OK, I have had even more inquiries from the field regarding my articles on CARB compliance. The most recent are in the categories of, "how do I know for sure?" and "who do I talk to?". Here are two quick answers.
Examples of portable testing monitors that detect the presence of formaldehyde indoors are the Z-300 and the ZDL-300 Formaldehyde Monitors from Environmental Sensors (environmentalsensors.com). The Z-300 is priced at about 1200 and the ZDL-300 with data logging is priced at about 1300.
The device can quickly answer the question of whether or not your furnishings are within the tolerances established for CARB ATCM compliance.
Enforcement questions can be answered by the CARB enforcement division. The contacts are: Rebecca Geyer (916-445-1461) or Darrell Hawkins (916-445-0286).
Long Term Healthcare Industry news and editorial from Dennis Boren - a 40+ year veteran.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
California CARB ATCM is now the National Standard
The Federal Government adopted the California CARB ATCM yesterday (July 19, 2010). While the Federal standard will have a phase in period, CARB ATCM is in full effect for the State of California. More details will follow.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Why FDA compliant?
I had a call the other day from a client who was planning to buy low beds. They were asking me, "Do electric health care beds have to be FDA compliant and doesn't that make them cost more?"
It was an interesting question because there are so many underlying issues involved. I started to give the client the "regulatory" answer until I realized that they were really asking me to respond to the cost/value part of their question. I told them, "The bottom line is that. yes! You will probably pay more for an FDA certified bed because of the design and testing requirements but you would want to buy certified products for your own protection. I'll explain further.
First, here's the boring part: Health care beds fall under MEDDEV 2.4/1 -rev. 8 Part 2,Rule #12 for Class 2 "active medical devices". The IEC 60601 / UL 60601 Type B rating is the concensus standard for these beds and is recognized by the FDA. There are only about eight laboratories in the entire world that are approved by the FDA to test products to these standards. That's why it adds to the cost of the beds.
I could go on with the regulatory details but suffice to say that there is a long litiguous and specific history which implies that a prudent operator ONLY utilize certified beds or other medical devices in their facility.
The immediately obvious benefit to FDA certification is safety. Complying with the IEC 60601 / UL 60601 standard shows that the device is 1. not likely to catch fire 2. not likely to shock the resident or the staff 3. not likely to entrap the resident 4. not likely to collapse or in some other way fail.
Notice that I used the term "not likely" in the paragraph above. Even though a bed is tested to the 60601 standard, it does not guarantee the QUALITY of the product. That is why we have incident reports and recalls ... and yes, there have already been some 13 hospital bed recalls this decade.
Some manufacturers might use the fact that their bed met the UL 60601 standard to IMPLY that they sell a superior product. Not so! It is POSSIBLE to build a really cheap bed that meets the 60601 standards. Of course that bed will also probably fail very early in its life cycle. The real test for bed safety and longevity is the documented reporting of serious incidents that occur relative to each bed. To provide that reporting it is the responsibility of every health care operator in the United States under the Federal "Medical Device Reporting Act". The FDA publishes these reports in what are called the "blue sheets". So, an older style bed, certified to a previous 60601 standard, is no less credible than a brand new bed certfied to a newer standard if there have been no incidents reported on that bed. The proof is really in the operation and use of the product.
This leads me to the second, and less obvious benefit of a certified bed. The certified bed is subject to an FDA notices and re-calls. This notification program alerts the buyer to problems with the bed and, under the law, gives the buyer recourse to re-coup his costs of repair or replacement.
A final benefit I want to point out in this article is that of your liability. Every lawyer will tell you that if you utilize a "consensus certified" product and a serious incident occurs in your facility, your liability is somewhat mitigated. If you choose to use an un-certified product or a non consensus standard, your liability can escalate dramatically. Referencing my earlier paragraph highlighting the incidents that "MIGHT NOT HAPPEN", no matter how good the product is, these bad things might happen. I am only confident that they are less likely to happen to you if you choose a certified bed.
So, in summary, if you are thinking of buying any un-certified medical device for your facility because of a perceived cost savings, I recommend that you have a long and serious talk with your risk management and legal departments before you make the purchase.
It was an interesting question because there are so many underlying issues involved. I started to give the client the "regulatory" answer until I realized that they were really asking me to respond to the cost/value part of their question. I told them, "The bottom line is that. yes! You will probably pay more for an FDA certified bed because of the design and testing requirements but you would want to buy certified products for your own protection. I'll explain further.
First, here's the boring part: Health care beds fall under MEDDEV 2.4/1 -rev. 8 Part 2,Rule #12 for Class 2 "active medical devices". The IEC 60601 / UL 60601 Type B rating is the concensus standard for these beds and is recognized by the FDA. There are only about eight laboratories in the entire world that are approved by the FDA to test products to these standards. That's why it adds to the cost of the beds.
I could go on with the regulatory details but suffice to say that there is a long litiguous and specific history which implies that a prudent operator ONLY utilize certified beds or other medical devices in their facility.
The immediately obvious benefit to FDA certification is safety. Complying with the IEC 60601 / UL 60601 standard shows that the device is 1. not likely to catch fire 2. not likely to shock the resident or the staff 3. not likely to entrap the resident 4. not likely to collapse or in some other way fail.
Notice that I used the term "not likely" in the paragraph above. Even though a bed is tested to the 60601 standard, it does not guarantee the QUALITY of the product. That is why we have incident reports and recalls ... and yes, there have already been some 13 hospital bed recalls this decade.
Some manufacturers might use the fact that their bed met the UL 60601 standard to IMPLY that they sell a superior product. Not so! It is POSSIBLE to build a really cheap bed that meets the 60601 standards. Of course that bed will also probably fail very early in its life cycle. The real test for bed safety and longevity is the documented reporting of serious incidents that occur relative to each bed. To provide that reporting it is the responsibility of every health care operator in the United States under the Federal "Medical Device Reporting Act". The FDA publishes these reports in what are called the "blue sheets". So, an older style bed, certified to a previous 60601 standard, is no less credible than a brand new bed certfied to a newer standard if there have been no incidents reported on that bed. The proof is really in the operation and use of the product.
This leads me to the second, and less obvious benefit of a certified bed. The certified bed is subject to an FDA notices and re-calls. This notification program alerts the buyer to problems with the bed and, under the law, gives the buyer recourse to re-coup his costs of repair or replacement.
