Many healthcare facilities use some type of manual inventory management system to track inbound packages, meaning that important tracking data is being entered by hand with a paper system to manage inventory. This is a tedious and inefficient receiving process that will lead to inevitable mistakes. Additionally, manual inventory management can result in inconsistencies, poorly documented work, and system-wide discrepancies—obviously, this package tracking system isn’t ideal for a facility that requires meticulous tracking and care for its packages.
Some packages and products might pass through a hospital’s receiving dock without purchase orders or as partially filled deliveries. When you use a manual receiving and delivery process, it’s extremely difficult to measure productivity, time management, delivery issues and staffing requirements, not to mention the near impossibility of tracking the chain of custody via a manual process.
A hospital’s receiving and delivery department requires an inbound package tracking system that can do the following:
- Reduce the time spent processing and delivering packages.
- Provide a verifiable chain of custody and proof of delivery.
- Ensure that practices like record keeping and reporting are easy.
- Utilize package receiving and tracking software that gives management and staff the tools to make sound decisions based on accurate data.
Perhaps it’s time for your hospital to invest in an automated inbound package tracking system, built to help you monitor all the packages and products that enter your facility—a system that can electronically track items from the hospital loading dock to their delivery location with ease. If you’re in the market to buy such a system, it’s important to take a look at all of the benefits an automated system can bring.
Here are 6 ways a hospital’s receiving and delivery department will benefit from an automated inbound tracking system.
1. Automated inbound tracking is accurate.
Manual processes are flawed. Multiple steps and human interpretation dramatically increase the chances of error. An inbound package tracking system can scan information from a package label, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual data entry and making package receiving and delivery way more accurate.
2. Efficiency is a key benefit of an automated inbound tracking system.
With inbound package tracking, there is a lot of important data to be tracked, such as the carrier tracking number, requisition number, vendor number, and other package details. Most computerized systems can track and display these numbers, allowing employees to view and track the status of their packages once they arrive at the dock through final delivery point.
Such details show the full chain of custody, activities along the way and what time they occurred as well as proof of delivery. A receiving and delivery department can eliminate the typical “where’s my package” phone calls, not to mention the time saved when staff members are not wasting their time researching packages that have already been delivered.
3. Accountability is established.
With an automated inbound package tracking system, an audit trail is just that—automatic. Receiving and delivery staff as well as their customers have the ability to view things like status and proof of delivery. Managers can quickly verify that processes are as fast and efficient as needed. In essence, an automated package receiving and tracking system equips a receiving and delivery department with everything they need to measure accountability and performance.
4. Automated inbound tracking saves time.
Manual processing is extremely time consuming and creates a situation where mistakes are inevitable. With an advanced receiving and tracking system, you’ll quickly streamline your processes and reduce the labor involved.
5. Integration with external systems.
When it comes to item tracking think about how important it is to integrate with a host database or data warehouse. Paper-based systems certainly can’t do that. For a receiving and delivery department to operate at peak efficiency, staff needs a system that makes it easy to exchange information with these outside sources. This alone will dramatically improve supply chain performance.
6. There’s a huge ROI potential.
With most inbound tracking solutions, operational savings quickly outweigh the expenses involved. Inefficient paper-based systems are, well, inefficient.
Using an automated inbound package tracking system will bring innumerable benefits to a hospital’s receiving and delivery department. Such a system will dramatically increase accuracy, efficiency, and accountability. It will also save your organization a ton of money and time, freeing up your team to do better at the job they are actually supposed to be doing, delivering.
If you’re now looking for an automated inbound tracking system for your health facility and have additional questions, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch with us today and tell us what you need.
Want to see Vuetura Software in action? Request a personalized demo today.
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