BlueBin Inc. Launches To Deliver Innovative Overhaul For Ailing Healthcare Supply Chain

Flagship Customer Saves Millions of Dollars and Thousands of Clinical Hours

Seattle, WA /PRNewswire/ - BlueBin Inc., a lean supply chain solution provider for healthcare organizations, today announced its official company debut, making its innovative solutions available to healthcare customers worldwide. Now hospitals and medical centers of all sizes have a proven solution for increasing efficiency and cutting costs in the supply chain, while directly improving quality of patient care.

The current methods used to manage supplies have been trouble spots in the industry for years, and often result in inefficient use of clinical staff, personnel conflicts, delayed procedures, and wasted supplies and money.

BlueBin Inc. has addressed these problems head-on with its innovative BlueBin supply demand solutions and has seen unprecedented results at its flagship customer deployment, Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago. Since implementing BlueBin's solution in 2011, Mercy saved more than $1 million per year in waste and excess supplies, reduced clinical hours spent searching for supplies by more than 28,000 and reduced its bulk storage space by nearly 50 percent.

"Our nurses were spending valuable time foraging for supplies and medical procedures were often delayed until supplies could be located - the need for a better way to manage our supply chain was very clear at Mercy," said Rick Cerceo, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Mercy Hospital and Medical Center. "With BlueBin we have removed this burden from the nursing staff, and can now easily and cost-effectively ensure our clinicians always have the right supplies, at the right time."

Simple Front End, Powerful Back End
On the front end, BlueBin is simple and streamlined for clinical staff to use. BlueBin's solutions are based on the Demand Flow method, the most efficient, reliable method to deliver supplies in the marketplace today. The Demand Flow method is a Kanban signaled replenishment system that uses visual cues to help ensure supplies are delivered to the right place, in the right quantity, at the right time. Prevalent in manufacturing and retail industries, it is a new concept in healthcare that enables clinicians to focus on patient care rather than materials management.

On the back end, BlueBin is coupled with robust analytics software for an end-to-end solution and approach that involves lean manufacturing techniques to achieve optimal supply levels at all times without the need for complex technology or costly bulk storage space. The BlueBin solution provides immediate, tangible and measurable changes toward lean methodology, including the removal of ambiguities and overcompensation to supply systems.

"We are thrilled to offer our customers incredibly effective yet simple solutions that will directly impact patient care and facility bottom line," said Charles Hodge, founder and CEO of BlueBin Inc. "BlueBin offers a range of options from analytics that provide transparency around the performance of the customer's current operating system, to an end-to-end solution that completely transforms a hospital's supply chain into a competitive advantage."

Company Grows Out of Initial Success
The BlueBin solution was developed in 2009 at Seattle Children's Hospital to address their pressing need for a better supply replenishment process. Due to the overwhelming success, BlueBin Inc. was formed to bring its solutions to other healthcare organizations.

"They say necessity is the mother of invention and BlueBin is a great example of how truly innovative solutions can grow from a great need," said Patrick Hagan, MHSA, who was president and chief operating officer at Seattle Children's Hospital at the time BlueBin was developed. "We found that improving the bottom line through efficiency and improving quality of care can go hand in hand. I'm so pleased to see BlueBin being made available broadly so that all healthcare organizations can enjoy the same success we experienced at Seattle Children's."

Scalable, Custom Solutions
BlueBin Inc. can tailor solutions to align with the needs and resources of healthcare organizations of all sizes. Those interested in learning more about BlueBin can visit the company website at www.bluebin.com.

About BlueBin Inc.
Founded in 2011 BlueBin Inc. specializes in lean supply chain solutions for healthcare organizations around the world. BlueBin utilizes proven lean manufacturing methods never before seen in healthcare to deliver innovative solutions that help customers dramatically cut costs, increase efficiency and improve patient care. BlueBin offers a wide range of custom solutions for organizations of all sizes. BlueBin is a privately-held company and is headquartered in Seattle. For more information, visit www.bluebin.com.