, the impacts, right? And when supply chain is in the conversation it is not just the employees that support the supply chain departments.
These ERP systems also reach out to vendors, right? So vendors need to be informed and brought into the loop. They need to be onboarded if they’re using a supplier portal.
Juan Menendez
Correct.
Chris Arey
Yeah.
Juan Menendez
Mm-hmm.
Dan Farruggio
You need to test and coordinate them for EDI. There’s a whole other layer that often goes missed or doesn’t come into focus until towards the end of implementation or project.
And at that point in time, it’s already stressful time and to add something like that into the mix, it just adds to it.
Juan Menendez
Mm-hmm.
Chris Arey
Yeah.
Juan Menendez
Absolutely, I would totally agree.
Chris Arey
So I’m hearing some great findings here from GHX. Dan, I did have an opportunity to read that LinkedIn article you published on your top findings. And for those of you listening in, we’ll drop a link to that in the show notes that you can access it.
But from what I gathered there is that there were three core challenge areas that stood out from the event. The first being data management, the second one being training, and the way that supply teams approach training, and the third being application testing.
So I want to dive into each one of those and we’re going to start with data management. So, one, I have a question for you here about data. We’ve all heard this phrase that, you know, garbage in, garbage out. That’s nothing new, but in healthcare supply chain, the stakes are way higher. What did you find at GHX? Can you share?
Juan Menendez
Sure. Yeah. Obviously this is the biggest issue for any supply chain management team is data. We’re moving at a very rapid pace in this world, how are we going to move into the future in reference to data and how to manage that.
I know that in previous and current experiences of mine, I’ve been at clients where the item masters were very, very large.
How were you managing them? What tools you were using? Do you have the resources available? So you have to ask yourself a lot of questions before you decide how you’re going to manage this data.
Because there’s also the issue that a lot of clients are going to,have which is that you have your standard item master, and then you have what people are calling your virtual item master.
Maybe it feeds from a contract management system, or maybe if GHX is feeding you a supply management situation.
That virtual item master in combination with a standard item master within these applications, you’ve got to see how it’s feeding the subsystems.
I know for a fact that that the virtual item master situation, it may not have all the elements that a real item master that you build out within your ERP system may have, such as unit of measure and the right reporting capabilities. Do you have all the scanning information for the items? Can you track a lot? Just an array of things.
But again, if you have a large item master, can you manage it? And do you have the resources to manage it? Or do you do a combination of a large item master or semi-large item master with somewhat of a virtual item master?
Because you’re gonna feed subsystems, there’s no question. There’s nothing during the summit that I’ve not heard or have dealt with on my own professional experiences when it comes to this.
Because for example, you can have the OR that I worked at, our item master was over 100,000 items. And we didn’t have every element that was built in it, but we were also using somewhat of a virtual item master just so that we would have pricing in there and we would scan the items.
But you have to know how to manage it. And that is very, very critical. I don’t care what ERP system that you choose, garbage in, garbage out. And the downstream effects of that, you know, how is it going to hit? Again, I just use Epic as an example.
You know, your Epic op time or, you know, Epic with cath lab. How is it feeding that? And then also the downstreams effect to AP and to payables and to purchasing.
You know, how is that working in your system? So you’vr got to really know your processes to make that determination of how to manage your data. I think that there are a lot of elements involved there. It’s not just, okay, we’re just going to manage it. Well, how are you going to manage it, and what’s the most effective way?
And there’s no organization, no healthcare organization that does it the same or can do it the same, you know?
Chris Arey
Ugh.
Dan Farruggio
And if you don’t fix it right away, that same problem just doesn’t go away. It keeps coming back and it compounds and yeah.
Juan Menendez
Mm-hmm. Right. I remember I worked at one of the biggest healthcare organizations. I was a consultant with them and they had over 40 people within the purchasing department. But their item master was about 750,000 items.
They were a teaching organization. It was very, very large. When I saw that number, I was kind of shocked. But they were able to, they had 40 plus individuals that worked within purchasing. So that was divvied out. So again, you have to look at the organization and how you’re going to be able to process all of that.
Chris Arey
It sounds like resource management or you know, having staff on hand to manage these different components is a part of solving the data issue. But Dan, I’d love to hear like, how can organizations start getting their data in order? Like, what do you recommend? What’s the best practice?
