Healthy ERP
Strategies
Continued
Productivity in Action
"Hill-Rom's productivity gains were tremendous—the improvements in productivity, associate training, third-party filing, denial management, customer service—they're really ready to take on the world," says CSS's Miller. "They're positioned not only to do better with their existing business but also do better with any related businesses they may grow into organically or acquire. As Hill-Rom moves into additional medical and therapy devices for use in people's homes, they now have a very powerful infrastructure that can be leveraged to really help grow their business."
Luckily, the business has already benefited. At the start
of the project, the team had estimated a return on investment (ROI) of 40 percent, with about US$1.8 million in annual benefits. However, the reality after implementation has been much different.
"We achieved a 100 percent ROI within one year, and we believe that we'll see annual benefits that are more than double our initial estimate. Not only is the system more efficient, but we're also recovering revenue and gaining revenue enhancements through the ability to report and track revenue dollars as they move through each part of our process," Dennis relates.
A good example of their expanded revenue enhancement opportunities is in the area of maintenance. Previously, Hill-Rom had never billed for service and repair. Patient beds were repaired or fixed for free, regardless of their warranty status. "We initiated a whole new billing option for service and repair initiatives," says CSS's Miller, "so it's all pure new revenue that Hill-Rom never had before."
Engaging the Future
Growing a business isn't always easy, but with the right type of IT and business process support, it can be efficient.
"Now, with our JD Edwards implementation, we have an infrastructure behind us that allows us to process all of those transactions more effectively and efficiently," says Dennis. "Our ability to improve efficiency will influence the kinds of products that we can ultimately introduce profitably into this marketplace in the future."
And while there's great satisfaction for Dennis in knowing that Hill-Rom now has the infrastructure it needs for growth, there's even greater satisfaction in the impact the turnaround of their applications has had on her Hill-Rom colleagues and users of the system.
"Before the change, people spent their time figuring out why we couldn't do things," says Dennis, "and now people understand that it's their job to figure out how we can accomplish things. They are absolutely engaged, they have seen their suggestions and ideas for improvement come to life, and that alone is going to make a big difference to our customers and our business."
For More Information
Oracle solutions for medical devices
Oracle's JD Edwards EnterpriseOne
David A. Kelly is a freelance writer based in Newton, Massachusetts.
