In healthcare and senior living, procurement is more than just finding supplies. It involves making smart choices that affect budgets, operations, and the care of patients and residents. Poor contract compliance or an inefficient invoice approval process often leads to wasteful spending. It can prevent providers from providing the best outcomes for their patients and residents.

At Direct Supply® DSSI™, we help organizations turn procurement into a source of strength rather than strain. By combining powerful technology, transparent data, and expert support, we empower providers to achieve procurement success. We work closely with hundreds of provider organizations to identify and slash wasteful spending in their procurement Through collaborative processes, we create streamlined workflows and develop new technology to drive cost reduction.

Providers must always be laser-focused on their bottom line. DSSI helped providers to reduce costs by over $650 million in 2024, demonstrating the competitive advantage of strategic sourcing. Providers used AI insights, real-time analytics, and custom buying strategies. In doing so, they found the most cost-effective products and services.

Here’s how we empower providers to eliminate wasteful spend and unlock new efficiencies:

Delivering Data Transparency that Empowers Intelligent Procurement Strategy

Real-time data analytics are key to spotting inefficiencies and capturing savings. DSSI offers an extensive range of tools for provider organizations to visualize their spend, identify pain points that are creating waste, and curate action plans for spend optimization.

  • Vendor Management: Monitor contracted suppliers and enforce compliance for your individual locations using customizable KPIs.
  • Interactive Reports: Drill into spend data across facilities, compare benchmarks, and identify waste in real time.

Organizations that utilize these powerful tools regularly achieve 10-20% annual reductions in procurement costs by tightening vendor management and enforcing better purchasing practices. Real-time tracking alone dramatically reduces off-contract buying, one of the largest hidden drains on healthcare budgets.

Providing Customer Support that Drives Procurement Savings

Technology alone isn’t enough — success requires a dedicated partner. Direct Supply DSSI’s Customer Success and Procurement Services teams work closely with providers. They help achieve real and measurable cost savings.

In 2024, DSSI Procurement Services helped providers save over $50 million in hard cost. We did this through our proactive order guide management and AI-powered optimizations, including:

  • Optimizing purchasing processes and workflows
  • Curating custom hosted catalogs by proactively identifying unavailable products and locating cost-effective, contract compliant replacements
  • Training internal teams and providing change management resources to boost adoption
  • Monitor and consult on vendor contracts for maximum value

These aren’t meaningless changes. Facilities that work with DSPS often achieve over 80% contract compliance. This is a significant improvement over the senior living industry average of 51%.

Our dedication to customer satisfaction goes beyond optimization recommendations. Our customer success support infrastructure is robust, ensuring that partnered organizations can have their questions answered quickly and accurately.

DSSI works closely with providers to develop personalized, actionable procurement strategies. We offer integration support, platform training, and proactive communication. This ensures that providers maximize their value from the DSSI platform.

When healthcare providers align purchasing to strategic goals, enforce vendor accountability, and simplify staff workflows, savings and operational improvements naturally follow.

Innovating Spend Optimization with AI-Powered Procurement Technology

The future of procurement is not only automated; it is intelligent. DSSI’s AI-powered solutions help healthcare and senior living organizations tackle challenges that manual processes can’t.

Highlights of our technology solutions include:

  • DSSI Menu.ai: This revolutionary menu planning platform simplifies for food service in senior living and healthcare. It helps providers to reduce food costs by 5% or more while cutting menu creation time from months to just minutes.
  • OGM.ai™: Automatically identifies contract-compliant replacements for unavailable products in real time, preventing over 200,000 stockout situations. Optimizations related to OGM.ai contributed an additional $18 million in annualized savings.
  • GPO Rebates: In 2024 alone, DSPS helped providers reclaim more than $24 million in rebates on their purchases through GPO programs.

Instead of reactive, fragmented purchasing, providers benefit from an intelligent, proactive approach. DSSI constantly learns, adapts, and continuously improves to maximize the positive outcomes for our customers.

Driving Sustainable Savings and Operational Excellence in Healthcare Procurement

Every feature, service, and tool at DSSI aims to cut procurement waste. They also improve operational efficiency and protect budgets. Providers can cut costs while continuing to ensure compliance.

Industry research has proven that organizations who utilize digital P2P software platforms can:

  • Cut invoice processing times by up to 50%
  • Increase order guide compliance to protect against rogue spend, saving 10 to 20% annually.
  • Strengthen supplier relationships for improved pricing and reliability
  • Use data reporting and visualization tools to actively monitor savings opportunities

Procurement costs are rising because of inflation, staffing shortages, and supply chain volatility. No provider can afford to operate without strategic procurement measures in place. DSSI’s platform not only responds to these pressures — it future-proofs your procurement strategy for long-term success.

By digitizing the entire AP process — from product selection to invoice payment — DSSI eliminates manual inefficiencies and provides real-time visibility into spend across all facilities and categories. With live pricing updates and AI-driven cost-saving optimization opportunities, organizations can better manage their budgets. Automated contract compliance visuals and reporting at every step helps reduce wasteful spending. The result: a streamlined, intelligent procurement operation that supports both operational efficiency and long-term strategic goals.

Start Slashing Procurement Waste Today

Direct Supply DSSI helps providers go beyond simple buying. It encourages them to see procurement as a valuable strategy, leading to significant savings. With a personalized mix of technology, data analysis, and expert guidance, provider organizations can make informed decisions and manage costs. Procurement leaders seeking to be proactive with their spend management must adapt these strategies to achieve increased efficiency and remain competitive.

Reducing wasteful spend enhances care for residents and patients. With additional financial resources, providers can mitigate the risks of staffing demand and supply chain unpredictability. This approach helps build a more sustainable financial future.

Ready to take waste out of your procurement process and achieve your business goals?

Schedule a demo with DSSI today and see how much you could save.