Medical Device Supply Chain Planning
Much of a device maker's stock sits on consignment in hospitals and in loaner sets, sized for procedures that need every size on hand. DemandLabs forecasts each item by hospital and sets field and warehouse buffers by service target.
What Shapes Medical Devices Planning
Device planning reaches into the hospitals where the stock is used.
Stock Sits in Hospitals and Sets
Implants and instruments sit on consignment in hospitals, in reps' trunk stock and in loaner sets that move between procedures. Much of the inventory is outside your own warehouses.
Every Size Has to Be There
Implant sizes are often chosen during the procedure, so each case needs the full range on hand, and the smallest and largest sizes move only a few times a year at a single hospital.
Sterile Packs Carry a Date
Sterile devices carry an expiry date, and stock spread across many consignment locations can age out in one hospital while another runs short.
Solutions for Medical Devices
The DemandLabs applications that fit medical devices, and how each one handles the planning.
Consignment locations, trunk stock and central warehouses are nodes in one multi-echelon solve, re-run each week. Transfer proposals send short-dated or idle stock to hospitals with demand for it, each with its freight cost and fill-rate gain.
Explore inventory optimizationForecasts run by item and hospital from customer orders, and slow sizes use intermittent-demand methods. A new product generation starts from a launch curve built on look-alike items with similar attributes.
Explore demand planningMachining, molding and assembly lines plan in one finite-capacity solve with your contract manufacturers. Rough-cut plans for S&OP and detailed plans for each line come from that one model.
Explore supply planningEach supplier of resins, metals and electronic parts is traced through the bill of materials to the device families and revenue it holds up, and single sources are flagged where your data allows.
Explore supplier riskHow Medical Devices Planning Connects
Usage at each hospital sets the consignment stock, the warehouse stock behind it and the plan for each line.
Hospital Forecast
- Customer orders
- Procedure usage
- New generations
Consignment Stock
- Hospital locations
- Trunk stock
- Loaner sets
Warehouse Stock
- Service targets
- Expiry dates
- Transfers
Line Plan
- Line capacity
- Contract manufacturers
- Sterilization lead time
Product Line P&L
- Revenue by family
- Field inventory value
- Expiry write-offs
Built for Medical Devices
Device planning has to cover the stock in hospitals as well as the stock in warehouses.
Consignment as Part of the Network
Hospital consignment locations take buffers in the same multi-echelon solve as the warehouses that refill them.
Methods for Rarely Used Sizes
Sizes that move a few times a year at a hospital use intermittent-demand methods built for slow movers.
Short-Dated Stock Found in Time
Expiry dates feed the aging view, and transfer proposals show the freight cost of moving short-dated stock to a hospital that uses it faster.
Launch Curves for New Generations
A replacement device starts from the launch curve of look-alike items with similar attributes, so its first builds and consignment fills have a forecast to plan against.
Planning Notes for Medical Devices
See all notes
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23 August 20268 min readMedical Devices Planning FAQs
Can DemandLabs plan consignment stock in hospitals?
Each consignment location can be a node with its own buffer and service target, and transfer proposals show where stock should move between hospitals, with the freight cost attached.
Can we forecast a new device generation?
Yes. The generation it replaces and other look-alike items supply the launch curve, and commercial and supply teams adjust it in one consensus forecast, with each edit traced to its owner.
Does DemandLabs plan around expiry dates on sterile devices?
Each sterile item's expiry date feeds the aging view by location, and stock nearing its date in one hospital is flagged while another can still use it.
How long does implementation take?
Eight weeks to the first live cycle for one planning area, with a value review with your CFO in week 10.
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All life sciences planningSee Your Consignment Stock Planned by Hospital
A 45-minute walkthrough on your own data.