A final benefit I want to point out in this article is that of your liability. Every lawyer will tell you that if you utilize a "consensus certified" product and a serious incident occurs in your facility, your liability is somewhat mitigated. If you choose to use an un-certified product or a non consensus standard, your liability can escalate dramatically. Referencing my earlier paragraph highlighting the incidents that "MIGHT NOT HAPPEN", no matter how good the product is, these bad things might happen. I am only confident that they are less likely to happen to you if you choose a certified bed.
So, in summary, if you are thinking of buying any un-certified medical device for your facility because of a perceived cost savings, I recommend that you have a long and serious talk with your risk management and legal departments before you make the purchase.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Artromick Merger
Please read the press release below. HealthCare Source is excited about this new strategic merger and will keep you up to date as we see improvements and expansion associated with the changes.
************************************************************
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Kevin Mortesen
800-437-6633, ext. 2877
Todd Ross
800-848-6462
CAPSA SOLUTIONS ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF ARTROMICK MOBILE SOLUTIONS GROUP
Company Adds Additional Strength in the Long-Term and Acute Healthcare Markets
WOODINVILLE, WA and COLUMBUS, OH (December 1, 2009) – Capsa Solutions, a leading provider of storage, processing and transport products, has announced the acquisition of Artromick Mobile Solutions Group and their comprehensive line of medical and mobile computing carts for the extended and acute healthcare sectors.
Capsa Solutions currently services the needs for their healthcare, retail, and light manufacturing customers with MMI Med Carts and IRSG product lines. The addition of Artromick further widens a broad product offering for the healthcare market and offers Capsa Solutions’ customers more options.
“Artromick has a history of integrating superior design with the latest technology features to improve the efficiency of caregivers at the point of care,” said Capsa Solutions CEO Dave Burns. “The addition of Artromick to the Capsa Solutions family is an absolute win for our healthcare partners. Our spectrum of cart, storage, and mobility solutions fill needs for most any healthcare application. Artromick is a strong and healthy brand that will continue to grow as part of Capsa Solutions.”
The combined product lines of Artromick, MMI Med Carts and IRSG cover virtually every room of an acute or long-term healthcare facility. Included in the product portfolio are carts for point of care computing, medication control, anesthesia, malignant hyperthermia, transport and more. Additionally, the company’s high-density mobile storage and fixed shelving are key components for central supply and materials management and a host of additional specialty care carts serve varied roles in a facility.
“The acquisition of Artromick Mobile Solutions Group by Capsa Solutions creates a significantly stronger healthcare firm for our domestic and international core markets,” said Artromick CEO Paul Guth. “This alliance of products and professionals with extensive healthcare experience will drive new innovation that facilitates accuracy in the delivery of patient care.”
-more-
2-2-2-2/Capsa Solutions Acquires Artromick Mobile Solutions Group
The addition of Artromick to Capsa Solutions will provide clients with a strong sales and service force that works as a cohesive team, with broader capabilities and the ability to deliver customers a wider array of services and more product options, for healthcare, retail and light manufacturing markets.
About Capsa Solutions
Capsa Solutions includes the MMI Med Cart, IRSG and Artromick Mobile Solutions lines of product. The company has over 100 years of combined experience providing solutions for multiple applications to the healthcare, retail and light manufacturing markets. Headquartered in Woodinville, Washington, the company has additional manufacturing, distribution and management facilities in Los Angeles, the Chicago area and Columbus, Ohio. To learn more, visit www.capsasolutions.com or call 800-437-6633.
************************************************************
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Kevin Mortesen
800-437-6633, ext. 2877
Todd Ross
800-848-6462
CAPSA SOLUTIONS ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF ARTROMICK MOBILE SOLUTIONS GROUP
Company Adds Additional Strength in the Long-Term and Acute Healthcare Markets
WOODINVILLE, WA and COLUMBUS, OH (December 1, 2009) – Capsa Solutions, a leading provider of storage, processing and transport products, has announced the acquisition of Artromick Mobile Solutions Group and their comprehensive line of medical and mobile computing carts for the extended and acute healthcare sectors.
Capsa Solutions currently services the needs for their healthcare, retail, and light manufacturing customers with MMI Med Carts and IRSG product lines. The addition of Artromick further widens a broad product offering for the healthcare market and offers Capsa Solutions’ customers more options.
“Artromick has a history of integrating superior design with the latest technology features to improve the efficiency of caregivers at the point of care,” said Capsa Solutions CEO Dave Burns. “The addition of Artromick to the Capsa Solutions family is an absolute win for our healthcare partners. Our spectrum of cart, storage, and mobility solutions fill needs for most any healthcare application. Artromick is a strong and healthy brand that will continue to grow as part of Capsa Solutions.”
The combined product lines of Artromick, MMI Med Carts and IRSG cover virtually every room of an acute or long-term healthcare facility. Included in the product portfolio are carts for point of care computing, medication control, anesthesia, malignant hyperthermia, transport and more. Additionally, the company’s high-density mobile storage and fixed shelving are key components for central supply and materials management and a host of additional specialty care carts serve varied roles in a facility.
“The acquisition of Artromick Mobile Solutions Group by Capsa Solutions creates a significantly stronger healthcare firm for our domestic and international core markets,” said Artromick CEO Paul Guth. “This alliance of products and professionals with extensive healthcare experience will drive new innovation that facilitates accuracy in the delivery of patient care.”
-more-
2-2-2-2/Capsa Solutions Acquires Artromick Mobile Solutions Group
The addition of Artromick to Capsa Solutions will provide clients with a strong sales and service force that works as a cohesive team, with broader capabilities and the ability to deliver customers a wider array of services and more product options, for healthcare, retail and light manufacturing markets.
About Capsa Solutions
Capsa Solutions includes the MMI Med Cart, IRSG and Artromick Mobile Solutions lines of product. The company has over 100 years of combined experience providing solutions for multiple applications to the healthcare, retail and light manufacturing markets. Headquartered in Woodinville, Washington, the company has additional manufacturing, distribution and management facilities in Los Angeles, the Chicago area and Columbus, Ohio. To learn more, visit www.capsasolutions.com or call 800-437-6633.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Value Analysis
VALUE ANALYSIS IN HEALTHCARE PURCHASING
We have another article request from a client. I promise I will get to my own scheduled series of articles someday, but I want to always give priority to customer inquiries. This most recent one piqued my attention because I was caught making a mistake, about which I have constantly lectured my HCS staff. I tell them they should, “Never speak to a client about products using industry jargon! Explain yourself clearly!”
