Newsletter #2

September 2018

New features, New passwords…

Welcome to our September newsletter!

We’ve got lots to talk about this month, with the release of v2 Price Benchmarking (PB) allowing more than £1bn additional spend to be benchmarked, along with new features in v2.03 of Procurement Dashboard (PD).

As well as focussing on our applications and data, we also spend time on the stuff you don’t see – like security and resilience. That’s why we’ll be issuing new passwords to all our users during the next few days. We’ve listened to your feedback and will drop those complex passwords for passphrases. Instead, it’ll be two words and a number – so, easier for you to remember, yet still just as secure. Keep an eye out for the email – it will be sent to all Heads of Procurement.

Remember, if you’re unable to get into an application or have a question, just send support@adviseinc.co.uk  an email and the team will help you (mugshots below).

Mat
Co-founder, AdviseInc

What’s happening in app land…

Big changes are coming to PB (including PPIB for NHSI customers). In fact, we’ve completely changed the way we benchmark under the hood.

For a start, pricing outliers will now only affect the trust that gave us the outlier (and not all trusts). Also, Units of Measure have been cleaned behind the scenes and are now used to provide ‘each’ pricing. So, it doesn’t matter if you buy an each, a box or a pallet – all pricing can be compared. Look out for our transition training webex email from Pete!

With PD, we’ve made subtle improvements in v2.03. The Who Are You supplier credentialing information is now displayed for Who Are You customers. This allows you to link your spend data with supplier rep visits, making it easier to monitor a supplier’s contractual commitment (re: onsite support).

And big news… PD v2.03 launches our new partnership with GS1. We’re the first service to provide GTIN checking services within an analytics solution. And it’s at no extra cost to PD customers. Simply provide GTINs through your catalogue feed, and we’ll check them through our exclusive link to see if there are any issues – the results are displayed in PD.

“GS1 UK are very happy to be working with AdviseInc to support the NHS in using product data to improve patient safety. Trusts and suppliers will now be able to make sure that they’re using Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) correctly, so that their products can be uniquely identified. This is vital for traceability as errors in the numbers can lead to incorrect product identification, impacting patient safety and operational efficiency. We look forward to seeing the positive impact our work with AdviseInc will have on the use of GS1 standards in the NHS.”

Meet your Support Team…

Shelley Cantrell is AdviseInc’s Data Manager and responsible for sorting through all of the Procurement Dashboard data that comes in. She’ll also get you set up with the tools when you on-board with us.

Jane Ashton is our Team Data Support and responsible for all the PPIB data that is uploaded. She’s AdviseInc’s frontline customer support and the go-to person for all your PPIB queries.

We’re the Support Team at AdviseInc… the people you’re most likely to meet first when you get in touch. We’ve notched up many years of experience within the NHS and Procurement, so we’re well equipped to assist you with any help you need.

We deal with a range of queries, from logins and passwords, data quality and analytics, through to information about our apps. We also manage and deliver training sessions. Dates are included at the bottom of our newsletters, so keep an eye out for future sessions. You can also see what’s coming up here. And don’t forget about the Solutions page within the support desk, where you’ll find our FAQs and details on training materials.

You can get in touch with us by raising a ticket via the support desk, emailing us at support@adviseinc.co.uk or by giving us a call on 020 7112 9222.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Hints & Tips

Uploading Data? Here’s a few things to remember…

✔ Name the file correctly and use CAPITAL LETTERS
✔ Replace the relevant parts of the filename, e.g. DDMMYY with 010918
✔ Make sure all the fields are named correctly too
✔ Don’t include any additional data within the file
✔ Only use the secure upload link to send over your data (please don’t email!)

Customer Success

Customers are now using our new DAaS service and saving more money.

Data Analytics as a Service (DAaS) is where we turbo-charge your own capacity/capability to serve you with insight, augmenting analytics with our own categorisation and experience. We’re already providing this service to 20+ trusts with great early results and a significant ROI.

“AdviseInc identified that our orthopaedic pricing was higher than other trusts with a similar volume using the same agreement. AdviseInc’s analysis highlighted that we’d overpaid our orthopaedic supplier by £100k. Upon being notified, the supplier credited us the money back. A massive ROI with little or no effort on our part and something we may not have spotted without their help”

(County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust)

If you’d like to find out how we can turbocharge your savings, please contact the team at info@adviseinc.co.uk