Medline and AdventHealth Announce Partnership to Strengthen Future Supply Chain

• By Laurie Watanabe
• Aug 17, 2023

Medline and AdventHealth have announced a partnership designed to strengthen supply chain continuity going forward.

In an Aug. 8 announcement, the companies said, “Three years after COVID-19 emerged and began impacting the global supply chain, many industries, including healthcare, are still dealing with the impacts of the supply chain disruption. Like other health systems, AdventHealth has taken many measures to ensure the continuity of its supply chain so that its team members have what they need to provide exceptional whole-person care to patients. Some of these measures include utilizing multiple manufacturers and diversified suppliers, increasing its focus on domestic and near-shore production, and partnering with other health systems to create a more robust supply chain.”

AdventHealth said the new Medline partnership will “create a comprehensive solution that will ensure supply chain resiliency,” and noted that Medline is “the industry leader in healthcare supplies manufacturing and distribution across the full continuum of care.”

Via the new partnership, the two companies “will leverage each organization’s strengths to bolster a healthy supply chain, allowing AdventHealth to own its inventory and distribution strategy and create a structure to accommodate future growth.”

AdventHealth “will continue to utilize Medline as its prime vendor distributor for all medical and surgical supplies throughout its network of more than 50 hospitals and additional care sites in nine states,” the announcement added. “Additional benefits to AdventHealth include the ability to purchase equipment and assets with Medline’s buying power and access Medline’s distribution network in the event of an emergency.”

Medline and AdventHealth will co-develop a 300,000 square-foot AdventHealth Consolidated Service Center (CSC), a project now under way in central Florida. “The two organizations will co-operate the CSC using a blended staffing model, which includes AdventHealth and Medline team members. In addition, Medline will utilize the 250,000-square-foot space adjacent to the CSC for non-AdventHealth inventory.” The CSC is expected to be completed in early 2024.

Jim Abrams, COO for Medline, said in the announcement, “Building on our long-standing partnership with the AdventHealth team and leveraging Medline’s substantial expertise in real estate and construction, as well as distribution and transportation operations, together we crafted a cohesive supply chain solution to best meet the future needs of their providers and patients. I firmly believe that these steps demonstrate the value and impact of a highly integrated partnership, where we will consistently challenge the limits of supply chain operations and pioneer innovative frameworks for enhancing future supply chain resilience.”