And, as most of you know I spent the first 23 years of my career in health care purchasing for two different multi-billion dollar health care corporations (back when a billion dollars was serious money). And now my customers and staff are telling me that the things I say about purchasing (that I take for granted) sometimes come off as “jargon” to the rest of the world.
So, here is my oops and apologies to all! And this criticism really hit home just last week when another client asked me to expand on what I mean when I refer to the application of “Value Analysis” when making a purchasing decision. … so, as my penance, here goes my answer to your request in an overview of the purchasing process …
CATEGORIZING THE PURCHASE DECISION
My first advice to someone making a health care purchasing decision is that they should put that project into one of two categories. The first category is CONSUMABLES, DISPOSABLES, EXPENSABLES AND SERVICES (a good place to start might be to consider unit prices below 250-500), and the second category is CAPITAL PURCHASING (products with a depreciable useful life).
Next, the buyer must get comfortable with the idea that the process of purchasing items for one category is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from the process of purchasing items for the other.
And Dennis’ false assumption #1 is that everyone understood this basic premise.
CONSUMABLES, DISPOSABLES, EXPENSABLES AND SERVICES
Consumables, disposables, expensables and services are an easy category for purchasers. It is just like shopping for yourself! Everyone seems to be comfortable with this category and in fact my greatest criticism is that far too often the purchasing criteria for this category are used when purchasing capital equipment. Using a “consumables” approach to “capital purchasing” can be a huge and costly mistake.
AXIOM: WHEN ALL ELSE IS EQUAL, PURCHASE CONSUMABLES, DISPOSABLES, EXPENSABLES AND SERVICES AT THE LOWEST DELIVERED COST OF ACQUISITION!
CAPITAL PURCHASING
When it comes to capital purchasing the buyer should be ready to do some serious analytical work, especially when the TOTAL purchase is for a significant amount of money.
AXIOM: WHEN ALL ELSE IS EQUAL, PURCHASE CAPITAL EQUIPMENT AT THE LOWEST COST OF OWNERSHIP!
ESTABLISHING COST OF OWNERSHIP
Dennis’ false assumption #2; everyone understands the “value analysis” process which determines “the lowest cost of ownership”.
Let’s keep the example simple and generic. Let’s say the buyer has been told to purchase 100 new beds for their facility. The beds vary in price from 600 - 1600. Which one has the lowest cost of ownership?
It may come as a surprise to some, but the higher priced beds MIGHT have the lowest cost of ownership. Let’s examine that possibility.
DISCLAIMER: This example is not meant to represent a “value analysis” checklist. It is only an example of a few of the issues that might be considered when making a “value analysis” purchase. A good bed analysis will probably have at least 50 or more “value consideration” columns to review.
WHERE TO START?
An error that the inexperienced buyer might make is to START the purchasing process using the specifications from a known product. What the buyer should do is to look at what their facility is using now and try to determine what works and what doesn’t work for the staff … how much are the repair and maintenance costs? Have there been any injuries related to the product…to clients or employees? What bed features are on the employee’s wish list? Interview patients/residents, employees, your management team, the finance department, doctors and therapists regarding their needs for these beds. Speak to anyone who will talk to you about their ideas for the new beds. Be sure to discuss the “amortized” useful life and the “expected” useful life with management.
And after gathering this information, determine what features you NEED and what feature you WANT and then write your own specs to submit to the manufacturers!
AXIOM: WRITE YOUR OWN SPECS. USING SOMEONE ELSE’S SPEC GUARANTEES YOU WON’T GET THE BEST VALUE FOR YOUR COMPANY.
QUALIFY YOUR VENDORS
Make a list of all the POTENTIAL bed vendors and begin the process of qualifying (or disqualifying) them for your project. How long have they been in business? Are they financially stable (very important in today’s economy)? Are they a certified regulatory compliant manufacturer? Are they actually the manufacturer or just a distributor? When negotiating, you want to be sure you are speaking to the “organ grinder” and not to the “monkey”.
Make your selected list of vendors based on their qualifications and ONLY offer the chance to participate further to those vendors you have qualified. You do not need to include EVERY vendor. Once you have qualified a number of vendors for the project and shown them your specs to confirm that they are interested and capable, you only need enough vendors to make sure that the bid will be competitive.
EVALUATE THE MANUFACTURER’S RESPONSES And just as your business needs change, so does the manufacturing environment. An example of that would be that one of your qualified manufacturers may decide to go “off shore” for production. That manufacturer’s decision could/should dramatically change your weighted points of evaluation for the analysis and potentially alter the final purchasing decision.
A few, very large manufacturers have done very well with off shore production but most average size companies experience quality assurance challenges and you don’t want to be the guy caught in the middle of such a transition. Those are the kinds of things you are probing for when interviewing manufacturers.
MAKE FORWARD LOOKING DECISIONS
When you purchase consumables, disposables, expensables and services, those products are purchased for IMMEDIATE CONSUMPTION and are USED UP promptly. If you made an error, it is an easy one to correct and has very short-term financial impact.
When you make a capital equipment purchase you will own that equipment for a long time. The potential for significant financial impact due to a bad selection can be huge. In the case of our example, most beds are warranted for 15 years or more. Over the 15 years, those beds need TLC (parts, maintenance, repairs, touch-ups). The prudent buyer takes the knowledge of that need into account.
So, What if you purchased from a manufacturer who goes out of business? Or discontinues the product? Where will you get parts? Will you throw those beds away? What does that do to the expected useful life of your beds?
So, What if you purchased from a manufacturer who has regulatory problems? Are you going to throw those beds away? Risk Management will want you to do that? What does that do to the amortized value of the product? Is your company going to take a huge write-off?
So, what is your customer going to look like in 15 years? And will the bed you are buying today service that population? Are you going to replace the beds sooner if they don’t?
So, What if the bed that you purchased saved 200 per unit at the time of purchase but that bed requires 15 minutes a day of extra attention by staff? No big deal you say?
15 minutes per day times 100 beds = 25 hours per day
25 hours per day times 365 days per year = 9125 hours per year
9125 hours per year times 15 years (useful life) = 136,875 hours over the life of the beds
136,875 hours at ? per hour = ? .
If you use something conservative like 25 per hour the total is 3.5 million in wasted labor to save 20,000 in acquisition costs. I sure am glad I am not the person that made that buying decision!
AXIOM: AT THE VERY LEAST, HOLD THE PRODUCT AND THE MANUFACTURER ACCOUNTABLE TO PERFORM “AS EXPECTED” FOR THE AMORTIZED LIFE OF THE PRODUCT. MORE IS BETTER.
