6 Benefits to Using One Supplier for the Service and Maintenance of Your Patient Handling Equipment
15 Minute Read
Asset Management | Buying Guides | Care Homes | Costs | Healthcare Equipment | How To | LOLER | Medaco | Patient Handling Equipment | PPM | PUWER | Service |
When you decide to centralise your service and maintenance needs into one company, your account with the service provider becomes even more valuable. Your strengths in being able to have traceability, accountability and visibility improve greatly. Your overall administrative duties can be simplified, from your purchasing power through to your performance reporting, to the scheduling of your maintenance needs, all whilst helping to optimise the lifespan of your equipment.
The longevity and the consistency of service under one provider, also allows for the building of trust and credibility to grow between you and your service provider.
Working with one service and maintenance provider can help you to save money, operate your business more efficiently, simplify your service management and much more. In this article, we’ll dive into these benefits in more detail.
1. Cost Savings
Contract Savings
When you decide to invest the service and maintenance management of your assets into one company, you have better leverage to negotiate a good contract price. Due to the amount of equipment you are investing into the one company, the provider is further incentivised to offer you an appealing quote for their contract services.
Efficiency of Service, Saving You Time
With one provider, the portfolio of your assets is managed under one roof which can help to streamline your administrative workload saving you both time and money. With the convenience of having one point of contact for your service and maintenance needs, communication becomes much more efficient meaning the servicing of your equipment is efficient. When Planned Preventative Maintenance is in place, your equipment life-span is better optimised and can save you costs on servicing, call-outs and equipment replacement over time.
2. Less Supplier Management
Convenience and Compliance
When managing a care site, you may find yourself with a multitude of suppliers for your service and maintenance needs. You may have one supplier for your bed care, another for your hoists, another for your assisted bath care, another for your LOLER and PUWER inspections, and so the list goes on. Having so many logistics to tend to can make management difficult. You can find yourself suddenly out of touch with what assets are in compliance, which ones need upcoming servicing and who to reach out to in regards to that specific equipment’s requirements.
When consolidating your needs into one specialised provider, managing the web of logistics is simplified for you; as you know exactly who to reach should a problem arise.
With a company like Medaco, we specifically assign a Key Account Manager and Customer Service Champion to work directly alongside you to manage the scope of your assets.
Service Records in One Place
Working with one service provider offers the added convenience of having one set of service reports and one set of invoicing. Having your records collated in one place makes your traceability and reporting needs all that much easier. This also ensures you are compliant with Regulation 15 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, which also helps to satisfy CQC inspections.
3. Continuity Across Service Levels and SLAs
Oftentimes, within the care industry, working with many different companies can come with a lack of communication, slow response times, and reduced accountability when seeking service and maintenance for your equipment. These hurdles can often be costly in time and finances.
With one service provider, your service level agreement is mapped out and agreed upon within the contract. Holding the knowledge of your service level agreement across the library of your assets, along with a continuity of care, allows for trust and credibility to grow between you and your service provider.
With clear standards in place, you are better leveraged to keep your provider accountable for the work they provide for you.
4. Visibility Over All Equipment in One Portal
Asset data management should be a part of your provider’s care and services. Having the library of your assets well organised into one portal allows you to have clear visibility of the status and condition of your assets. Knowing the make, model, service date, condition and compliance of your assets allows you to better forecast the current and future needs of your equipment.
Equipment Audit
5. Efficiency of Synchronised Service and Maintenance Schedules
Along with the general maintenance and upkeep of your equipment, there are clear requirements of servicing and maintenance you must adhere to. With one key service and maintenance provider managing all your assets in one place, all of the service and maintenance schedules for your assets can be synchronised and scheduled efficiently. The clear organisation of your service needs in accordance with requirements, helps to ensure your equipment remains in good working order and in compliance.
6. You are Free to Focus on What You Do Best
When you choose to go with one provider, you benefit from all of the points mentioned above.
When you are saving on costs, have less supplier management duties, continuity of service, clear visibility over your assets, and are being assisted in the management of your equipment, your internal efforts are greatly eased. This all works to help reduce your administrative time managing multiple suppliers.
With this, there is great potential to have more time and money to further reinvest in what you do best – focusing on serving your customers and staff well.
Considerations to Keep in Mind During the Procurement Process
Deciding to work with a single service provider to manage your full portfolio of equipment can feel like a monumental task. In considering the benefits of working with one provider, the procurement process should consider the following:
What is the company’s level of expertise and knowledge?
It is important to consider the expertise and knowledge of the company you are considering working with. Are they knowledgeable within their given field of speciality? Is their focus of service and equipment expertise relevant to the specificities of equipment your company has on site?
Asking yourself these questions when conducting your research, allows you the opportunity to assess the ability of your potential provider in how well they are able to keep you in compliance and serve your equipment on site.
What is included within your contract agreement?
It is important to have clarity on the specifics of what is included within your service and maintenance contract when working with one service provider.
When working with different suppliers there can often be hidden costs given in lieu of the initial lower rates offered. For instance, service providers can often provide low upfront costs but charge higher service and call-out rates throughout the contract of service.
Keeping yourself aware and educated on the full scope of service your provider is offering you and how it keeps within your budget, is an important consideration.
To understand what different service and maintenance providers offer, and why their costs might be different, check out this article “5 Factors that Affect the Cost of Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) Service Rates”.
What is the quality of products and services the provider is offering to its customers?
With rising costs and tightening measures on budgets, the quality of the products and services a company can provide is as important as ever.
When making considerations for who to work with as your sole provider, it is pivotal to research reviews on the service and products your company of interest specialises in.
Arrange annual audits and meetings with your service provider.
When working with one service provider, it is important to hold your partner to a high standard. Companies can often grow . Making time to schedule meetings with your provider to review KPIs and conduct performance reviews, is a good way to measure progress and ensure your service provider continues to work well for you.
If you are on the journey to explore moving all your moving and handling equipment to one supplier, check out this guide on ‘How to Compare Supplier Quotes for Service and Maintenance Providers’[Checklist and Details].The checklist and details are a helpful tool in your purchasing process.
Locking in a Deal
With unpredictable rises in costs that may continue for years to come, it is a positive step for your business to consider the benefits of getting into a long-term deal, at a fixed rate with an excellent provider for your service and maintenance needs.
If you would like further resources and information on how to make the step towards working with a single provider, get in touch with Medaco today. Our team of specialists are happy to help.
