Taking The Supply Chain Pulse

St. Onge
  • 4.9 (9)
  • MANAGEMENT

St. Onge’s Healthcare Hall of Famer and industry icon, Fred Crans, chats with leaders from all areas of healthcare to discuss the issues of today's- threats, challenges and emerging trends and technologies in a lighthearted and engaging manner.ENGINEERING A BETTER HEALTHCARE SYSTEM We provide comprehensive planning and design services to develop world-class facilities and highly effective support services operations. Our capabilities in hospital supply chain consulting include applied industrial engineering, lean methodologies, systems thinking, and operations research to enable improved patient care and staff satisfaction. We are proud to have worked with over 100 hospitals, including 18 of the top 22 in the US, utilizing diverse design strategies, post-construction implementation, and change management.

  1. FEB 12

    Strategic Leadership In The Age Of AI

    We explore why AI cannot replace judgment, how curated data and sharp questions prevent elegant mistakes, and what separates strategic leadership from transactional management. The conversation centers on healthcare, leading up without title power, and building inclusive cultures that surface frontline insight. • AI as tool rather than turnkey solution • Risks of confident but wrong recommendations • Curated data and governance before analysis • Strategic leadership versus transactional management • Healthcare pace, incentives and decision clocks • Leading up by framing in clinical and financial terms • Tough conversations grounded in mission and facts • Inclusion and synthesis of frontline ideas • Storytelling as a vehicle for enterprise learning • Teaser for the next healthcare-focused book Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button and connect with us online so you’ll never miss an episode and can catch up on all the ones you might have missed Got a topic you’re fired up about, or maybe you want to be a guest on the show? Fred would love to hear from you. Just reach out at fcrans@stonge.com Send a text

    39 min

  2. JAN 29

    So You Moved “South” To Cleveland: Building A Future-Ready Supply Chain Without The Drama

    We explore how Cleveland Clinic scales supply chain excellence across 26 hospitals and hundreds of sites through daily safety huddles, rapid standardization, and honest system-wide assessments. Sarh Charai shares practical lessons on strategic supplier partnerships, recruiting for purpose, and closing the AI skills gap. • Role and scope of enterprise supply chain operations • Daily safety huddles and fast escalation • Standardizing new acquisitions onto common systems • System-wide assessments and cross-industry benchmarking • Strategic supplier partnerships that improve operations • Co‑op models to develop frontline and graduate talent • Recruiting for purpose and retaining caregivers • Addressing the technology and AI skills gap • Practical advice for new supply chain leaders Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button and connect with us online so you’ll never miss an episode and can catch up on all the ones you might have missed Got a topic you’re fired up about or maybe you want to be a guest on the show? Fred would love to hear from you. Just reach out at fcrans@stonge.com. Send us a text

    29 min

  3. JAN 15

    Standardize What Matters, Empower Clinicians, Own The Channel

    We trace a practical playbook for transforming a hospital supply chain after major acquisitions, from stakeholder listening to a four-pillar strategy that ties clinical choice to operational excellence. A CSC launch, Kanban at the point of use, and smarter GPO expectations drive resilience and 99.8% fill rates. • first 100 days model and stakeholder mapping • four pillars of strategy: standardization, distribution, people, capital • clinically driven value analysis and ACI governance • CSC timing, COVID stress test and resilience metrics • unifying cultures and clinician engagement without friction • shifting from five-year to three-year planning horizons • GPO RFP focus on tech, P2P and analytics value • implant management, bill-only controls and software pilots • well-bin Kanban rollout and point-of-use reliability Subscribe and connect with us online where you can find all of our episodes If you have a topic you would like to discuss or want to be a guest on the show, you can reach out to Fred directly at fcrans@stonge.com  Send us a text

    30 min

  4. 12/18/2025

    Kids Aren’t Small Adults, And Your Inventory Should Know It

    We explore how pediatric care reshapes supply chain strategy and why curiosity, clear KPIs, and real relationships drive better outcomes. We also dig into rural pressures, shifting reimbursements, and building a talent pipeline that pairs education with experience. • Defining high mix, low volume for children’s hospitals • Preparing for pediatric surges and limited vendor coverage • Reviewing reimbursement more often to protect margins • Choosing a small set of KPIs that guide action • Building relationships that beat transactional networking • Rural access risks and current-state assessments • Growing homegrown talent and planning succession • Balancing education with hands-on experience • Mentorship, feedback, and the next generation’s path Subscribe and connect with us online. If you have a topic you would like to discuss or want to be a guest on the show you can reach out to Fred directly at fcrans@stonge.com Send us a text

    30 min

  5. 12/04/2025

    Supply Chains In The Crosswinds

    We take the pulse of supply chain headlines with Bryan Jensen and Tom Redding, exploring planning, sourcing, and the push for visibility amid policy shifts, tariffs, and healthcare disruption. We share practical ways to build resilience when certainty is scarce. • moving from pandemic-era buildouts to S&OP and inventory strategy • inflation, tariffs and country-of-origin rules reshaping cost and sourcing • decentralized care driving centralization of pharmacy and sterile processing • AI-enabled demand forecasting tied to cash and service levels • collaboration replacing transactional buying in healthcare • examples across food, toys and pharma that change risk posture • visibility into tiered suppliers, allocations and capacity as a baseline • rural closures, Medicaid pressure and workforce gaps forcing new models • certainty as the key enabler of better planning and investment • clear takeaways on alternate sourcing, critical stock and shared data Subscribe and connect with us online where you can find all of our episodes If you have a topic you would like to discuss or want to be a guest on the show, you can reach out to Fred directly at fcrans@stonge.com Send us a text