SUMMARY
I can only begin to “teach” about value analysis in 10 paragraphs, but let me conclude that “any effort” on the buyer’s part to make thoughtful capital purchasing decisions is better than “no effort at all”. Is it intimidating to do this the first time? Yes! But the goal is not to make a “perfect decision”. The goal is to make the “best decision possible” and document how you arrived at the decision … and so that is what I mean by citing the term “value analysis” when we talk about purchasing capital equipment.
Then, once you have made your decision, don’t be looking “over your shoulder” or second guessing yourself. Make the informed decision and embrace it. Execute your buying program in the most conscientious way. You will have the opportunity and the documentation to go back and see how well you did in two or three years (unless it was a REALLY bad decision and someone else like “the boss” beats you to it… just kidding…).
Purchasing decisions are often delegated by management to financial or operations people who do not have a great deal of purchasing experience. We hope that this outline will help those people move forward with their purchasing project with a new found confidence.
We have another article request from a client. I promise I will get to my own scheduled series of articles someday, but I want to always give priority to customer inquiries. This most recent one piqued my attention because I was caught making a mistake, about which I have constantly lectured my HCS staff. I tell them they should, “Never speak to a client about products using industry jargon! Explain yourself clearly!”
And, as most of you know I spent the first 23 years of my career in health care purchasing for two different multi-billion dollar health care corporations (back when a billion dollars was serious money). And now my customers and staff are telling me that the things I say about purchasing (that I take for granted) sometimes come off as “jargon” to the rest of the world.
So, here is my oops and apologies to all! And this criticism really hit home just last week when another client asked me to expand on what I mean when I refer to the application of “Value Analysis” when making a purchasing decision. … so, as my penance, here goes my answer to your request in an overview of the purchasing process …
CATEGORIZING THE PURCHASE DECISION
My first advice to someone making a health care purchasing decision is that they should put that project into one of two categories. The first category is CONSUMABLES, DISPOSABLES, EXPENSABLES AND SERVICES (a good place to start might be to consider unit prices below 250-500), and the second category is CAPITAL PURCHASING (products with a depreciable useful life).
Next, the buyer must get comfortable with the idea that the process of purchasing items for one category is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from the process of purchasing items for the other.
And Dennis’ false assumption #1 is that everyone understood this basic premise.
CONSUMABLES, DISPOSABLES, EXPENSABLES AND SERVICES
Consumables, disposables, expensables and services are an easy category for purchasers. It is just like shopping for yourself! Everyone seems to be comfortable with this category and in fact my greatest criticism is that far too often the purchasing criteria for this category are used when purchasing capital equipment. Using a “consumables” approach to “capital purchasing” can be a huge and costly mistake.
AXIOM: WHEN ALL ELSE IS EQUAL, PURCHASE CONSUMABLES, DISPOSABLES, EXPENSABLES AND SERVICES AT THE LOWEST DELIVERED COST OF ACQUISITION!
CAPITAL PURCHASING
When it comes to capital purchasing the buyer should be ready to do some serious analytical work, especially when the TOTAL purchase is for a significant amount of money.
AXIOM: WHEN ALL ELSE IS EQUAL, PURCHASE CAPITAL EQUIPMENT AT THE LOWEST COST OF OWNERSHIP!
ESTABLISHING COST OF OWNERSHIP
Dennis’ false assumption #2; everyone understands the “value analysis” process which determines “the lowest cost of ownership”.
Let’s keep the example simple and generic. Let’s say the buyer has been told to purchase 100 new beds for their facility. The beds vary in price from 600 - 1600. Which one has the lowest cost of ownership?
It may come as a surprise to some, but the higher priced beds MIGHT have the lowest cost of ownership. Let’s examine that possibility.
DISCLAIMER: This example is not meant to represent a “value analysis” checklist. It is only an example of a few of the issues that might be considered when making a “value analysis” purchase. A good bed analysis will probably have at least 50 or more “value consideration” columns to review.
WHERE TO START?
An error that the inexperienced buyer might make is to START the purchasing process using the specifications from a known product. What the buyer should do is to look at what their facility is using now and try to determine what works and what doesn’t work for the staff … how much are the repair and maintenance costs? Have there been any injuries related to the product…to clients or employees? What bed features are on the employee’s wish list? Interview patients/residents, employees, your management team, the finance department, doctors and therapists regarding their needs for these beds. Speak to anyone who will talk to you about their ideas for the new beds. Be sure to discuss the “amortized” useful life and the “expected” useful life with management.
And after gathering this information, determine what features you NEED and what feature you WANT and then write your own specs to submit to the manufacturers!
AXIOM: WRITE YOUR OWN SPECS. USING SOMEONE ELSE’S SPEC GUARANTEES YOU WON’T GET THE BEST VALUE FOR YOUR COMPANY.
QUALIFY YOUR VENDORS
Make a list of all the POTENTIAL bed vendors and begin the process of qualifying (or disqualifying) them for your project. How long have they been in business? Are they financially stable (very important in today’s economy)? Are they a certified regulatory compliant manufacturer? Are they actually the manufacturer or just a distributor? When negotiating, you want to be sure you are speaking to the “organ grinder” and not to the “monkey”.
Make your selected list of vendors based on their qualifications and ONLY offer the chance to participate further to those vendors you have qualified. You do not need to include EVERY vendor. Once you have qualified a number of vendors for the project and shown them your specs to confirm that they are interested and capable, you only need enough vendors to make sure that the bid will be competitive.
EVALUATE THE MANUFACTURER’S RESPONSES And just as your business needs change, so does the manufacturing environment. An example of that would be that one of your qualified manufacturers may decide to go “off shore” for production. That manufacturer’s decision could/should dramatically change your weighted points of evaluation for the analysis and potentially alter the final purchasing decision.
A few, very large manufacturers have done very well with off shore production but most average size companies experience quality assurance challenges and you don’t want to be the guy caught in the middle of such a transition. Those are the kinds of things you are probing for when interviewing manufacturers.
MAKE FORWARD LOOKING DECISIONS
When you purchase consumables, disposables, expensables and services, those products are purchased for IMMEDIATE CONSUMPTION and are USED UP promptly. If you made an error, it is an easy one to correct and has very short-term financial impact.
When you make a capital equipment purchase you will own that equipment for a long time. The potential for significant financial impact due to a bad selection can be huge. In the case of our example, most beds are warranted for 15 years or more. Over the 15 years, those beds need TLC (parts, maintenance, repairs, touch-ups). The prudent buyer takes the knowledge of that need into account.
