Plexxus and Mohawk Medbuy See Ongoing Successes with Large-Scale Joint RFPs

In March 2019, two of Ontario’s largest public health care supply chain service organizations – Mohawk Medbuy and Plexxus – formed MPSC (MMC Plexxus Sourcing Collaborative) to undertake large-scale, joint sourcing initiatives. The hospitals supported by MPSC account for almost 90% of the acute care beds in Ontario and 100% in New Brunswick and PEI.

On behalf of these hospitals, MPSC is conducting approximately 50 sourcing initiatives for medical/surgical products, with the majority either completed or underway. These include some of the largest health care related Request for Proposals (RFPs) in Canada – representing annual contract spend of almost half a billion dollars.

The first MPSC contracts awarded were for heart valves and other cardiac-related products. These support approximately 4,000 patients a year at 11 Ontario hospitals and one in New Brunswick that have funding to perform surgical procedures for heart valve repair and replacement.

MPSC’s sourcing process utilizes thorough clinical engagement which, for these initiatives, involved working closely with cardiologists. The resulting contracts will generate annual savings of approximately $950K (9.3%) – almost $5.0M over the next five years.

This tremendous success is due, in part, to strong, supportive partnerships with the supplier community and a collaborative approach that delivers great outcomes for the health sector. MPSC joint initiatives are beneficial to suppliers, as well – saving them administrative time by reducing the number of agreements they have to manage.

“This is an extraordinary accomplishment for MPSC, and a nod to how effectively we work together,” said Tony DiEmanuele, President and CEO of Mohawk Medbuy. “This highly successful collaboration between MMC and Plexxus opens the door for more joint sourcing opportunities by leveraging our combined procurement and clinical expertise.”

With the emergence of COVID-19, Mohawk Medbuy and Plexxus shifted their focus to sourcing critical personal protective equipment (PPE) for acute and non-acute health care providers.

Now, with some stability returning to the supply chain for PPE, MPSC has ramped up activity that was paused due to the pandemic.

Currently, three large initiatives for IV Solutions, Sutures and ENT products valued at almost $60M in annual spend are in the evaluation stage, with hospitals doing clinical scoring of the submitted proposals. Two RFPs for Endomechanical products and Neurology OR products have been posted this month, and direct negotiations are underway for a range of other cardiacrelated products that represent annual spend of $100M.

“We continue to leverage the strengths and expertise of our two organizations,” said David Yundt, President and CEO of Plexxus. “We are demonstrating how collaboration across the entire supply chain creates value for the health care system.”