Medline announced that Medline Canada has signed its first Prime Vendor agreement in the country and is the first Medline Prime Vendor relationship outside the United States.
The agreement is with Mohawk Medbuy (MMC), one of Canada's largest healthcare procurement organizations, to support warehouse and supply chain logistics for its hospitals in Southwestern Ontario and builds from best practices from similar agreements with hundreds of healthcare providers in the U.S.
Beginning this fall, Medline Canada will be the first to handle warehouse and supply chain logistics for these selected hospitals, introducing a more integrated, service-driven model designed to enhance supply chain resiliency, improve service reliability and delivery cost efficiencies. It will implement a stockless distribution model, delivering customized, low-unit quantities directly to care sites on a frequent basis to help ensure the right products are available when and where they are needed.
This is the first Prime Vendor deal executed by Medline in Canada, mirroring Medline's prime supply partner approach in the U.S., where Prime Vendor customers enter into long-term agreements with Medline as their consolidated distributor and logistics provider for medical-surgical product needs. It gives Medline visibility into customers' purchasing patterns and demand dynamics, which helps Medline anticipate their needs and delivery industry-leading service levels.
In addition to almost daily distribution deliveries from its Guelph, Ontario, location, Medline Canada will provide a comprehensive suite of supply chain services through its Supply Chain Solutions division. These services include delivery and storage optimization, automatic product substitutions for pre-approved items, backorder management with national brands, plus additional data solutions, tools and technologies to boost resiliency.