So, What if you purchased from a manufacturer who goes out of business? Or discontinues the product? Where will you get parts? Will you throw those beds away? What does that do to the expected useful life of your beds?
So, What if you purchased from a manufacturer who has regulatory problems? Are you going to throw those beds away? Risk Management will want you to do that? What does that do to the amortized value of the product? Is your company going to take a huge write-off?
So, what is your customer going to look like in 15 years? And will the bed you are buying today service that population? Are you going to replace the beds sooner if they don’t?
So, What if the bed that you purchased saved 200 per unit at the time of purchase but that bed requires 15 minutes a day of extra attention by staff? No big deal you say?
15 minutes per day times 100 beds = 25 hours per day
25 hours per day times 365 days per year = 9125 hours per year
9125 hours per year times 15 years (useful life) = 136,875 hours over the life of the beds
136,875 hours at ? per hour = ? .
If you use something conservative like 25 per hour the total is 3.5 million in wasted labor to save 20,000 in acquisition costs. I sure am glad I am not the person that made that buying decision!
AXIOM: AT THE VERY LEAST, HOLD THE PRODUCT AND THE MANUFACTURER ACCOUNTABLE TO PERFORM “AS EXPECTED” FOR THE AMORTIZED LIFE OF THE PRODUCT. MORE IS BETTER.
SUMMARY
I can only begin to “teach” about value analysis in 10 paragraphs, but let me conclude that “any effort” on the buyer’s part to make thoughtful capital purchasing decisions is better than “no effort at all”. Is it intimidating to do this the first time? Yes! But the goal is not to make a “perfect decision”. The goal is to make the “best decision possible” and document how you arrived at the decision … and so that is what I mean by citing the term “value analysis” when we talk about purchasing capital equipment.
Then, once you have made your decision, don’t be looking “over your shoulder” or second guessing yourself. Make the informed decision and embrace it. Execute your buying program in the most conscientious way. You will have the opportunity and the documentation to go back and see how well you did in two or three years (unless it was a REALLY bad decision and someone else like “the boss” beats you to it… just kidding…).
Purchasing decisions are often delegated by management to financial or operations people who do not have a great deal of purchasing experience. We hope that this outline will help those people move forward with their purchasing project with a new found confidence.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Health Care Televisions
SELECTING TELEVISIONS FOR A HEALTHCARE FACILITY
This article is prompted by another client request. It is one that I have been putting off writing so that I could do additional “research”. In fact, I have been struggling to complete this article because I was looking for exactly the right answers. After working with another client yesterday, and helping that client make TV selections, I had a revelation! THERE IS NO “RIGHT” WAY TO DO THIS! No matter what decision you make, some aspects of the decision are likely to be compromised.
OK, now that I have gotten that out of the way, let’s get productive and talk about making the “BEST” decision.
CATEGORIES OF TELEVISIONS
TV’s are manufactured for specific applications. All of us have gone to Best Buy or Costco and gazed at the array of BIG screen, flat panel TV’s that are offered in plasma, LCD and now LED … All of those TV’s were made specifically for the RETAIL market. Retail TV’s are designed with features you and I want so we can use them in our homes. What is generally not understood is that there are also special televisions made with certain features for other applications; for the hospitality market, the long term care market and for use in hospitals.
I’m not going into a lot of detail here, but I do want to address some of the differentiating features.
Let’s start with “commercial” TVs. The commercial TV evolved from the demands of an industry that has been buying and using TV’s for more than 50 years, the HOSPITALITY industry (hotels and motels). Hospitality buyers have forgotten more details about buying and owning TV’s than the health care industry (a relatively new participant in this market) has had the opportunity to absorb. We can take some hints from the hospitality industry’s experience though and cobble onto some of the features on which they will not compromise … and by the way, the hospitality industry has NEVER been know for “wasting a dollar” so it is safe to assume that their standards are steeped in value.
Features of commercial TV’s are:
The” Long Term Care TV” is a relatively new addition to the line-up of TV choices (as is the LTC industry in providing TV’s for residents). Two features have been added to the commercial television to create the LTC TV:
The” Acute Care” TV (hospital grade) has all of the above features and adds a PILLOW SPEAKER option and better INFECTION CONTROL by utilizing a “sealed” cleanable case for the monitor. There are also some higher end features available (read higher priced) that also allow for DC powered systems and eventual conversion to touch screen and interactive applications.
SCREEN SIZE
So, putting all the “this is a guy thing” jokes aside, screen size is a function of the distance of the patient/resident to the television screen. There are formulae on the internet to readily help you calculate correct size screen. There is one additional important twist that everyone needs to understand about screen size and that is that when television went “digital”, the aspect ratio changed from 4:3 to 16:9 (we went widescreen). Almost all NEW flat panel televisions have been sized to optimize the 16:9 ratio. Some older flat panel television such as the 20”, now render a much smaller picture (for the 20” TV, about the equivalent of a 16-17” monitor) because the 20” TV was designed to optimize the 4:3 ratio.
MOUNTING THE TV
So now we have selected our TV … what else is there left to do besides setting it up?
Oops! Did I forget to tell you that we don’t recommend that you select the TV first? We need to figure out HOW and WHERE to mount the TV, and AFTER THAT pick the best TV option. My analogy for the commercial TV selection process (and to a lesser degree, buying a TV for your home) is taken from the early days of personal computing (and yes, I was there…). Often, people would rush out to buy a computer only to learn later that the software they wanted to run was not compatible with the computer they had just purchased. The same problem now arises with commercial TV’s … If you buy 22” TVs and then find out that the only practical place to mount them is clear across the room, you will be disappointed with the result because no one can see the picture that far away.
There are lots of TV mounting options to consider and then, once you select the option you want, there are then multiple styles of mounts; wall mounts, ceiling mounts, fixed mounts, articulating mounts, adjustable mounts, you name it mounts, to consider. Space available and construction of your building dictate the best choices for mounts. And even though almost all TV’s come with a table base included, we do not recommend using the table base in a commercial application. The table base is not secure from theft and is prone to being knocked over. WARNING: Some TV mounting systems can cost more than the television. Much more!
NOISE POLLUTION
The hospital grade unit has the only “built in” solution to noise pollution by providing the pillow speaker option and commercial and Long Term Care Grade TV’s can be programmed to “cap the volume”. There are a number of third party products that look like they have some promise to provide” personal sound” alternatives while working with other than just the hospital grade TVs. It is a little too soon to name any one of these the “panacea” for the industry. Keep in touch with Health Care Source and we will let you know as soon as we have a remote speaker product to endorse.
