Taking The Supply Chain Pulse

We sit down with Scott Becker of Becker’s Healthcare to talk about what his daily view of the industry reveals about closures, staffing gaps, and the real-world squeeze on access to care. We also dig into why great events and clear writing still matter, then hear how Scott approaches building businesses through momentum, setbacks, and scaling. 
• rural and community hospital closures and the downstream impact on access 
• how Becker’s Healthcare curates short-form healthcare business news for busy leaders 
• why conferences work when they prioritize peers, learning, and networking 
• the growing shortage of specialists across the country and what it means for patients 
• healthcare costs, healthcare inflation, and the rise of tiered care including concierge medicine 
• prevention as a priority but not a substitute for doctors and nurses 
• Scott’s new book Building Great Businesses and the craft of writing in your own voice 
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We talk with David Kirshner about why healthcare CFOs are facing extreme margin pressure and why supply chain has become a strategic tool for survival. We map out how to find savings beyond clinical supplies by using better data, tighter contracting, and real cross-department partnerships. 
• health systems moving from thriving to barely surviving as margins compress 
• why CFO sponsorship matters when expanding supply chain influence 
• defining non-clinical and indirect procurement across IT, facilities, energy, marketing, corporate services, and legal 
• using accounts payable and spend analytics to uncover vendor sprawl and contract gaps 
• the “$1 saved equals $20 revenue” logic and why expense work wins fast 
• raising expectations with vendors through competitive sourcing and respectful collaboration 
• using a supply chain maturity model to move from good to great 
• mentoring the next generation of data-driven supply chain leaders 
Don't forget to hit that subscribe button and connect with us online so you'll never miss an episode and can catch up on all the ones you might have missed. 
Got a topic you're fired up about, or maybe you want to be a guest on the show? Fred would love to hear from you. Just reach out at [email protected]

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A lot of supply chain leaders can talk strategy. Far fewer can trace it back to what happens when a patient is on the table and a team cannot afford a single shortcut. That’s why this conversation with Joseph Carr, Vice President and Supply Chain Leader at Akron Children’s Hospital, lands differently. Joseph started his healthcare career as a registered nurse in the operating room, then carried that clinical urgency into healthcare supply chain, strategic sourcing, and hospital operations leadership.

We walk through the career moves that shaped his toolkit: an MBA and finance background, early work helping build a clinically integrated supply chain model at Mayo Clinic, exposure to Lean and DMAIC problem-solving, and the reality of performance-managed systems where metrics drive accountability. Along the way, we get concrete lessons on change management using ADKAR, why data access changes everything, and how missteps like a poorly handled glove conversion reveal the real cost of ignoring clinician voice.

Then we bring it home to pediatric healthcare. Joseph explains what makes children’s hospitals unique, from pediatric-specific procedures to the full patient and family experience, and why children’s hospitals can get squeezed on pricing due to GPO tier structures and smaller spend buckets. At Akron Children’s, he shares how a supportive culture and clinical collaboration helped launch the Commit for Kids sourcing strategy, expand category reviews at scale, invest in technology and ERP modernization, and use Lean projects to lock in best practices before bigger system shifts.

If you care about healthcare supply chain transformation, pediatric hospital operations, and building a strategic supply chain that clinicians actually trust, listen through to the end. Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review with one question you want us to tackle next.

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We sit down with Rick Barlow to unpack why the Bellwether League Foundation exists and what it takes to honor healthcare supply chain leaders the right way. We trace the Hall of Fame’s origin story, the real world hurdles behind building a nonprofit, and why recognition can be the difference between losing talent and keeping it.

• Bellwether League Foundation mission as a healthcare supply chain nonprofit 
• Why the “bellwether” name ties to lighthouse leadership 
• How a research project and a baseball Hall of Fame debate sparked the idea 
• Early challenges launching the organization including legal setup, banking hurdles, and the 2008 crash 
• Why healthcare supply chain leaders often stay unknown despite massive impact 
• Historic and unexpected inductees including Clara Barton and early GPO roots 
• How Bellwether Honorees, Future Famers, and the Dean S. Ammer award differ 
• How the foundation is funded through corporate and individual support 
• What BLFIR is and what happens at the annual induction event 
• “Goes Back to School” campus outreach to grow healthcare supply chain talent 
• SCMAT maturity assessment tool as an operations improvement path 
• How to get involved by attending, nominating, volunteering, or sponsoring 
• Why the nomination process is designed for credibility over reputation 

And don't forget to hit that subscribe button and connect with us online so you'll never miss an episode and can catch up on all the ones you might have missed. Got a topic you're fired up about, or maybe you want to be a guest on the show? Fred would love to hear from you. Just reach out at [email protected].

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We’ve lived through a supply chain time warp in healthcare: from clipboards and carbon-copy purchase orders to scanners, dashboards, and automation. Fred sits down with Tracy Cleveland, VP of Supply Chain at Munson Healthcare, to get honest about what actually improved, what still feels broken, and why the “latest tech” only works when the data behind it is clean. If you care about hospital operations, procurement, logistics, or inventory management, this conversation is packed with real-world details that go beyond slogans.

