SMI Announces New Virtual Relationship Management (VRM) eBook
Westborough, MA (March 17, 2021): SMI®, a non-profit, member-driven community of healthcare supply chain thought-leaders today announced a new tool designed to help providers and industry partners navigate virtual relationships and business meetings. The Virtual Relationship Management (VRM) eBook explores the challenges and provides solutions for conducting business to business commerce while building productive relationship between trading partners virtually. This new SMI resource can be downloaded free of charge here.
As part of SMI’s mission, a team of members, all supply chain thought leaders from integrated healthcare providers, suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors, recognized that the shift to a work-from-home (WFH) model due to COVID-19 was greatly impacting their employees and colleagues. During this time of uncertainty both providers and suppliers had to adapt to new ways of conducting business to protect employees, patients, and staff from potential exposure to COVID-19. The team created this eBook that has implications, pros, cons, challenges, best practices, and tips for navigating virtual relationships for providers and industry partners.
Long-time member and past SMI board chair Jim Francis, Division Chair & Chief Supply Chain Officer at Mayo Clinic was the project consultant for this initiative. Francis said, “Doing what we do best, SMI brought together providers and industry partners to create this eBook to help our organizations and the industry understand how to conduct business virtually that promotes collaboration and the ability to foster stronger, more productive and transparent relationships as part of the new/next normal.”
The SMI Virtual Relationship Management eBook can be downloaded, at no charge, on the SMI website here. SMI members have created numerous tools and resources which are available, free of charge to the industry on the SMI website to help create a more resilient healthcare supply chain. To learn more about SMI, its mission, and its members, visit: www.smisupplychain.com.
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ABOUT SMI
SMI provides a nexus for healthcare providers, suppliers, distributors and disruptors to network and collaborate on innovations that drive meaningful improvements in supply chain agility, efficiency and resilience. We provide a unique, non-commercial community where members forge long-term relationships as they work together to improve patient care. For more information about SMI, including a complete list of members, visit: www.smisupplychain.com.