OTHER COOL STUFF
Don’t forget to ask us about single patient use hand controls.
AND LEST WE FORGET! THE REGULATIONS
In California we must take OSHPD regulations into account. If you are adding televisions as part of an OSHPD approved remodel, they will want details about the TV and the TV mounting device you have selected. As a point of reference, most 26” or smaller commercial TV’s weigh less than 20 lbs.
More important to regulatory considerations in the long term care use of televisions are the new CMS “Home Like Environment” guidelines. The long term care industry was beginning to trend toward an “acute care” approach to mounting their televisions on “swing away” mounting arms attached to the wall or the ceiling.
Unfortunately, the swing away arm mount is not anything that you would ever see in a home like environment. They are, oh how can I be kind here?…. quite ugly, invasive and very institutional in nature. I do not see now how this mechanism could be disguised, and so, given the new CMS guidelines, I don’t think the “articulating arm” is a practical mounting application for a Skilled Nursing facility’s televisions.
CONCLUSION
So now do you see why I said; “THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO DO THIS”?
We think the “BEST” way for our client to make a good decision regarding TV selection is to establish values and then measure the choices against those values.
Why are you purchasing the TV’s for the facility? Is it for competitive marketing reasons? Is it for patient/resident satisfaction (an amenity)? Is it to offer diversion to the patient/resident? Is it some other reason/reasons?
If the client has weighed their values to determine what is most important to them and then shares that decision with one of our HealthCare Source staff, then with our expertise and experience, we can together quickly identify the “best solution” and opt for the “best value” in televisions, mounts and accessories.
This article is prompted by another client request. It is one that I have been putting off writing so that I could do additional “research”. In fact, I have been struggling to complete this article because I was looking for exactly the right answers. After working with another client yesterday, and helping that client make TV selections, I had a revelation! THERE IS NO “RIGHT” WAY TO DO THIS! No matter what decision you make, some aspects of the decision are likely to be compromised.
OK, now that I have gotten that out of the way, let’s get productive and talk about making the “BEST” decision.
CATEGORIES OF TELEVISIONS
TV’s are manufactured for specific applications. All of us have gone to Best Buy or Costco and gazed at the array of BIG screen, flat panel TV’s that are offered in plasma, LCD and now LED … All of those TV’s were made specifically for the RETAIL market. Retail TV’s are designed with features you and I want so we can use them in our homes. What is generally not understood is that there are also special televisions made with certain features for other applications; for the hospitality market, the long term care market and for use in hospitals.
I’m not going into a lot of detail here, but I do want to address some of the differentiating features.
Let’s start with “commercial” TVs. The commercial TV evolved from the demands of an industry that has been buying and using TV’s for more than 50 years, the HOSPITALITY industry (hotels and motels). Hospitality buyers have forgotten more details about buying and owning TV’s than the health care industry (a relatively new participant in this market) has had the opportunity to absorb. We can take some hints from the hospitality industry’s experience though and cobble onto some of the features on which they will not compromise … and by the way, the hospitality industry has NEVER been know for “wasting a dollar” so it is safe to assume that their standards are steeped in value.
Features of commercial TV’s are:
- Special software that allows you to program one TV and then “one touch program” all the other TV’s with that same remote. Think about this feature in the health care context of having “pre-tuned” a control for a foreign language preference, one for sports and one for programs of medical interest. When a new patient/resident moves in to the facility, you can “one touch” the TV to be specific to that patient/resident’s preferences.
- Warranty. Some commercial TV manufacturers who “toughen” their commercial product also offer special extended warranties in the commercial environment. In almost all cases, delivering a retail grade TV for use in a commercial environment VOIDS the manufacturer’s warranty. BEWARE!
- Limits on sound adjustments to avoid noise pollution.
- The TV always turns “on” to a specific channel. This is a great feature if the facility has invested in a personalized channel receiver and uses the channel for daily announcements and other information. Individual patient/resident schedules can even be displayed on a specific TV screen only. This is similar to the ability to check your hotel bill from the TV in your room.
The” Long Term Care TV” is a relatively new addition to the line-up of TV choices (as is the LTC industry in providing TV’s for residents). Two features have been added to the commercial television to create the LTC TV:
- A simplified hand control for a less “sophisticated” user.
- Discrete IR which eliminates “cross talk” between two television remotes in the same room.
The” Acute Care” TV (hospital grade) has all of the above features and adds a PILLOW SPEAKER option and better INFECTION CONTROL by utilizing a “sealed” cleanable case for the monitor. There are also some higher end features available (read higher priced) that also allow for DC powered systems and eventual conversion to touch screen and interactive applications.
SCREEN SIZE
So, putting all the “this is a guy thing” jokes aside, screen size is a function of the distance of the patient/resident to the television screen. There are formulae on the internet to readily help you calculate correct size screen. There is one additional important twist that everyone needs to understand about screen size and that is that when television went “digital”, the aspect ratio changed from 4:3 to 16:9 (we went widescreen). Almost all NEW flat panel televisions have been sized to optimize the 16:9 ratio. Some older flat panel television such as the 20”, now render a much smaller picture (for the 20” TV, about the equivalent of a 16-17” monitor) because the 20” TV was designed to optimize the 4:3 ratio.
MOUNTING THE TV
So now we have selected our TV … what else is there left to do besides setting it up?
Oops! Did I forget to tell you that we don’t recommend that you select the TV first? We need to figure out HOW and WHERE to mount the TV, and AFTER THAT pick the best TV option. My analogy for the commercial TV selection process (and to a lesser degree, buying a TV for your home) is taken from the early days of personal computing (and yes, I was there…). Often, people would rush out to buy a computer only to learn later that the software they wanted to run was not compatible with the computer they had just purchased. The same problem now arises with commercial TV’s … If you buy 22” TVs and then find out that the only practical place to mount them is clear across the room, you will be disappointed with the result because no one can see the picture that far away.
There are lots of TV mounting options to consider and then, once you select the option you want, there are then multiple styles of mounts; wall mounts, ceiling mounts, fixed mounts, articulating mounts, adjustable mounts, you name it mounts, to consider. Space available and construction of your building dictate the best choices for mounts. And even though almost all TV’s come with a table base included, we do not recommend using the table base in a commercial application. The table base is not secure from theft and is prone to being knocked over. WARNING: Some TV mounting systems can cost more than the television. Much more!