We talk about technology that protects people as much as it boosts productivity, including labor-assist tools and a robotic pallet wrapper that cuts waste and prevents injuries. Then we wade into the uncomfortable middle ground of supplier relationships: are partnerships a strategic advantage, or do they risk leaving money on the table? Tracy shares why many organizations still default to an adversarial mindset, and why collaboration matters more as hospital margins tighten and expectations keep rising.

From there we zoom out to industry-wide benchmarking, why common supply chain metrics are so hard to standardize, and why regional peer comparisons can be more useful than national averages. We also explore deferred infrastructure investment like docks, elevators, and sterile processing, plus the post-pandemic need for end-to-end supply chain transparency, including one example of catching counterfeit product before it ever reached patients. Finally, we address hiring and retention, remote work, and what it takes to build a strong supply chain team in a challenging labor market.

If this helped you think differently about healthcare supply chain strategy, subscribe, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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We talk with Joe Colonna about how value analysis in the healthcare supply chain creates better decisions by balancing clinical outcomes with financial reality. We also reflect on Bill McFaul's legacy and why trust, inclusion, and change management matter as much as pricing. 
• Bill McFaul's mentorship and his lasting impact on healthcare value analysis 
• Value analysis as a holistic method beyond product standardization 
• Demand matching and using premium products only where needed 
• Building consensus so clinicians and supply chain own the decision 
• Why “new product review” is not the same as value analysis 
• The shadow supply chain and the cost of unmanaged inventory and obsolescence 
• Educating frontline teams so they can explain changes and surface problems early 
• Recognizing supply chain work that stays invisible when it runs well 
don't forget to hit that subscribe button and connect with us online so you'll never miss an episode and can catch up on all the ones you might have missed. Got a topic you're fired up about, or maybe you want to be a guest on the show? Fred would love to hear from you. 

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We explore how a retiring SVP and a new SVP engineered a seamless leadership handoff at a national health system, turning succession into a strategic advantage. Mentorship, team alignment, and C-suite credibility anchor a playbook any supply chain can adapt.

• three generations compare lessons on leadership and continuity
• Damika’s path from hospital operations to executive leadership
• how outside consulting and GPO experience sharpen decision making
• the mechanics of a measured, months-long handoff
• building clear career ladders and internal pipelines
• aligning a new executive team with a focused retreat
• earning and keeping C-suite confidence through value framing
• leading through disruption with experiments and disciplined follow-through
• using external networks and peers to stay future ready

And don't forget to hit that subscribe button and connect with us online so you'll never miss an episode and can catch up on all the ones you might have missed.
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We explore why AI cannot replace judgment, how curated data and sharp questions prevent elegant mistakes, and what separates strategic leadership from transactional management. The conversation centers on healthcare, leading up without title power, and building inclusive cultures that surface frontline insight.

• AI as tool rather than turnkey solution
• Risks of confident but wrong recommendations
• Curated data and governance before analysis
• Strategic leadership versus transactional management
• Healthcare pace, incentives and decision clocks
• Leading up by framing in clinical and financial terms
• Tough conversations grounded in mission and facts
• Inclusion and synthesis of frontline ideas
• Storytelling as a vehicle for enterprise learning
• Teaser for the next healthcare-focused book

Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button and connect with us online so you’ll never miss an episode and can catch up on all the ones you might have missed
Got a topic you’re fired up about, or maybe you want to be a guest on the show? Fred would love to hear from you. Just reach out at [email protected]

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We explore how Cleveland Clinic scales supply chain excellence across 26 hospitals and hundreds of sites through daily safety huddles, rapid standardization, and honest system-wide assessments. Sarh Charai shares practical lessons on strategic supplier partnerships, recruiting for purpose, and closing the AI skills gap.

• Role and scope of enterprise supply chain operations
• Daily safety huddles and fast escalation
• Standardizing new acquisitions onto common systems
• System-wide assessments and cross-industry benchmarking
• Strategic supplier partnerships that improve operations
• Co‑op models to develop frontline and graduate talent
• Recruiting for purpose and retaining caregivers
• Addressing the technology and AI skills gap
• Practical advice for new supply chain leaders

Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button and connect with us online so you’ll never miss an episode and can catch up on all the ones you might have missed
Got a topic you’re fired up about or maybe you want to be a guest on the show? Fred would love to hear from you. Just reach out at [email protected].

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We trace a practical playbook for transforming a hospital supply chain after major acquisitions, from stakeholder listening to a four-pillar strategy that ties clinical choice to operational excellence. A CSC launch, Kanban at the point of use, and smarter GPO expectations drive resilience and 99.8% fill rates.

• first 100 days model and stakeholder mapping
• four pillars of strategy: standardization, distribution, people, capital
• clinically driven value analysis and ACI governance
• CSC timing, COVID stress test and resilience metrics
• unifying cultures and clinician engagement without friction
• shifting from five-year to three-year planning horizons
• GPO RFP focus on tech, P2P and analytics value
• implant management, bill-only controls and software pilots
• well-bin Kanban rollout and point-of-use reliability

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If you have a topic you would like to discuss or want to be a guest on the show, you can reach out to Fred directly at [email protected] 

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