September 1, 2026- For healthcare supply chain leaders, contracts are often viewed as the foundation of financial performance. But for Janet Gomez, Assistant Vice President of Contracts and Sourcing at Baptist Health, contracts are only one piece of a much larger strategy centered on data, innovation and long-term value.
Gomez has spent nearly 14 years with Baptist Health, all within supply chain, and today oversees clinical contracting and sourcing across the organization. Her responsibilities also include physician contracting, management of the health system’s group purchasing organization (GPO) partnership and oversight of demand management operations supporting Baptist Health’s centralized distribution center.
One of the most significant accomplishments of the past year was Baptist Health’s transition to another GPO, a move that required extensive planning and execution.
The transition required coordination across contracts, sourcing and supply chain informatics teams. Agreements had to be activated, pricing validated and thousands of items aligned with the appropriate contracts. Beyond the technical work, the team focused on optimizing available agreements and ensuring the organization captured the full value available through the new partnership.
“It was incredibly detailed work,” Gomez said. “Changing GPOs is a massive undertaking, which is probably why many health systems consider it and then decide not to move forward. We actually did it.”
The GPO transition also sparked another strategic initiative that Gomez believes will create long-term value: a comprehensive effort to categorize Baptist Health’s contract portfolio. While contract categorization may sound like a basic organizational exercise, Gomez sees it as a critical building block for future decision-making.
By creating a structured, data-driven framework, the team hopes to become more proactive in responding to market changes and supply disruptions while improving contract renewal strategies and supplier negotiations.
“It’s not simply about organizing contracts,” Gomez explained. “It’s about creating a system that improves our negotiating position and ensures we have competitive agreements in place.”
That focus on data-driven decision-making extends to what Gomez sees as one of healthcare supply chain’s greatest untapped opportunities. Rather than relying exclusively on traditional contracting approaches, she believes organizations should combine robust analytics with strategic portfolio management.
Historically, healthcare organizations have leaned heavily on GPO agreements because of the efficiency and savings they provide. While Gomez believes GPOs remain an essential part of the supply chain ecosystem, she also sees opportunities to create additional value through direct supplier negotiations when supported by the right data.
“Our opportunity lies in bringing data and contract strategy together,” she said. “We’re not focused solely on finding the lowest price. We’re focused on driving total value across our portfolio and maximizing every agreement.”
Baptist Health’s contracting and sourcing teams are organized by commodity category, giving team members deep expertise within their specific markets. Combined with benchmarking data, utilization trends and market intelligence, that expertise enables more informed negotiations and sourcing decisions.
Innovation plays a similarly important role in the organization’s strategy. While healthcare leaders frequently discuss innovation, Gomez emphasizes that successful innovation should enhance daily operations rather than disrupt them.
At Baptist Health, technologies such as Tableau and Salesforce have become integral to supply chain workflows. The organization uses Salesforce beyond its traditional customer relationship management role, adapting it to support contract renewals, sourcing events, payment management and item management processes.
Self-service dashboards provide visibility into contract performance, supplier relationships, inventory levels and replenishment activities throughout the health system’s centralized distribution network. These tools allow teams to identify issues quickly and take action before problems escalate.
“Our goal is to make innovation part of daily workflows rather than something that interrupts them,” Gomez said.
For Gomez, the future of healthcare supply chain lies in the intersection of data, technology and strategic contracting. By leveraging better information, strengthening supplier relationships and empowering teams with the right tools, organizations can move beyond simply managing contracts and begin creating lasting value across the enterprise. At Baptist Health, that journey is already underway.
Continue Reading in the latest issue of The Journal of Healthcare Contracting.