Not your father's supply chain. Following best practices to manage inventory can help you save big.

Today, supply chain metrics should be more strategic rather than transactional in nature. They should provide a for greater understanding of the relationship between supply chain manage ment, clinical outcomes and patient safety. In addition to taking a comprehensive look at inventory value, materials managers should assess strategies to reduce theft and consider third-party logistics managers where appropriate. This article provides direction for best practices in inventory management and suggests supply chain metrics that can be employed to improve performance.