Key Points:
- Why Procurement Matters During Mergers
Healthcare mergers often focus on legal, financial, and branding issues, but procurement and capital planning are equally critical. Delaying procurement decisions can lead to project delays, budget overruns, and stakeholder misalignment, all of which can disrupt patient care and operational continuity. - Proactive Procurement Strategies
The blog outlines a three-step playbook:- Prioritize critical needs like patient safety and regulatory compliance.
- Engage stakeholders early, including clinical, finance, and facilities teams.
- Use reliable data to benchmark costs, forecast resources, and evaluate vendors.
These steps help align procurement with the broader merger strategy and timeline.
- How Gordian Supports Mergers
Gordian provides trusted data, strategic insights, and a neutral third-party perspective to help healthcare organizations navigate complex mergers. Their tools enable informed decision-making, ensuring procurement stays on track, on time, and on budget—even in uncertain environments.
Mergers in healthcare are complex, high-stakes endeavors. They bring the promise of expanded capabilities, streamlined operations and improved patient outcomes. But they also introduce uncertainty, especially when it comes to procurement and capital planning.
If your organization is navigating a merger, you might be tempted to hit “pause” on procurement strategy conversations. After all, with so many moving parts, it can feel like the wrong time to make big decisions. But deferring these discussions can lead to costly delays, misaligned priorities and missed opportunities.
At Gordian, we’ve helped healthcare organizations manage the intricacies of mergers by providing trusted data, strategic insights and a neutral third-party perspective. Here’s how to keep your procurement work on track, on time and on budget during a merger.
The “We’re Merging” Moment: Why Procurement Still Matters
When a merger is announced, leadership teams often shift focus to legal, financial and branding concerns. However, procurement and capital planning can’t afford to wait. Facility upgrades, equipment purchases and infrastructure projects are essential to maintaining operational continuity and patient care.
Delaying procurement strategy can result in:
- Project delays that impact patient services
- Budget overruns due to rushed or reactive purchasing
- Stakeholder misalignment that slows decision-making
The good news? With a proactive approach, you can avoid these pitfalls.
Your Proactive Procurement Playbook
Here’s how to strategically approach procurement during a healthcare merger:
1. Identify and Prioritize What Matters Most
Start by mapping out your most critical procurement tasks. Focus on projects that directly impact:
- Patient safety and care delivery
- Regulatory compliance
- Operational continuity
Use this prioritization to create a phased procurement roadmap that aligns with your merger timeline.
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2. Bring Everyone to the Table
Procurement doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Engage key internal stakeholders early, including:
- Clinical leaders who understand patient care needs
- Finance teams who manage budgets and ROI
- Operations and facilities managers who oversee implementation
Early engagement fosters alignment, reduces friction and ensures that procurement decisions support the broader merger strategy.
3. Leverage Trustworthy Data for Clarity
During a merger, assumptions can be risky. That’s why reliable data is your best ally. Use data to:
- Benchmark costs and timelines
- Forecast resource needs
- Evaluate vendor performance
Gordian’s tools provide the insights you need to make informed decisions, even in uncertain environments.
How Gordian Helps: Your Partner in Navigating Complexity
At Gordian, we specialize in helping healthcare organizations navigate complex transitions — including mergers. Our role as a neutral third-party allows us to:
- Facilitate alignment between merging entities
- Provide objective data to guide procurement decisions
- Support continuity by helping teams stay focused on mission-critical projects
Real-World Impact
In one recent engagement, Gordian supported a multi-hospital system merger by helping the facilities team prioritize over 200 capital projects. Using our data-driven tools, the organization was able to:
- Reduce procurement cycle times by 30%
- Avoid over $2 million in unnecessary spending
- Maintain uninterrupted progress on critical infrastructure upgrades
Explore other customer success stories.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Wait for “Later”
Mergers are a time of transformation — but they don’t have to be a time of disruption. By taking a proactive approach to procurement and capital planning, you can ensure that your organization stays focused, aligned and ready for what’s next.
