Imagine the time you could save ordering supplies – and processing invoices – on just one platform.
“Hybrent Changed Our World!”
The team at Rocky Mountain Surgical Center in Bozeman, Montana, was looking for a streamlined way to manage their inventory and place orders. At that time, everything was being completed manually – calling in orders, faxing orders, tracking down confirmations and shipments. With the surgical center switching to a new practice management system, it was going to require a connection to their inventory, and a new director who knew about Hybrent made the recommendation.
“Hybrent changed our world!” said Wesley White, Purchasing Manager for RMSC.
“Calling in just one order with 40 to 50 line items was unbelievably tedious,” said Wes. “For one vendor it could take over an hour to place an order.” He was also taking invoices home and working on them for three to four hours each weekend. “I was manually processing all of the invoices. Every single piece of paper that came across my desk I had to review, triple-match everything, sign it and turn it in.
“We did a demo with Hybrent, and the rest is history,” Wes said. “Knowing I could place an order for everything on one screen, hit submit and everything was sent to individual vendors made the purchasing process so much more efficient.”
Adding to their supply chain efficiency was ordering their surgery packs through Medline. RMSC orders custom packs for arthroscopy, upper extremity, lower extremity, laminectomy, plastics, hip arthroscopy, head and neck and total joint surgeries. “I would never change our pack business away from Medline – they do an excellent job!” Wes said.
“The total joint pack was huge for us – everything the doctors want we have in there, and the number of items we could put into a pack was amazing!” Wes said. “During surgery, everything we need is in there. Total joint replacements are supply-intensive. With the custom pack, all we need are some instruments and sutures and we’re ready. The packs save us a lot of time.”
Implementation
Although it was a challenge to collect the information, Wes was grateful to have done it. “I just poured over an Excel file of items and cleaned it up. Going through that process helped me put my finger on our entire inventory, and it’s helped improve the inventory process as well.”
Implementation took about 2-3 months in total and Wes said it went very well. “The Hybrent implementation specialist was our go-to person during the process and she was awesome in making sure all of my questions were answered,” he said.
Results
“Time is money, right? Time is what Hybrent gave me back. Shopping online, with all items in one order and only having to click “submit” once saved me hours – that was huge for me. Instead of an hour per order per vendor, my whole order with many vendors takes about 15 minutes,” Wes said. “And I love the invoicing piece! Instead of using my weekends to process everything, I start my day by opening my inbox and approving invoices in maybe 15 minutes. And it’s paperless!”
Not only did Hybrent save time, but now RMSC has more complete records of all of their supplies. “I have more confidence that the information we have is accurate. I didn’t have that before.” This has allowed Wes to tighten up the entire purchasing process.
“It’s so much more organized now. I was running every day, grabbing inventory all day long. Now we keep a lean inventory, more of a just-in-time mentality which surgery centers somewhat have to adhere to. I don’t know how I would have gotten through last year with Covid with all of the backorders,” Wes said. There were times when he spent all day tracking down PPE from reputable sources. “If I hadn’t had that time, it would have been bad.”
Although mostly focused on purchasing, one thing the extra time gives him is the ability to participate in total joint replacement surgeries, which he enjoys.
“Medline and Hybrent’s interaction is incredible,” Wes said. “I love the interface. When I place an order with Medline, it’s almost instantaneous. I really appreciate that connection between the two companies. Also, within the Medline orders in Hybrent, it’s huge to be able to open up an order that is partially received and see shipment tracking numbers, I can click the tracking number and see when it is being delivered – that’s huge.”
“We’ve been using it for almost four years now. It’s flawless, in my opinion.”