June 6, 2025- Ever since the global COVID-19 pandemic detonated the long-running healthcare supply chain strategy of larger, rigid, standardized, single- and dual-vendor contracting with just-in-time and/our stockless distribution, providers have scrambled to embrace demand forecasting and more flexible contract sourcing that enabled options from alternative vendors.
This year’s tariff-induced trade war threatens to pummel those prospects, too, leaving so many questions unanswered by providers and suppliers alike, with group purchasing organizations (GPOs) caught in the middle as if they’re holding the net between the fiscal volleys.
“It is too early to say with certainty how tariffs will impact sourcing, but HSCA expects that the supply chain will need time to adapt to the shifting economic landscape in the short-term future,” acknowledged Angie Boliver, president and CEO, Healthcare Supply Chain Association (HSCA), the national trade organization representing the GPO industry segment in healthcare. “Given the natural lag between these policy actions and the targeted outcomes, there will likely be gaps in supply as manufacturers work to ramp up domestic capacity. Meanwhile, our reliance on foreign sources to meet the needs of the healthcare ecosystem will remain in effect. GPOs will play a critical role in helping members navigate the supply chain during this transition period.”
Dan Kistner, senior vice president and general manager of category management and strategic programs, concurs about the lingering and looming uncertainty.
“Given the dynamic nature we presently are experiencing, it is difficult to estimate the totality of the impact,” Kistner observed. “While the discussion and focus on tariffs is warranted, they are not the only potential disruptors of the healthcare supply chain. In order to more effectively manage disruptions, we need greater transparency, including where items are sourced, manufactured and their quality throughout all of those processes.”
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