Group Purchasing Account Representatives – Friend or Foe?

Healthcare suppliers do you know your GPO account representative? If not why not? It is important for suppliers to know and work closely with their GPO counterparts! In the spirit David Letterman’s recent retirement, here are the TOP TEN reasons why suppliers should have a strong working relationship with their GPO counterpart in key accounts:

Number 10 – Your GPO representative may have strong relationships with key decision makers that you may not have, which can help fast track the selling cycle.

Number 9 – GPOs and suppliers are surprisingly aligned in their efforts to help providers reduce cost.

Number 8 – GPO representatives can help suppliers drive pricing tier compliance.

Number 7 – GPO representatives know their customer protocols, which can help supplier proposals be better aligned the first time.

Number 6 – GPO representatives have a broad perspective on best practice insights.   

Number 5 – GPO representative incentives are generally aligned with supplier incentives around driving savings through increased contract utilization.

Number 4 – Supplier organizations are paying administrative fees for GPO support whether you partner with them or not.

Number 3 – GPO partners can assist in positioning your product/service value proposition with data driven analytics.

Number 2 – Believe it or not suppliers and GPO representatives are on the same team.

And the Number 1 reason you should have a strong working relationship with your GPO representative is – GPO representatives are very nice people and they celebrate the holidays and love their families too.

And the Number 1 reason you should have a strong working relationship with your GPO representative is – GPO representatives are very nice people. They celebrate the holidays and love their families too. Make it a point to meet with your GPO account representatives. Together you will be more effective helping your provider meet their goals and objectives.

Tags: GPO