Juan Menendez
Mm-hmm.
Dan Farruggio
Yeah, so I love this because there’s never a bad time to start improving the quality of your data. You can start right now and you can take the smallest steps to make incremental improvements and it goes a long way.
So really, there’s a couple of things that I want to touch on and two that I’m going to try and loop in here, but it’s really starting to identify the areas that you’re suffering from poor data quality. Like what is your desired end state? What does that have to be?
Then you kind of work your way into that solution to match it. So if it’s standardizing formats or conventions, determining what fields you’re going to be using. Is it your item master that has the most issues, the vendor master, your contract lines, wherever you’re having those issues.
Really hone in and have conversations. Talk to your people. Make them talk to each other.
Because not only are you solving the problems for today, but you’re solving for down the road.
Juan mentioned you need to have the resources to maintain this, right? So maintenance is key.
You don’t just solve the problem and it goes away. You have to stay on top of it.
And you need to have those policies and procedures in place and bought into. There’s, you know, your team leads that really drive that home to everyone else that has the ability to make updates in the system.
As soon as you start letting that standard change, it’s a slippery slope and you’ll be right back in that same position you were complaining about before you know it. So it’s that maintenance of consistency.
Chris Arey
It sounds like this whole data challenge starts with a little self-reflection and looking at your system, being honest with yourself and being like, what do I need this to be? Where are we at?
And then collaborating with the folks on your team, hearing their concerns, hearing their perspective and taking it on incrementally, one step at a time. Is that right?
Juan Menendez
Mm-hmm. Absolutely right.
Dan Farruggio
Yeah.
Chris Arey
Either one of you can take that.
Juan Menendez
Well, I think that yes, you have to break it down. What is your main area of focus here? And you need to break that down. Do you do it one at a time? Not necessarily. Some people can work on some things. You can work on it concurrently.
So it doesn’t have to be, let’s fix this and then wait to fix this. No, there are ways to manage that. And there’s also a lot of great tools. I know, I mean, since we’re talking about the conference, GHX has tools also that could assist.
Are you going to use an external tool to assist you in maintaining your item master and your data integrity? So there are multiple things that you can do, but definitely you have to lay that groundwork. You really do, and it has to be very strong, and you have to make sure that people are following those processes. I cannot recommend that enough.
Chris Arey
So I’m glad you bring up tools because I think that makes for a great transition into the second challenge here, which is training approach, right? So you’ve got tools, you’ve got resources for simplifying and managing these issues, but the tools are only as good as your ability to use them.
So Dan, you mentioned that organizations keep training users the same way and expect different results. What’s going on there? What needs to change?
Dan Farruggio
Yeah, so I really like this question because there’s multiple ways of approaching this and there’s no silver bullet here. You have to really, again, a little self-reflection and take into account your organization, the teammates that you have on your team, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and how they like to learn. So we’re in an environment today where information is readily available and being crammed down your throat.
You get information from every direction and the challenge is to absorb it, right? So coming up with ways to allow this information to not only be absorbed but remembered and lived day in and day out is the secret, right? And how do you do that?
Chris Arey
Amen, can I get an amen?
Juan Menendez
Mm-hmm.
Dan Farruggio
So we also have a new generation coming into the workforce that is used to learning in new ways, and new tools are available. Taking that into account, we see organizations that are successful in their training efforts, offering multiple methods or modes of training.
It’s no longer just the standard user guide, manual, PowerPoint, an hour long call to walk through a process. There’s a lot more options available, whether that’s cheat sheets, interactive videos, or in-person training is huge.
We’d lost a little bit of that through the pandemic times. You’ve gained so much from being there in person. There’s really no replacement for that.
So yeah, just having multiple methods or modes of training available, they’re all saying the same thing, but it’s how your team is absorbing and remembering that information. And it’s resonating.
Chris Arey
I said, just hearing you say that, sounds so obvious to it’s like people learn differently. Like that was true in grade school. Why is, why is the work environment any different? Right.
Juan Menendez
It isn’t. It isn’t
Dan Farruggio
Right. Yep. And varying levels of experience and backgrounds all come into come into play.
Chris Arey
Juan, anything to add there?
Juan Menendez
Yes, this one is near and dear. Been doing this for a long time, obviously before COVID, you know, when you’re in healthcare and supply chain, 99 % of the time my experience was on site.
