For suppliers, ‘Branding a Legacy’ means harnessing new value propositions

While “uncertainty” is shaping up to be the enduring sentiment of 2025, this year’s Supplier Forum offered some much-needed assurance that the road ahead is still plenty navigable.

From major industry trends to opportunities for innovation and collaboration, the annual event focused on how suppliers can adapt, evolve and scale to meet healthcare’s ever-changing challenges and expectations, including persistent financial pressures, labor shortages, changing care models and increasing demand for value.

The key, Vizient President and CEO Byron Jobe told attendees during his opening remarks, is to forge the industry’s future through trust, transparency and shared purpose.

“That legacy isn’t built overnight,” said Jobe, referencing the event’s theme, Brand a Legacy. “It’s built on meaningful, lasting impact — on the kind of collaboration that improves outcomes, strengthens operations and ultimately benefits patients. And now, in the face of continued healthcare transformation, we have a new opportunity to define what comes next.”

Jobe discussed five main areas where providers are focusing their spend management efforts that provide strategic value propositions for suppliers:

• Elevation of the supply chain. What was once viewed as a back-office function is now squarely at the center of strategic decision-making. Suppliers should look to align with chief supply chain officers to uncover the true drivers of change within health systems.

• Shifting sites of care. Ambulatory, outpatient and home health settings are becoming the front lines of care delivery. Suppliers who create scalable solutions tailored for these lower-cost, decentralized environments have tremendous opportunity.

• Supplier partnerships. There is a clear shift toward longer-term strategic partnerships that go beyond transactional deals to include joint planning, integration with clinical operations and even value-based care arrangements. This means many systems are looking to outsource models or shared services with suppliers who have proven they can deliver consistent value and innovation.

• Digital supply chain. AI, automation and data analytics are no longer futuristic — they are the tools providers use now to optimize spend, improve forecasting and enhance efficiency. Whether it’s drone delivery, robotic automation or AI-powered insights, providers are looking for suppliers who can plug into their digital vision.

• Resilience. From tariffs to geopolitical risk to workforce turnover, providers are building strategies to respond to future volatility including sourcing diversification, supply assurance and investing in talent pipelines. Suppliers who can help mitigate risk and ensure continuity are likely to have greater staying power.

There was acknowledgment across the event that these aspirations are easier said than done, especially in the face of the resilience hurdles detailed above.

But nothing worth doing has ever been easy.

“That’s why we created this forum,” Jobe said. “To bring you into the conversations we’re having with providers, to share what’s changing — and to inspire new and creative possibilities.”

Certainly, conversations around possibility underpinned the opening day’s activities, where suppliers were invited to breakout sessions with Vizient leaders to share challenges and drive strategies to strengthen collaboration and industry impact in areas such as technology adoption, capital equipment solutions, indirect spend, ambulatory care growth, supply resilience, and customer segmentation and prioritization. Among themselves and with Vizient experts, suppliers discussed topics ranging from tariff activity to forging deeper connections across the continuum of care.

The two-day event concluded with mainstage sessions on various topics integral to supplier success such as leveraging data, unlocking growth opportunities and amplifying market presence. Key takeaways from select sessions are included below.

Healthcare Trends and Transformation: Adapting to an Evolving Industry

Moderator: Bill Selles, Vizient SVP, Transformation

Panelists: John Becker, Vizient SVP, Sales, Services & Insights Delivery; Amanda Steele, Managing Director, Practice Co-Leader, Strategy & Business Transformation, Kaufman Hall, a Vizient Company-Consulting; Michael Hasselberg, Chief Digital Health Officer, UR Medicine

The big takeaway: It’s not just about navigating major industry disruptions like changes in care delivery, the rapid rise of non-acute settings and deployment of AI technologies. Making your mark means anticipating trends to develop innovative approaches that address providers’ future challenges.

The best way to do this: Reframe your mindset.

“To move from vendor to partner, suppliers need empathy and a deep understanding of provider priorities,” Becker said. “Know your market — and know your customers.”

What you should know ...

• Providers are facing tight and volatile margins — the oft-quoted 5% margin isn’t sustainable long-term and masks wide variability across systems. Hospitals are under immense pressure to cut costs while maintaining or improving quality of care, which means suppliers should think of themselves not as vendors but as trusted advisors in cost mitigation.

• Providers are balancing operational, financial and clinical transformation. Suppliers need to know the market and customer specifics before offering solutions. Walk into every conversation with empathy — leaders are overwhelmed and focused on patient safety under extreme resource constraints. Suppliers that succeed in healthcare lead with solutions to real problems that health systems are facing, not just the features of their product.

• Word-of-mouth among C-suite leaders is powerful. Strong supplier relationships at one system can open doors at others. Conversely, aggressive sales tactics can harm reputations across the industry. This means avoiding cold calls and generic pitches, which are seen as intrusive and can get companies blacklisted.

• Help providers transition from fee-for-service to value-based care and support site-of-care shifts to lower-cost outpatient settings. Also, understand their tech stack priorities — providers prefer to use solutions that integrate deeply with their existing EHR infrastructure. Be honest about integration capabilities.

• Be willing to co-develop solutions, share financial risk, and even negotiate equity or milestone-based compensation — especially when working with providers on emerging tech or AI tools. And think beyond annual SaaS contracts: Providers are increasingly unwilling to pay for tech that doesn’t deliver measurable value.

