Distribution: Streamlining Healthcare

Distributors link a global network of manufacturers with local healthcare providers. Our network of more than 500 distribution centers nationwide serve more than a half a million sites of care. Distributors are enhancing access, improving patient care, managing healthcare costs, and building partnerships with healthcare providers and government agencies.

Distribution Channel Considerations For Medical Products Manufacturers

New resources designed just for manufacturers! The white paper provides a guide for making channel decisions. The accompanying slide deck aids in conversations with senior executives about channel choices.

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Enhancing Access

Distributors have invested in greater capacity, including increased storage space and a broader range of products. Providers in all types of care settings gain one-stop-shopping access to best-in-class medical supplies.
  • HIDA members manage 76 million square feet of warehouse space and process 650 million orders each year.
  • Distributors offer over 1.4 million healthcare products from more than 7,300 manufacturers.
  • Over 94 percent of Americans live within 100 miles of a healthcare distribution center.

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500+ Healthcare Distribution Centers

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Improving Patient Care

Distributors specialize in supplies, so healthcare providers can focus on patient care. With less staff time needed to order and manage products, clinicians can spend more time at the bedside.
  • Providers gain 30 percent more time and resources for patient care when they work with a distributor, allowing them to better care for their patients.
  • Distributors service over half a million healthcare locations including 6,000 hospitals, 267,000 labs, and 230,000 physician offices.
  • Strong and resilient supply chains reduce the risk of hoarding key medical products and empower clinical staff to focus on patient care.

One Distribution Center Services An Average Of 1,000 Healthcare Sites >

Managing Costs

Distributors provide the services and insights providers need to improve financial performance. With multi-year, long-term contracts, distributors offer health systems stable pricing and reliable service. They also help providers save on freight costs and reduce staff time spent on procurement and logistics.
  • Providers save 68 percent of staff costs on every order when they work with healthcare products distributors.
  • A 90-day supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) for a 350-bed hospital requires 5,700 square feet of space, approximately 15 tractor trailers.
  • Distributors provide medical supplies in small, ready-to-use quantities to save money on storage.

Learn How Supply Chain Is A Strategic Pillar For Health Systems >

Building Partnerships

Distributors are trusted partners for both public and private stakeholders. Distributors help their manufacturer partners extend their reach into hundreds of thousands of care sites nationwide, while minimizing the manufacturers’ logistics investment. Federal agencies partner with distributors to reach providers during a crisis and maintain inventory buffers across the country.
  • Manufacturers engaged in self-distribution report that their sales representatives spent more than half of their time involved in non-selling activities such as ordering issues and returns.
  • Distributors have strong knowledge of customer preferences that manufacturers can tap into to better serve the needs of providers.
  • Distributors can focus on order consolidation, ensuring high fill rates, prompt deliveries, and streamlined customer service.

In 2020-2021, Manufacturers Produced More Than 91.9 Billion Units Of PPE >