UK ITS Enterprise Applications Materials Management team provides smooth transition of medical supplies to new UK HealthCare warehouse 

Providing quality health care requires nonstop service. From personal protective equipment to surgical supplies and round-the-clock care in hospitals, health care providers require a substantial stock of medical supplies. 

Over the years, UK HealthCare outgrew its largest medical supply warehouse — one it had used since the 1980s. So, when the time came to build a new, larger facility, it required careful planning to physically move materials to the new warehouse.  

In addition to the physical move, medical supplies also had to be moved logistically within SAP.  

To keep track of the medical supplies, all inventory is assigned a bar code. The barcode and location of items are stored in SAP, which allows staff to easily locate supplies. 

Additionally, UKHC needed continual access to medical supplies and deliveries of those supplies without disruption. 

Joe Hines, materials management team lead of Enterprise Applications, said planning and partnering with UK HealthCare ensured a seamless transition.  

“There were a lot of requirements that had to happen in SAP,” Hines said. “Number one, we had to systemically transfer about five million dollars of inventory.”  

However, before inventory could be moved, the new warehouse had to be built. To keep the delivery of supplies flowing, the team created a fictitious location in SAP so that the existing warehouse number would remain the same once the new warehouse was operational. This maneuver eliminated the process of renumbering millions of dollars’ worth of medical supplies when relocating from the old warehouse to the new warehouse.  

“We had a lot of parts come together,” Hines said. “On top of the physical relocation of all the existing materials, the new facility had to be filled to the required stock levels needed to go live.” Hines said.  

Over the summer the UK HealthCare materials management and purchasing teams partnered with numerous suppliers to stock the new warehouse. In September, the new warehouse opened without any delays. 

“Through preparation, planning and internal SAP controls, we were able to transfer the value and quantities of all materials from the old warehouse to the brand-new operation without interruption of service to healthcare supply chain,” Hines said. “We had to ensure that there were no disruptions to accessing medical supplies or deliveries, and we accomplished that.”