A Full and Comprehensive Install: Healthcare Equipment Demo Logistics
The Challenge:
A major manufacturer of anesthesia equipment mainly used in hospitals, relied on a single employee to administer its demonstration equipment program. This person was responsible for managing 150 to 200 demo units that the 80 field sales reps wanted shipped to various hospitals for evaluation. The machines were moved to and from hospitals or any of 60 warehouses throughout the United States. The process, often taking up to three days, involved multiple steps causing inefficient use of resources.
The Approach:
Technical Transportation created Demo Move, a customized resource planning and tracking tool to efficiently manage all the logistic processes related to the anesthesia machine demonstration program. Available through TechTrans’ secure Web site, the Demo Move Tool tracks each serialized unit based on a variety of criteria and allows sales representatives to order specific instrument types with required transportation parameters and technical pick-up and/or delivery services.
The Result:
The tracking software has streamlined and accelerated the process of ordering and shipping demo machines for the customer. The software allows both the customer and TechTrans to track and trace the history of any machine instantly. Users interface with a chart using numerous criteria and filters to obtain the exact data needed. Sorts can be arranged based on serial number, region or sales representative as well as by distance and duration. With distance tracking, the unit closest to a particular destination can be selected, reducing the shipping costs and ensuring timely pick-up and delivery. Duration tracking allows control on the turn rate by charting the amount of time each unit has been at a particular hospital or out of circulation at a warehouse.
Sales representatives no longer have to wait to get information and the orders are confirmed and delivery is arranged within 24 hours. In addition, through improved efficiency, TechTrans was able to reduce the number of warehouses the customer used from 60 to 20 strategically located facilities that best serve the various regions. The Demo Move program is easily adapted to meet any customer’s specific requirements.
