symplr Survey Uncovers Mounting Challenges Healthcare Supply Chain Leaders Face in 2025

Today’s leaders prepare to tackle disruptions, costs, and clinician alignment amid outcome pressures

HOUSTON, March 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — symplr^®, a leading provider of enterprise healthcare operations software, today released its 2025 State of Healthcare Supply Chain Survey results, revealing escalating challenges and shifting priorities for U.S. hospitals and health systems. Among nearly 100 healthcare supply chain leaders surveyed, 69% expect persistent or worsening challenges, with 36% citing supply chain disruptions as their top concern, surpassing traditional cost concerns.

symplr’s second annual survey helps monitor trends in the healthcare supply chain landscape while identifying opportunities for improvement. Rising costs, geopolitical instability, and looming tariffs are exacerbating operational pressures, requiring stronger risk management and resilience strategies.

Other findings include:

• Top priorities: Improving patient outcomes (22%), standardization (22%), and cost savings (20%), signaling a shift toward a more clinically integrated and efficient supply chain
• Skills gap: Only 28% feel confident that supply chain professionals have the necessary skills to address rising complexities, highlighting the critical need for talent development
• Clinician alignment: 20% say their clinicians are supportive of supply chain activities, indicating a need for greater collaboration between teams
• Strategic role: While 56% see the supply chain gaining influence, it is still bogged down with tactical tasks, and only 34% consider it a highly strategic function at their organization

To address these challenges, the newly launched symplr Operations Platform (SOP) standardizes processes and integrates software to alleviate common healthcare supply chain management challenges through centralized workflows, improved cross-functional collaboration, and operational efficiency. With 85% of healthcare supply chain leaders stating that technology has helped improve supply chain operational efficiency, the SOP aims to build on this trend, empowering organizations to achieve enhanced productivity and streamlined operations.

“We’re seeing a clear demand for supply chain leadership to undergo a transformation evolving as quickly as the industry,” said Dee Donatelli, Senior Director of symplr Spend at symplr and winner of the George R. Gossett Leadership Award from the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management. “Leaders recognize that they need to be more than just cost-efficient; they need to be agile, resilient, and clinically integrated to ensure the best possible patient care.” 

These findings highlight critical focus areas for healthcare systems, including integrating clinical metrics into decision-making, standardized healthcare operations, and supply chain effectiveness.

For more insights, download the State of Healthcare Supply Chain ebook.

About symplr  
symplr is a leader in enterprise healthcare operations software and services with a first-of-its-kind operations platform. Trusted in 9 of 10 U.S. hospitals and 400+ U.S. health plans, symplr optimizes operations and maximizes care powered by our cloud-based workforce, quality, provider data management, and spend solutions. Gain efficiencies, reduce complexity and improve outcomes where it matters most. Learn how to stay ahead of change at www.symplr.com. 

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SOURCE symplr