• Suppliers should bring data-driven insights to conversations. Providers value partnerships that help them interpret operational and clinical data to improve outcomes and efficiencies. If a higher-cost solution can demonstrate savings or better outcomes across the care path, use comparative data to prove it.

• Providers want innovation but are cautious due to past experiences. Transparency, reliability and true collaboration are essential. Early engagement with suppliers who are willing to build, test and scale solutions together — especially with digital health and AI — is highly valued.

Innovation in Action: Legacy Leaders Spotlight

Moderators: Bonnie Lai, SVP/GM, Clinical & Physician Preference; Dan Kistner, SVP/GM, Category Management & Strategic Programs

Panelists: Kenny Wilson, Chief Commercial Officer, AirLife; Bill LeFebve, Area VP, National Accounts, Baxter; Kevin Steed, VP/General Manager, Stryker Enterprise Account Management

The big takeaway: Even if it’s not your first rodeo, riding the highs and lows of the healthcare supply chain takes Texas-sized tenacity — along with bold ideas, measurable impact and collaboration with industry stakeholders.

“Selling a product is no longer enough,” Wilson said. “If your business model isn’t relevant to the customer anymore, you need to be flexible and change.”

What you should know ...

• Partnerships go beyond contracts. True alignment happens when suppliers actively engage in solving member needs and become part of a broader mission — not just a vendor. The strongest relationships are grounded in transparency, empathy and responsiveness, especially during moments of crisis.

• Speaking of crisis ... the hurricane that devastated Baxter’s facility was a defining moment for the industry. Vizient and Baxter's rapid coordination — including daily war room meetings and transparent member communication — minimized supply chain impact. “You talk about the word partnership — until you’ve been through a crisis like this, you don’t realize what partnership means and who your partners are,” LeFebve said.

• Healthcare systems today demand programmatic solutions, not just product sales. Suppliers must align with evolving provider models and be ready to change how they operate internally to meet those needs.

• Companies like Stryker are transforming how they support providers — communication, aligning fragmented internal structures, and making it easier for health systems to do business with them. “The decentralized nature of our company created difficulty for our supply chain and administrative customers in knowing who to go for various issues,” Steed said. “Now we’re set up to navigate our internal complexity on their behalf."

• Represent not just your company, but also your partner’s goals and values. And evolve with your customer — see them for who they are becoming, not just who they’ve been.

Government and Policy Insights: Navigating Healthcare Advocacy

Speaker: Shoshana Krilow, SVP, Public Policy & Government Relations

The big takeaway: Policy decisions today define healthcare’s future — so make sure your voice is heard. How to begin? Stay informed on legislative and regulatory changes impacting healthcare and learn how advocacy efforts can create opportunities for alignment, influence and growth. But get comfy in the saddle: Certainty could take a while.

“Hospitals are feeling incredibly unsteady,” Krilow said. “The inability to plan is more acute than ever, and it impacts everything from the way they deliver care to how they purchase supplies.”

What you should know ...

• In the current political landscape, policies can be fast tracked — but that doesn’t mean they will be. Hospitals are often caught in a reactive posture, facing constant shifts in regulations, funding and political priorities. Because of this, suppliers must be aware of policy shifts that could impact care models or procurement patterns.

• Topics on suppliers’ watch lists should include potential changes to Medicaid funding, expiring enhanced subsidies from the Affordable Care Act, National Institutes of Health and other research funding, tariffs and site-neutral payment policies.

• Hospital payment and reimbursement remain uncertain, so providers will be looking elsewhere to recoup the difference. Cuts to Medicaid could significantly affect hospitals (depending on their state’s model), potentially leading to closures or reduced services.

• The combination of regulatory shifts, reimbursement pressure and unpredictability is leaving hospitals deeply unsettled. Suppliers must understand this policy backdrop to better support their provider partners and avoid missteps in positioning or timing.

Maximizing Impact: Engaging Vizient’s Spend Management Delivery Team

Speaker: Fran Maddox, SVP, Spend Management Client Delivery Excellence

The big takeaway: Strategic engagement with industry stakeholders is mission critical for suppliers — meaning it’s essential to align offerings with provider needs, strengthen relationships and amplify market presence.

“Be intentional in your engagement and take a broader perspective on how you can bring value,” Maddox said.

What you should know ...

• Suppliers should shift from transactional thinking to strategic, intentional partnerships focused on solving real client problems. Tailor outreach to specific client goals and pain points rather than broad, generic pitches.

• Vizient’s Spend Management Services and Delivery team includes spend and pharmacy executives, spend managers, implementation experts and over 500 category SMEs. Their KPIs are aligned to client value.

• The team applies an integrated framework to assess each supply category by its unique challenges. Suppliers who align with Vizient’s data-backed, category-focused planning and strategic programs (like Novaplus, Impact Standardization and Reserve) see stronger results.

• Vague or broad requests won’t break through. Know which clients you want to reach, what problems you're solving, the specific client value you can deliver and what help you need. The most effective requests are targeted, grounded in client-specific value and include a clear ask (e.g., access to a value analysis committee).

Learn more about the Vizient approach to supplier strategy.