T he healthcare supply chain has been challenged in recent years by forces as diverse as the pandemic, natural disasters, cyberattacks, increasing costs, and geopolitical unrest. These disruptions revealed critical vulnerabilities, but also sparked opportunities for transformation and advancements. As a result, healthcare companies are actively prioritizing supply chain resilience, ef ciency, and agility, and new trends are beginning to emerge. “Visibility is one of the most urgent demands we hear from our healthcare customers today,” says Cherie Brinkerhoff, senior vice president at Ryder Supply Chain Solutions, a Florida-based third-party logistics provider.
It’s not just visibility into product location, but visibility into true cost and clinical impact. Meeting that demand for visibility led Ryder and one large Midwest-based hospital network to reimagine the traditional distributor model for healthcare supply chain management and engineer a patient-centric, self-distribution model. The solution took shape as a highly automated, 416,000-square-foot consolidated services center (CSC) for medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and everyday supplies that Ryder engineers and manages. Inside the CSC, an automated-storage-and-retrieval system ful lls orders around the clock. It features 27,000 bins and 34 robots continuously feeding 1.3 miles of conveyors and a three-story pick tower.
July 2025 • Inbound Logistics 127
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