So, you know, during COVID, things changed. And just recently, my last large account, meeting with them at the beginning, it’s all about understanding their skill level sets, okay.
So in speaking to the leaders, they all informed me that there could be individuals within our team that would have challenges with training. And so they sort of were pre-warning us. You know, hey, this may be happening a lot.
These are individuals that need to learn the system, but they could have challenges in learning it because they’ve been doing something the same way for 30 years. Fine. So we came under that understanding, you know, understanding their skill levels.
So, when I started meeting with them, I suggested to them to be on site during boot camp and CRP. And after that challenge, and I remember the first week, one of the individuals came to me and goes, Juan, I don’t know if I’m ever gonna learn this, right? And I said, I can assure you, when we leave here, you will have this system.
You will understand this and your job completely. You will not fail. I will not allow you to fail. And this is a true story. And then the individual decided for us to be there during all SIT testing. I would ask supply chain, do you want us here for SIT or do you want us remote? No Juan, we want you here on site. Okay.
And it came time to do integrated testing with AP. So this individual that I was speaking about who works in supply chain, he was actually helping the AP person who was remote navigate through the system because he already understood it so well. And we were only in SIT 1 at that particular time.
Chris Arey
Yeah.
Juan Menendez
He was literally the rock star of supply chain when we left that organization. He was doing such a fantastic job. So it all goes back to, you know, that skill level and really understanding, you know, your team and understanding what they can or will be able to do. These are individuals that were doing things the same way for 30 years.
And here you throw this new application at them and they were lost, and now here they are, they did the best out of everybody
Dan Farruggio
So yeah, Juan, do you think that that individual would have gotten the same experience if you were remote? Yeah.
Juan Menendez
No, no, no, I know that for a fact. No, I’ve been doing this way too long. I know he would not have gotten the same. He just, it would not have been there. I mean, we were not just hands on, but we were really engaged with them.
You know, when you’re sitting there in front of them and you’re going through a process and they have a question, you know, you’re responding to that. You’re seeing it in them. So by far, Dan, there’s no way that he would have gotten the same level. No way.
Chris Arey
Yeah. I’m really glad that you bring that up because there was a separate conversation I had with a project manager here at RPI. We talked about the role of training and how depending on certain phases of the project, in person is a better method depending on what phase it is.
And System Integration Testing was one of them. So I just love to hear that. And it also makes for a great transition into this third challenge here, which is the application testing, right?
You hear about testing and it’s oftentimes maybe you have to do it and people aren’t maybe giving it the attention it deserves, but what did you hear at GHX that kind of emphasized the importance of testing?
Juan Menendez
Do want me to answer first?
Chris Arey
Yeah, Juan, let’s start with you.
Juan Menendez
Sure. Okay. I think when it came to testing, I go back to starting processes. What are your processes going to be? What’s the outline for your processes? You know, what’s the design?
You have to be able to do testing, because those scripts need to be formulated for your design to a certain degree.
Say for example, I’m at an account and they’re not doing inventory control. Well, why would I train them to do inventory? Why would I have test scripts for inventory control? So you have to have, you have to really design your scripts around their processes, their future processes that are going to happen.
That’s one thing and you know, really focusing in on that, really making sure that they’re involved also in that. If there are things that you’re going through when it comes to testing that they may not like, then you change the process.
You know, you go back to your processes and you change that so that your next round of testing, it’s done correctly or it’s done the way that they want to. But you’ve got to go back to that because you just can’t throw just standard test scripts out there and say, okay, here you go. Here’s all the supply chain test scripts.
Well, no, it doesn’t work that way. And I like the approach of where do you start testing? Well, where does data start when it comes to supply chain. Where is the entry point and where does it finish?
That’s how I like to test. That’s my thought process behind that. And I think at RPI in general, and the accounts that I’ve been at, we do that using those scenarios and make sure we work those scripts within those scenarios to go in that fashion. I hope that makes some sense.
Chris Arey
Did you hear anything at GHX reinforce this? I know that’s what we believe, but yeah, anything to share?
Juan Menendez
We heard the same things, you know.
Chris Arey
Okay, so consistency.
Juan Menendez
It’s like, and it’s definitely consistency with that, you know, they want to make sure that their processes are defined. Because, if you’re going to a new system, and me and Dan talked about this too, are you bringing in old processes?