    30 min

  6. 11/20/2025

    From OR Floors To C-Suite

    We explore how a former OR tech became a supply chain leader and built trust with physicians while modernizing contracts, inventory, and utilization. Alan shares the playbook for “reasonable just in time,” in-house distribution, and cleaning up preference cards to cut waste and risk. • career path from OR operations to SVP supply chain • building integrated systems across purchasing, inventory, finance • regional GPO strategy for physician preference items • in-house distribution for resilience and control • point-of-use inventory in cath labs and operating rooms • utilization governance and clinical integration with surgeons • preference card cleanup as a cost and quality lever • lessons from Cleveland Clinic on culture and alignment • COVID shortages, counterfeits, and buffer strategies • tariff volatility and leadership communication • earning trust through transparency and consistent results  Thank you for tuning in! Be sure to subscribe and connect with us online to access all our episodes. If you have a topic you’d like us to cover or are interested in being a guest on the show, reach out to Fred at fcrans@stonge.com.  Send us a text

    33 min

  7. 11/06/2025

    Sixty Years Of Healthcare Supply Chain Wisdom

    Season three opens with a twist: Tom Redding takes the interviewer’s chair to explore Fred Crans's 60-year journey across healthcare logistics and supply chain. What follows is a fast-paced, deeply human conversation about resilience, mentorship, and the kind of innovation that doesn’t always look like a shiny device. From typing memos and walking hospital campuses to orchestrating complex, data-driven IDNs, Fred shows how the fundamentals—relationships, clarity, and integrity—scale with technology rather than get replaced by it. Fred’s story reframes what “innovation” really means. As a Navy corpsman in Vietnam, he watched helicopters—not instruments—save lives by shrinking the time from injury to care. That lesson became his operating system: build networks that move fast, standardize handoffs, and feed decisions with accurate data. We dig into value analysis, the rise of data quality as a competitive edge, and the cultural shifts required to align clinicians, purchasing, and vendors. Along the way, Fred shares a defining moment when he challenged leadership and a favored GPO to protect truth and his team—proof that integrity isn’t just moral, it’s operational. Mentors loom large in Fred’s narrative, from a WWII survivor who taught him to stop “winning” at others’ expense, to supply chain icons who built today’s leadership bench. He’s proudest of the 30-plus people he’s helped elevate to director roles and beyond. For early-career pros, his advice is blunt and generous: learn the clinical world you serve, pair analytics with empathy, and seek out elders who will challenge and champion you. He also looks ahead 20 years—fewer but stronger systems, better-educated supply chain leaders with real-world clinical context, and technology that turns clean data into faster, smarter decisions. Stay to the end for why he won’t retire at 80: purpose, community, and the joy of staying relevant. If you enjoyed this conversation, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review to help others find it. Got a topic or want to join us on the mic? Reach out and let’s keep the conversation going. Send us a text

    33 min

  8. 10/23/2025

    What Suppliers Wish Hospitals Knew About Value, Quality, And Risk

    We talk with Stuart Wooster, a former hospital supply chain leader now on the supplier side, about how value, quality, and risk management change when you build products as well as deliver them. The result is a practical playbook for resilience, smarter negotiations, and better outcomes. • value as quality, service, and cost combined • community hospitals sustained by smart scale, not size alone • provider reliance on GPOs versus strategic insourcing • manufacturing quality, traceability, and parametric release • distributor windows and the true causes of stockouts • advanced wound care total cost versus unit price • dual sourcing, localization, and FTZ strategy • negotiation tactics and fair margin for RD • clinician feedback loops and supplier collaboration • resilience planning for uncertainty and disruption Don't forget to subscribe and connect with us online where you can find all of our episodes If you have a topic you would like to discuss or want to be a guest on the show, you can reach out to Fred directly at fcrans@stonge.com Send us a text

    33 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

St. Onge’s Healthcare Hall of Famer and industry icon, Fred Crans, chats with leaders from all areas of healthcare to discuss the issues of today's- threats, challenges and emerging trends and technologies in a lighthearted and engaging manner.ENGINEERING A BETTER HEALTHCARE SYSTEM We provide comprehensive planning and design services to develop world-class facilities and highly effective support services operations. Our capabilities in hospital supply chain consulting include applied industrial engineering, lean methodologies, systems thinking, and operations research to enable improved patient care and staff satisfaction. We are proud to have worked with over 100 hospitals, including 18 of the top 22 in the US, utilizing diverse design strategies, post-construction implementation, and change management.

Information

  • Creator
    St. Onge
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    73
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Taking The Supply Chain Pulse
  • Show Website
    Taking The Supply Chain Pulse