NHS Supply Chain reckons it has saved the health service in England and Wales more than £200 million through its operation of the national procurement and supply chain contract.
Savings have come from improved product prices and an efficient supply chain service delivery, it said.
Over the next six years, NHS Supply Chain, which is part of DHL Supply Chain, aims to save more than £1 billion. One of the ways it hopes to achieve this is through its Direct from Manufacturer programme which uses direct sourcing strategies for certain product areas.
The supply of healthcare products to the NHS was outsourced to DHL at the end of 2006 bringing together parts of what were the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and the NHS Logistics Authority. Since then DHL has invested in infrastructure, IT systems and created more than 800 jobs across eight distribution centres.