NOISE POLLUTION
The hospital grade unit has the only “built in” solution to noise pollution by providing the pillow speaker option and commercial and Long Term Care Grade TV’s can be programmed to “cap the volume”. There are a number of third party products that look like they have some promise to provide” personal sound” alternatives while working with other than just the hospital grade TVs. It is a little too soon to name any one of these the “panacea” for the industry. Keep in touch with Health Care Source and we will let you know as soon as we have a remote speaker product to endorse.
OTHER COOL STUFF
Don’t forget to ask us about single patient use hand controls.
AND LEST WE FORGET! THE REGULATIONS
In California we must take OSHPD regulations into account. If you are adding televisions as part of an OSHPD approved remodel, they will want details about the TV and the TV mounting device you have selected. As a point of reference, most 26” or smaller commercial TV’s weigh less than 20 lbs.
More important to regulatory considerations in the long term care use of televisions are the new CMS “Home Like Environment” guidelines. The long term care industry was beginning to trend toward an “acute care” approach to mounting their televisions on “swing away” mounting arms attached to the wall or the ceiling.
Unfortunately, the swing away arm mount is not anything that you would ever see in a home like environment. They are, oh how can I be kind here?…. quite ugly, invasive and very institutional in nature. I do not see now how this mechanism could be disguised, and so, given the new CMS guidelines, I don’t think the “articulating arm” is a practical mounting application for a Skilled Nursing facility’s televisions.
CONCLUSION
So now do you see why I said; “THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO DO THIS”?
We think the “BEST” way for our client to make a good decision regarding TV selection is to establish values and then measure the choices against those values.
Why are you purchasing the TV’s for the facility? Is it for competitive marketing reasons? Is it for patient/resident satisfaction (an amenity)? Is it to offer diversion to the patient/resident? Is it some other reason/reasons?
If the client has weighed their values to determine what is most important to them and then shares that decision with one of our HealthCare Source staff, then with our expertise and experience, we can together quickly identify the “best solution” and opt for the “best value” in televisions, mounts and accessories.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Dealer Services
WHAT SERVICES SHOULD I EXPECT FROM A HEALTH CARE DEALER?
This article was written at the request of one of our clients. The e-mail inquiry, which was sent to “The Boren Report”, pointed out that there is a lot of confusion as to who is and who is not a dealer. Also, in the e-mail message the client asked about what they were paying for when they purchased from a dealer instead of purchasing factory direct.
Nobody said writing my “blog” would be easy, and this is indeed a challenging question to answer. Given that there are entire books written about how “distribution channels” function, I am going to try and answer the question in a concise and somewhat generic manner. My goal is to provide the buyer with enough information to help determine whether or not they are getting their money’s worth when they employ a dealer.
A BASIC DEFINITION:
A DEALER: A dealer is an individual or a company who purchases product from a manufacturer and then re-sells it to the end user. The dealer’s selling price to the end user includes a “mark up” on his cost to pay for any additional “value added” services that the dealer could provide to an end user. Some dealers will unbundle their services and allow the buyer to “shop” for only those services they need. Other dealers will only offer a fixed package of services. And then, there are those dealers that charge a mark up and offer the end user very little in return. Hopefully this article will help protect you from the latter.
You may ask me, what is confusing about this definition of a dealer? I think people are finding the dealer relationship confusing because, in practice, some companies who operate in the health care “distribution channel” WANT it to be confusing. On opposite ends of the distribution scale, we see well known manufacturers who are acting as dealers and well known dealers who like to appear as though they are a “factory direct” source. No wonder there is confusion.
To get closer to a working definition of a dealer, let’s examine and define a list of “value added” dealer services that the buyer might get with the products they buy.
PRODUCT SPECIFICATION:
Product specification, especially in health care equipment is CRITICAL. Health Care is one of the most highly regulated industries in the world and answers to a matrix of Federal, State, regional and private regulators. Errors and omissions in product specifications can lead to a host of problems. A knowledgeable dealer should have a good grasp of these issues and help you make the right selections. We recently worked with a facility which was making a purchase of new furniture. The dealer (a national supplier) that they were planning to use was not aware of the California Air Resources Board standards for toxic emissions from furniture (this is a VERY real health issue) and had specified non-compliant products for this facility. The CARB regulation went into effect in California on January 1, 2009, eight months ago. The dealer in question was clearly out of touch with State and regional requirements. Had the facility made the planned purchase, they would have had significant liability exposure in case of resident illness.
Some dealers will also help the buyer with color recommendations and fabric selection or they will refer the buyer to a qualified health care designer to assist in this process. When you think about the fact that you want your capital equipment purchases to last for seven to fifteen years, and that you will be looking at them for that long, GOOD design is a GOOD investment.
FINANCING:
Out of the specification frying pan and into the financing fire! Financing is one of the benchmark services of dealers. Manufacturers do not finance … dealers finance! If you think you are getting financing from a factory, then one or more of three things is probably happening: 1. The factory is using a third party financier 2. The factory is actually a dealer and passing themselves off as a manufacturer 3. You are paying a financing fee which is pocketed by the manufacturer. When you finance through a dealer, especially a local dealer, the terms are generally more transparent and negotiable. Always consider obtaining your financing independent of ANY third party.
ORDERING:
There is lots of paperwork and legal mumbo jumbo involved in placing an order, especially for capital equipment. A knowledgeable dealer should handle this process for you and make sure you get the product you intended to buy.
EXPEDITING:
Expediting is the “are we there yet?” of dealer services. Keeping track of when product is shipping, if it is shipping on schedule, checking with the factory regularly regarding the order status, and alerting the end user ahead of time that their shipment will be arriving on a given day is the expeditors’ job. This is another valuable dealer service.
RECEIVING:
What do you mean you are in the “middle of survey” and you have no place to park a 75’ long truck, much less receive the shipment? A full service dealer will receive the merchandise for you at his dock until YOU are ready to take delivery. Also, when you take “direct shipment” you are technically responsible for freight damage once product leaves the factory (that what FOB means). When you purchase through a dealer, the dealer assumes that responsibility for you. Look closely at this issue anytime a dealer wants to “drop ship” product into your facility.
INVENTORY:
A full service dealer will immediately un-package and inspect your shipment. The buyer has a VERY limited window to report errors, omissions and damage. Too often the staff at a facility do not have the time to “get around to doing this inspection”, and by the time they do, it is too late. Plus, if there is a problem with the product, that “problem” is not sitting in the middle of your facility, waiting to be resolved.