No, you want to make sure that your design is based on how you’re going to use this new system. And I’m just talking, you know, if you’re, if you’re doing an implementation here, or if you’re upgrading to CloudSuite or whatnot.
Chris Arey
Sure.
Juan Menendez
You know, want to make sure you improve those processes. Having worked as a consultant and in the field for so many years, sometimes I can just walk into a client and know what they’re doing without them even telling me what they’re doing because I’ve been at this for a while.
But, I can guide them in the right direction to make sure that, hey, this is the way that you should probably go and look at it this way. And, you know, try to get them into that mode of that particular process.
Dan Farruggio
Right, you’re testing thoroughly and you’re testing successfully, testing should serve multiple purposes. Right, not only are you testing the design to make sure that’s correct and the system is working, you’re also validating that the data is correct and showing up in the right places.
And it’s also, in a way, training. You’re going through real-life processes that you’re going to be doing on a day-to-day basis. The key factor there is, do you understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it?
Juan Menendez
Yes.
Dan Farruggio
You’re not just reading through the scripts to get through it. And we understand that everyone is busy. This is something extra to be going through in the day to day of their jobs, but it’s going to be something that they’re forced to own and take ownership of in the future.
So understanding why they’re doing these steps or where that fits into the bigger process is also a key element to gain confidence in their roles and new system and it’s really the first step in taking ownership of the new system.
Juan Menendez
Right. Totally agree.
Chris Arey
Got it. Okay. So I love, I love the, how all three of these things have kind of like go together, right? With the data quality and the training and the testing. It’s like, they all relate to one another.
Juan Menendez
And every session that I went to, and I know that Dan also, because we separated, we didn’t go to the same sessions together, we made sure to attend different ones, we came back and we were all talking about the same things.
I’m like, okay, you went to a completely different session and I went to another and they’re all talking. And it was great information, everybody, these were key elements within these breakout sessions. And they were great. I mean, there were some fantastic people and they had great ideas.
Chris Arey
Yeah.
Juan Menendez
Many of those ideas I’ve already heard before too, but they’re just reiterating that too, that hey we’re still having these problems, we’re still having these issues, and what’s the best way to do it?
And it goes back to supply chain being involved in the process of if you’re going to a new system. It really does. It really, falls back to that.
Chris Arey
Of course. So if they involved them during the system selection process, they wouldn’t have to have this conference and we wouldn’t talk about these challenges.
Juan Menendez
There would be some pitfalls. They could still have like different challenges. The conference was awesome though, by the way. This is one of the best ones I’ve attended. It was very good. It was very good.
Dan Farruggio
Always love them.
Chris Arey
Different challenges? Gotcha.
Dan Farruggio
We’d have different talents.
Chris Arey
Good, love to hear it. So I’m hearing some best practices for approaching these different challenges, but correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like you guys both mentioned this earlier. There’s no one size fits all approach. Every healthcare organization is different. They have different needs, different resources. So is that right?
Juan Menendez
Yes, Dan, you want to take this first?
Dan Farruggio
Yep.
Chris Arey
Where do they start?
Dan Farruggio
Yeah, well every organization is going to have its own unique situations and challenges and for me, whenever I’m starting something, I like to look at what is it going to give me?
What’s my biggest pain point, or am I gonna get the most return on my on my investment right away? I was going to make the biggest change first or address the biggest problem and and then kind of back yourself into that solution, starting with the end in mind.
What do we want to be? What do we want to look like? What problems are we aiming to solve here? And work your way into that solution. And planning is key. Communication is huge, not just within your team, but on any other team that might have impacts. Supply chain, we work closely with AP and finance, making sure that they’re involved in some of these decisions and process updates as well.
Having that shared knowledge of what each department is doing at a high level will provide a great deal of benefit in effectively and efficiently communicating back and forth to solve some of these problems.
Chris Arey
Juan, anything to add?
Juan Menendez
Sure, and this is piggybacking on what Dan was saying. I think that including some of your frontline team members within supply chain is critical. Not everybody obviously, but you’d want to include those individuals that really have been involved within your supply chain processes.
Even if it’s from the receiving person up, I think it’s very important to at least ask these individuals, what can we do? What can we do better? And really getting that information out of them to drive your better processes within the organization.
