En la gestión de un laboratorio clínico, mantener relaciones sólidas con los proveedores es clave para asegurar un flujo constante de materiales críticos. Para lograr esto, me aseguro de establecer acuerdos claros desde el principio, manteniendo una comunicación abierta y frecuente para abordar posibles problemas antes de que se conviertan en obstáculos. Además, diversificamos nuestros proveedores cuando es posible, lo que reduce el riesgo de interrupciones. Este enfoque proactivo, combinado con una planificación de inventario detallada, garantiza que las operaciones en el laboratorio fluyan sin contratiempos, incluso en situaciones desafiantes.

The key question here is whether you are as important to the supplier as your supplier is for your material? Often suppliers are much larger companies and hardly care about your company. The trick is to make sure you are important to the supplier despite your smaller size. This has to be considered during the procurement phase: How many alternative suppliers can you find? Does your procurement drive a very hard bargain? Maybe a bit more margin can get you the attention you need when things go wrong. Find out what your supplier cares about. Does your supplier care for information sharing? Make sure you stick to their timelines as much as possible. Inventory management may be a last resort for non-perishable materials and difficult relations.