Introduction to workforce development

Health supply chain management is complex and requires appropriate staff, organisational structures, skills, working conditions, and resources. Public and private sectors draw from a similar, limited pool of skilled workers to staff supply chains for various commodity types, and this shortage continues to expand as economies grow.

When logistics and supply chain management operations are newly outsourced, building contract management capacity may require hiring new staff or additional training for staff who previously directly managed operations. The internal staff transitioning to a contract management role need to understand the shift in mindset from direct management to contractor oversight and relationship management.

Managing a supplier relationship may require additional training or capacity building. Staff who once directly managed a warehouse or scheduled transport will now need to be equipped to handle a supplier relationship and ensure that operations are running smoothly and customers’ needs are being met. There will be a shift toward oversight that includes checking, approving and processing invoices, information management, and ensuring service levels are met (quality monitoring).

Other key areas are financial oversight, conflict management and relationship building. Governments must have sufficient technical capacity to write clear and complete technical requirements and terms for the service agreements and assess the proposals.

After award, the government must have systems and capacity to manage the service provider’s performance – i.e., monitor performance and take corrective action when prescribed performance expectations are not met. The government must also understand that it still has the ultimate responsibility for performance – fault for underperformance will rightly fall on the ministry of health or the central medical store if they cannot award and manage the contract successfully.