When the global pandemic struck in 2020, we had long been working with Southern Health providing business supplies to its various sites. It was without hesitation that we stepped up our resources to help store, manage and provide an end user delivery solution for their PPE and medical products, resolving a massive challenge the Trust had in distributing essential stock as the pandemic progressed.

Before the pandemic, the Trust’s team would order PPE from NHS Supply Chain. However, in March 2020 a push model was implemented, with a centralised supply channel delivering pallets of PPE to a single location. On Saturday 21st March the Trust received 180,000 masks, 54,000 aprons and 200 bottles of sanitiser. The new push model presented a major challenge for Southern Health. It required multiple elements to be in place including:

• NHS staff being seconded onto the project
• Creating standard operating procedures and templates for processing orders
• NHS staff being redeployed as hub coordinators, administrators and drivers
• Meeting rooms being reallocated as storerooms
• Additional off site secure storage required

Whilst this model was effective, it was incredibly resource intensive and unsustainable.

Business as usual was out of the window and multiple staff at all levels were focussing their time and efforts in managing and distributing PPE stock. The Trust didn’t have the infrastructure or resources to manage the volume of stock, let alone the transportation required to ensure the much-needed PPE was rapidly dispatched to over 300 buildings.

Natural fit

The Business Supplies Group (BSG) is known for providing a single source solution, allowing NHS authorities to consolidate across multiple product categories to optimise indirect procurement, logistics and supply chain processes.

BSG had been a proven supplier to Southern Health for many years, helping to deliver business products and services, together with storage and stock management of the Trust’s own stock lines. We were therefore a natural fit to help with the its PPE logistics.

The new PPE logistics service included:

• Warehouse allocation of 100 pallet locations
• £250,000 product insurance
• Bulk deliveries received from NHS supply chain on a daily basis
• Liaison with authority confirming actual stock received on a daily basis
• Merge like-products to manage the wide variety of NHS pushed stock
• Enriched product information with product images to help end users to select the right product
• Liaison with authority to inform of low stock lines on a daily basis
• Management of stock expiry dates
• Provision of weekly stock take
• The splitting of packs to single items to make quantity delivered end user friendly
• Customer service support with end-of-day catchup
• End user ordering platform with authorisation processes
• Set up new users/cost centers to be able to view PPE catalogue
• AM next day end user delivery solution to 300 sites
• Provision of management information and reporting

In a matter of weeks, the new system was up and running, but this was no mean feat. It involved creating and inputting all the additional product codes into our online ordering system, arranging for all the PPE to be sent to our warehouse and organising the items so they could be picked and distributed the same day with ease. By July 2020, 20 different products were being delivered. The team had to be flexible as the delivery was erratic at times and at one point we were holding 1,000,000 gloves in stock for the Trust.

Stats

• 90 pallets stocked
• 1,500 pick lines per month
• 600 deliveries per month

Our new system enabled the Trust’s teams to use our existing online business supplies portal to order their PPE, which our drivers would deliver on a next day service to multiple locations. We even organised special cover on Christmas day. We were also able to provide daily stock reports, which allowed the Trust to release re-deployed staff.

There were ongoing challenges, for example, PPE stock being recalled, meaning we had to quarantine certain items and new products constantly being introduced. Despite these challenges, the system was a success. The Trust has reported that during the course of the pandemic they believe that all staff had the PPE they needed.

The provision has continued in place since 2020 and is due to end in March 2024.

“We are incredibly grateful to BSG for rising to the challenge and supporting us at what was an incredibly difficult time. What would normally have been a six-month project was up and running in a matter of weeks – which just goes to show what you can achieve with the right partner and mindset. BSG's flexibility and can-do attitude during Covid has really reinforced their value as a supplier.”