Would there be a cost saving if we asked a service provider to supply one contract across a hospital or even better a trust working on the principle that volume equates to discount.
Say for example GE were to quote one contract for the trust instead contracts by department budget would you not be able to claim discount by volume.

That happens at the trust i work for..

Wards ordering willy nilly is old school..EBME depts should be in control of what is coming through the door..sorting prices..deals..that sort of thing.

Back to how things used to be, you mean?

@Blue: there's nothing wrong with asking for a discount ... it's called "negotiating"!

Geoff,
I am not asking for a discount i am saying if you add all of your products to one supplier which relates to a single £ pound value you should Demand a discount based on volume.

Blue

Saying your not asking for a discount then saying demand a discount doesnt make much sense or am i being slow because its friday?

Either way..Ask for discount..why not?

Many times have i seen free devices on fact that we would be buying there giving sets.. or even free stock items for us to do the repairs...Dont ask dont get..

But more so...Yes..You (EBME) should be looking at the big picture..taking control of purchasing and holding the cards so to say.. hope this helps

Yes ... volume discount. That's hardly a new idea. It sometimes works with bananas (especially if they're already a bit over-ripe).

But I find that it's not so popular in the UK as it used to be in the souks, for instance.

I've also tried the "regular customer" tactic in supermarkets here, but even then the Blighters never want to play ball!

The down side is, of course, that (just like in the shop) you're putting all your eggs in one basket! Which could translate to:- then they'll have you by the [censored], as it were.

We are part of a group of hospitals that is getting together all their service contracts and are getting very good discounts.
Now if this was done on a national basis........ After all most of us work for the NATIONAL Health Service.

Robert

PS Yes I am aware of Supply Chain and we get better discounts than they offer

You have not got a Tesco Club Card then.
Robert

What is the point of the NHS Supply Chain?
They were put into existence to use the buying power of the entire NHS to negotiate bulk discounts. Almost every company we talk to offer us discounts above the NHS Supply Chain rates. An example of this was; I tried to get a bulk discount from Zoll for defib batteries & they said that the deal they negotiated with us undercut the NHS Supply Chain price by about £45. Being the trusting soul that I am I checked the price & they were right.
Has anybody found the NHS supply Chain benficial?

It would appear that the de facto point of the NHS Supply Chain is to serve as a reference "benchmark" for pricing. In that way, sellers are able to say things like "the price we are offering is such-as-such under the Supply Chain price" ... and you know where to go to check whether that is the case!

In short ... they are Custodians of the Master Price List!

Do they still have (or have they ever had) warehouses, stores, trucks, lots of staff - and stuff like that? If so, they it must have also been a Job Creation Scheme!