Ben Brinker on how Cardinal Health’s Global Supply Chain stays ready for adverse events, disruptions and uncertainty.
When you think of the medical supply chain, it’s easy to imagine an invisible network of trucks, warehouses and shipments humming in the background. But for Ben Brinker, President of Global Operations and Supply Chain for Cardinal Health’s Global Medical Products and Distribution, the work his team does is anything but invisible. It’s deeply human – and directly tied to patient care.
“I have the privilege of working with many talented and passionate supply chain professionals who are fiercely committed to our organization, our customers and their patients,” Brinker said. “Our team members have dedicated much of their time and careers serving the healthcare industry, understanding the complexities of the supply chain and navigating a constantly changing landscape.”
A customer-centric perspective is fundamental to the team culture at Cardinal Health. “It’s critical everyone across our supply chain organization understands why we place such a strong emphasis on delivering the right product at the right place and at the right time,” he added.
A network built around patients
At its core, Cardinal Health’s global operations and supply chain organization is designed to meet one simple but vital mission: ensuring healthcare providers have what they need, when they need it. But the scale of that mission is anything but simple.
“Our organization is designed to drive end-to-end operational and supply chain execution – which includes research and development, procurement, manufacturing, engineering, inventory planning, global trade and international logistics, and North American distribution operations (inclusive of distribution and replenishment centers) – to deliver high quality products to healthcare providers,” Brinker said.
The result is an interconnected global system capable of adapting to shifting demands, emerging technologies, and unprecedented challenges. “From product development to manufacturing, distribution, logistics and every team in between, our organization operates as an interconnected, end-to-end medical products supply chain to support continuous network flow, resiliency and patient care around the world,” Brinker said.
That holistic approach is bolstered by a modern infrastructure. “We are constantly working to drive an effective supply chain in a number of ways, including optimizing our distribution footprint with modern, state-of-the-art facilities and expanded capacity,” he explained. “Our facilities feature advancements in technology and automation, such as enhanced software capabilities and goods-to-person robotics to improve operational effectiveness.”
Cardinal Health recently achieved the 2025 Transparency Partner Badge from the Healthcare Industry Resilience Collaborative (HIRC) and was previously honored with the HIRC Resiliency Badge at the Diamond level, the highest award possible – recognizing “outperforming” scores in key areas critical to supply chain resilience and transparency.
“We were the first distributor to be recognized by HIRC for both supply chain resiliency and transparency,” Brinker said. “Maintaining a focus on transparency with our provider customers is critical for our collaboration and ability to mitigate risk across the healthcare supply chain.”
Every link in the chain matters
For Brinker, supply chain work isn’t just about moving boxes or optimizing routes – it’s about connection and purpose.
“Every team member within our Cardinal Health supply chain organization is in some way connected to patient care,” he said. “Whether an employee is running a manufacturing site, driving a forklift in a distribution center, sourcing a raw material, developing a product, or working with global customs – each area of activity is critical to our resilience and ability to meet the commitments we’ve made to our customers.”
That sense of shared mission is something he reinforces regularly. “When I talk to our employees, I emphasize how important their work is to our supply chain and remind them what they do truly matters – to our team, customers and patients,” he added.
Prepared for the unpredictable
Few industries are as vulnerable to disruption as healthcare, where every delay or shortage can have real consequences. Weather events, geopolitical tension, and global trade dynamics can all strain even the strongest systems. For Cardinal Health, preparedness is a cultural mindset.
“Before, during and after weather events, our teams collaborate to share real-time information on storm paths, potential impacts and critical deliveries,” Brinker said. “We fine tune our emergency preparedness processes via scenario planning and risk modeling to test network agility.”
That planning extends to customers, too.
“We also provide customers with a preparedness checklist that addresses key considerations like special delivery instructions for priority departments, off-hour dock and hallway access and designated supply storage for increased product inventory,” he said. “We work with customers in at-risk regions to assess needs, anticipate challenges and develop action plans.”
Inventory positioning plays a major role. “This includes increasing inventory levels of critical care product categories and staging supplies closer to areas likely to be affected by inclement weather,” Brinker explained.
Cardinal Health’s North American distribution network is purpose-built for this kind of adaptability. “It’s strategically designed with replenishment centers and forward distribution centers that are all vital to our agility,” Brinker said. “Our interconnected ‘hub and spoke’ system is purpose-built to adapt to shifting demand, withstand disruptions and maintain supply continuity during weather events.”
The scale is staggering: The company’s replenishment centers – which provide more than 13 million square feet of medical/surgical Cardinal Health Brand product distribution capacity (equivalent to over 225 football fields) – receive deliveries for the entire network before breaking them down into smaller, customized orders for the forward distribution centers. Cardinal Health’s approach to inventory management across its network helps drive efficiencies and a consistent pipeline of products.
As the healthcare industry navigates unprecedented global challenges, Brinker said that Cardinal Health’s operations and supply chain teams will continue to work with speed, accuracy and flexibility to mitigate risk.
Consistent communication with teams and customers is a top priority. “We are committed to working with transparency to ensure our customers have the information they need and receive the right products when and where they need them,” Brinker said.