Pens, pencils, Post-its—setting out to save on supplies

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Denice Bredlow, Fazi Amirahmadi, Deb Hagen-Moe

April 2014—The Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology is one of the largest departments at Mayo Clinic, with approximately 3,250 employees who work in 61 specialty labs at seven locations across Rochester, Minn. Throughout this large department, about 300 employees are designated to order supplies for their work units, which consist of laboratory and support staff. Before 2008, there was no standard process for ordering office supplies, which led to inefficient practices and escalating costs over time.

In November 2008, an initial study was conducted to identify the number and styles of office supply items ordered in 2008. The study, completed by our supply chain management analysts, revealed that 7,700 different styles of items, such as pens, tape, and binders, were ordered. This report raised concern that staff may have been ordering office supplies based on personal preference versus need for a specific item. For example, 217 different types of pens were ordered, with a wide range in cost per item, when perhaps only five style options would have been adequate to meet employees’ needs. As a result of this review, a nine-person continuous improvement (CI) team, consisting of supervisors and support staff from different divisions within the department, was formed. The CI team incorporated Lean principles to eliminate office supply waste by reducing the number of unique items ordered and standardizing and simplifying the office supply ordering process.

Department leadership directed the team to reduce office supply expenses by five percent for 2009, as defined by Mayo Clinic leadership. In collaboration with departmental supply chain management and a systems engineer, the following data were obtained: office supply costs for 2008, total number of styles of various items (7,700, which includes standard and special-order items), and average time spent per week ordering office supplies per designee (30 to 60 minutes). This provided the benchmark to compare future office supply expenditures, the number of item styles ordered, and the work effort required per week.

We used root cause analysis to analyze the causes of the high cost of office supplies, which revealed there was no standard office supply list from which to order, no standard process for ordering, and no training for those who do the ordering.

As a way to improve the ordering process, the team addressed the three major causes for high supply expenses and suggested the following solutions.

Create a standard office supply list. The CI team reviewed the 2008 office supply raw data. Duplicate items were removed from the list and remaining items were sorted into categories and reviewed for the number of orders per item and number of divisions ordering the same item. We then compared the cost and quantity of similar styles of items. We developed the following criteria to determine which items would be placed on a standard office supply list to be used by everyone within the department: multiple divisions need the item, there is a documented departmental need (item is necessary to perform a specific task as verified by a supervisor), and the cost and quality are acceptable (the lowest-cost item wasn’t always the most cost-effective).

The table above provides a sample of the number of items with similar functions that were ordered before and after the improvement phase of the project. This step confirmed our previous suspicion that supplies were being ordered based on preference versus need. For example, in 2008, 29 different styles of clipboards were ordered, when a single plastic style would have met the needs of all users. The number of unique items ordered was reduced from 7,700 to 400.

The team shared its findings with the stakeholders. The stakeholders had the opportunity to review the items that were going to be included and excluded from the standard office supply list, and to offer additional information about why a particular item was needed based on their work requirements. The team discovered there were situations in which specific office supplies were needed. For example, a certain type of label was needed because it would adhere to frozen blood tubes. To address this, each division created area-specific lists of items needed to perform daily duties but that did not meet the criteria for inclusion on the standard office supply list. The CI team considered all of the feedback it obtained before finalizing the standard office supply list, which is available electronically as a reference for those responsible for ordering supplies.

The team developed a process for updating the list so that it reflects item availability and any item changes on the ordering Web site. For instance, when the supplier of copy paper was changed, the list was updated and the correct ordering information was available on the ordering Web site. Ordering designees understand that the list is not static and that changes may be made at any time, in addition to at the time of its annual review, to ensure that the information is correct at all times.

Create a standard operating procedure for ordering supplies. We created a documented process to ensure everyone would be aware of how supplies were to be ordered. In addition to the new policy, a standard operating procedure was created as a step-by-step guide for ordering, including, for nondesignees, how to look up items on the Web site. We developed a form for requests to order items that were not on the standard office supply list, either as a one-time request or as an ongoing request. Supervisor approval is required before the office supply committee (created from project team members to manage ongoing departmental supply expenditures) can approve the request for addition to either list.

Train personnel who order supplies. A new policy and procedure of this magnitude required a robust training program for the some 300 ordering designees within the department. In a presentation made during work unit and management meetings, we explained not just the changes being made but also the rationale. The goal was to reduce resistance from those accustomed to ordering whatever they preferred without regard to cost or quality. Work unit supervisors, divisional laboratory operation managers, and medical directors were informed in a similar manner.

As part of the training plan, a card called “Did you know?” was created and shared with office supply ordering designees to highlight the project’s findings (see box).

As a result of the improved supplies process: