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Abstract
Determining the type of inventory management system to use in a hospital depends on one's technical abilities, the culture of the institution, and the capabilities of the vendor. Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center (Chicago) has chosen a variety of inventory management systems to meet specific requirements and is in the process of implementing those systems. These include: 1. just-in-time (JIT) inventory, 2. stockless systems for office supplies and forms, 3. outsourcing for selected supply, processing, and distribution supplies and functions, 4. facilities management for the print shop-copy center, 5. enhanced delivery systems from the vendors, and 6. recycling corrugated paper. After considering several vendors' JIT programs, the first and most important step taken was to ensure that the vendor's data on the inventory items were in step with the hospital's data. This tedious step is the key to the success of the program and gives a clue to the vendor's information systems capabilities and to the smoothness of implementation.