I know that when we were there, one of the big issues, which is an issue I’ve also dealt with, is the bill only process within surgery. I can’t tell you how many different types of things people were coming up with to do bill only. Does the vendor do it? Do we do it? How does it process through from, let’s say, Epic coming back into one of the ERP systems? Nobody was doing it the same. Nobody.
And I remember I pulled somebody aside because they were trying to, and it was somebody from a cath lab. And obviously I was the supply chain director of the cath lab when I was in Minnesota also, not just in surgery. I pulled them aside and I said, you know, tell me a little bit what you’re doing. And I gave them a couple additional ideas and they’re like, I never really thought of it like that. Every organization is so completely different.
Chris Arey
Nice.
Juan Menendez
How they manage their supplies, how many supplies do they have, where are they, the logistics of it. Really understanding that really is key to a great implementation. I am a firm believer in that.
You really have to know what they’re doing, on the ground. You have to understand what they’re doing. Because if you don’t, anybody can implement an ERP system. Yeah, I can build an item master.
Chris Arey
Haha.
Juan Menendez
I can do that. Not a problem. How’s it going to affect anybody? Well, I don’t know. But, you know, really have an understanding of that. And it goes back to what Dan said that we have a lot of good people here at RPI.
And again, I’ve, only been at RPI for three years and I worked for Infor before that, but we really have some really good, strong people to fall back on as well as a lot of information and shared information.
But really understanding processes will really result in a better outcome. I can’t stress that enough.
Chris Arey
Yeah.
I really liked that. That’s such an important part. And I appreciate both of you sharing such great themes, challenges, concepts from the GHX conference. It does sound like it was a fantastic event.
We’re getting close to time here. And I think the two of you may have already alluded to what you’d like to share, but before we wrap up, I always like to ask my guests if they want to share one piece of advice for today’s audience regarding our topic.
Juan Menendez
Mm-hmm.
Chris Arey
So, I would love to hear what you know. You’ve got 30 seconds for your elevator pitch from today’s segment. What is it?
Juan Menendez
Go ahead, go ahead Dan.
Chris Arey
Dan, let’s hear it.
Dan Farruggio
Sure, there’s no time better than now to start making positive improvements and changes or at least starting to plan for your future state. Start small. There’s no time like now. You never want to be unprepared. And what we plan for most likely isn’t what actually happens. But if you have a plan, you’ll have something to go on. So yeah, just never too early to start planning and moving forward.
Chris Arey
The time is now. Love it. Thank you, Dan. Juan.
Juan Menendez
I would say start now. Don’t ever wait. Again, I’ll go back to understanding your processes so that you can really design the system to the best of its ability to work for you.
There’s no standard way of doing it, you know, every organization is a little different, but really understanding your processes to get that design down and make it fluid because things can change.
And you know tomorrow, talking about IV fluids, I have never talked about IV fluids so much in my life. While we were at the conference, I know that we talked about that, Dan, there was the issue of some organizations going back to warehouses because of what happened during the IV fluid situation.
I’ve lived in Florida most of my life. So I know what it is to have hurricane supplies, you know, being a director in supply chain and having warehouses stocked with them. But now across the nation, there was not one session, not one that did not discuss IVs, not one session that we attended.
And some of these organizations are going back to the standard old school warehouse type of situation, but your ERP systems can manage that if you have the resources and the real estate.
That was another good thing that came out of the conference. So thinking outside of the box like that was pretty good as was sharing that information with others.
Some people wouldn’t think about that, as they may not have been in healthcare when warehouses were around. Now they are.
Chris Arey
That’s one of the best things about these types of events too. I recently did a segment with Jeremy talking about Infor Connect, but like when you get all these people who have similar roles in the same room talking about the same problems, it’s inevitable that you find out different ways of approaching these things that you maybe didn’t think of. Just by hearing the folks talk about, talk through the way that they handled it. So really good. Thank you both. Awesome insights.
Juan Menendez
Mm-hmm. Right. Thank you.
Chris Arey
For those of you listening in, if you have any questions about today’s segment or you want to learn more about how RPI can help with your supply chain, we would love to hear from you.
You can contact us by emailing us at podcast@rpic.com. Again, that’s podcast@rpic.com. This has been RPI Tech Connect. We’ll see you next time. Thanks, Dan. Thanks, Juan.
Juan Menendez
Thanks guys.
Dan Farruggio
Thanks, guys.