STORAGE:
Is your re-modeling project running behind schedule and you are not ready to take delivery? A full service dealer will store and protect you product until you are ready to take delivery.
ASSEMBLY:
Does that product that arrived in the box look like an “erector set” when you opened it? A full service dealer will have qualified staff toassemble your product for you.
DELIVERY:
A full service dealer will deliver your purchase to your door with trained staff and an appropriately sized vehicle.
INSTALLATION:
A full service dealer will install the products you have purchased using “bonded” employees who may safely enter your facility.
REMOVAL:
A full service dealer will have an empty truck when the installation is complete. Most will haul away cartons and packing materials and often any old product you want to dispose of.
CONCLUSION:
So, how about it? Using this article and the inclusive list of dealer services as your scale: 1. Was your most recent purchase transaction made with a manufacturer or with a manufacturer acting as a dealer or with a dealer 2. If it was a dealer, were they a full service dealer, and 3. If you are paying for dealer services, are you getting the dealer services you are paying for??????
And for our client who asked this question, please let me know if I have answered to your satisfaction.
This article was written at the request of one of our clients. The e-mail inquiry, which was sent to “The Boren Report”, pointed out that there is a lot of confusion as to who is and who is not a dealer. Also, in the e-mail message the client asked about what they were paying for when they purchased from a dealer instead of purchasing factory direct.
Nobody said writing my “blog” would be easy, and this is indeed a challenging question to answer. Given that there are entire books written about how “distribution channels” function, I am going to try and answer the question in a concise and somewhat generic manner. My goal is to provide the buyer with enough information to help determine whether or not they are getting their money’s worth when they employ a dealer.
A BASIC DEFINITION:
A DEALER: A dealer is an individual or a company who purchases product from a manufacturer and then re-sells it to the end user. The dealer’s selling price to the end user includes a “mark up” on his cost to pay for any additional “value added” services that the dealer could provide to an end user. Some dealers will unbundle their services and allow the buyer to “shop” for only those services they need. Other dealers will only offer a fixed package of services. And then, there are those dealers that charge a mark up and offer the end user very little in return. Hopefully this article will help protect you from the latter.
You may ask me, what is confusing about this definition of a dealer? I think people are finding the dealer relationship confusing because, in practice, some companies who operate in the health care “distribution channel” WANT it to be confusing. On opposite ends of the distribution scale, we see well known manufacturers who are acting as dealers and well known dealers who like to appear as though they are a “factory direct” source. No wonder there is confusion.
To get closer to a working definition of a dealer, let’s examine and define a list of “value added” dealer services that the buyer might get with the products they buy.
PRODUCT SPECIFICATION:
Product specification, especially in health care equipment is CRITICAL. Health Care is one of the most highly regulated industries in the world and answers to a matrix of Federal, State, regional and private regulators. Errors and omissions in product specifications can lead to a host of problems. A knowledgeable dealer should have a good grasp of these issues and help you make the right selections. We recently worked with a facility which was making a purchase of new furniture. The dealer (a national supplier) that they were planning to use was not aware of the California Air Resources Board standards for toxic emissions from furniture (this is a VERY real health issue) and had specified non-compliant products for this facility. The CARB regulation went into effect in California on January 1, 2009, eight months ago. The dealer in question was clearly out of touch with State and regional requirements. Had the facility made the planned purchase, they would have had significant liability exposure in case of resident illness.
Some dealers will also help the buyer with color recommendations and fabric selection or they will refer the buyer to a qualified health care designer to assist in this process. When you think about the fact that you want your capital equipment purchases to last for seven to fifteen years, and that you will be looking at them for that long, GOOD design is a GOOD investment.
FINANCING:
Out of the specification frying pan and into the financing fire! Financing is one of the benchmark services of dealers. Manufacturers do not finance … dealers finance! If you think you are getting financing from a factory, then one or more of three things is probably happening: 1. The factory is using a third party financier 2. The factory is actually a dealer and passing themselves off as a manufacturer 3. You are paying a financing fee which is pocketed by the manufacturer. When you finance through a dealer, especially a local dealer, the terms are generally more transparent and negotiable. Always consider obtaining your financing independent of ANY third party.
ORDERING:
There is lots of paperwork and legal mumbo jumbo involved in placing an order, especially for capital equipment. A knowledgeable dealer should handle this process for you and make sure you get the product you intended to buy.
EXPEDITING:
Expediting is the “are we there yet?” of dealer services. Keeping track of when product is shipping, if it is shipping on schedule, checking with the factory regularly regarding the order status, and alerting the end user ahead of time that their shipment will be arriving on a given day is the expeditors’ job. This is another valuable dealer service.
RECEIVING:
What do you mean you are in the “middle of survey” and you have no place to park a 75’ long truck, much less receive the shipment? A full service dealer will receive the merchandise for you at his dock until YOU are ready to take delivery. Also, when you take “direct shipment” you are technically responsible for freight damage once product leaves the factory (that what FOB means). When you purchase through a dealer, the dealer assumes that responsibility for you. Look closely at this issue anytime a dealer wants to “drop ship” product into your facility.
INVENTORY:
A full service dealer will immediately un-package and inspect your shipment. The buyer has a VERY limited window to report errors, omissions and damage. Too often the staff at a facility do not have the time to “get around to doing this inspection”, and by the time they do, it is too late. Plus, if there is a problem with the product, that “problem” is not sitting in the middle of your facility, waiting to be resolved.
STORAGE:
Is your re-modeling project running behind schedule and you are not ready to take delivery? A full service dealer will store and protect you product until you are ready to take delivery.
ASSEMBLY:
Does that product that arrived in the box look like an “erector set” when you opened it? A full service dealer will have qualified staff toassemble your product for you.
DELIVERY:
A full service dealer will deliver your purchase to your door with trained staff and an appropriately sized vehicle.
INSTALLATION:
A full service dealer will install the products you have purchased using “bonded” employees who may safely enter your facility.
REMOVAL:
A full service dealer will have an empty truck when the installation is complete. Most will haul away cartons and packing materials and often any old product you want to dispose of.
CONCLUSION:
So, how about it? Using this article and the inclusive list of dealer services as your scale: 1. Was your most recent purchase transaction made with a manufacturer or with a manufacturer acting as a dealer or with a dealer 2. If it was a dealer, were they a full service dealer, and 3. If you are paying for dealer services, are you getting the dealer services you are paying for??????
And for our client who asked this question, please let me know if I have answered to your satisfaction.
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