Procurement strategies for senior living: A case study

Senior living communities strive to provide exceptional care for their residents, but the procurement process can often become a hidden headache. Understanding these pain points is crucial for improving efficiency.

Pain points in procurement

Procurement in senior living communities presents a unique set of challenges, due to:

• The diverse needs of residents.
• Strict regulations.
• The importance of maintaining high standards of care.

From sourcing medical supplies to providing quality meals and amenities, ensuring the well-being of residents goes hand in hand with navigating the senior living facility’s complex procurement process.

Inventory management is another challenge, as senior living procurement professionals are charged with:

• Maintaining adequate stock levels.
• Minimizing waste.
• Controlling costs.

Add managing multiple suppliers to the list, and procurement becomes extremely time-consuming and resource-intensive, especially factoring in building and retaining strong vendor relationships.

Group purchasing advantages

By harnessing the collective buying power of multiple senior living communities, Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) collaborate with trusted vendors to provide high-quality products and services. The right GPO enables senior living procurement pros to:

• Secure better deals with suppliers.
• Streamline procurement.
• Drive cost savings.
• Enhance efficiency.
• Foster innovation.

By partnering with a GPO, senior living community operators can overcome the complexities of procurement and better focus on their core mission of providing compassionate care to residents.

A testament to a lasting partnership: Case study

Cheryl Goodwin, Chief Strategy Officer of Alliance Purchasing Network (APN), chose Entegra 24 years ago and has never felt the need to go out with another RFP since then.

Founded in 2004 by four non-profit organizations, APN enables their customers to make every dollar count by tapping the combined purchasing power of numerous nonprofit, for-profit and faith-based organizations and alliances. APN customers have access to rebates and incentives, and the collective purchasing power of their network drives prices lower for every participant. Customers can select from thousands of products and services offered by our network of vetted vendor partners.

“The pandemic hit the senior living industry quite hard,” says Goodwin, “So looking at things like cost has been critical… Entegra has been able to meet our needs so far. Besides the scope of all the products and services that Entegra is able to offer… it goes so much beyond food.”

Want to learn more? Check out what global leader APN has to say in this video testimonial about the performance-driven approach Entegra delivers.

Ready to see what Entegra can do for you? Speak to an Entegra expert advisor at 833-977-1765 or contact us and we’ll be in touch.