Healthcare organizations are entering a new phase of financial pressure defined less by inflation and more by structural inefficiencies embedded in indirect spend. 

Across many health systems, purchasing has become fragmented and decentralized. Departments rely on online retailers, local vendors and legacy procurement channels to acquire non-clinical supplies. Over time, this has created SKU proliferation, inconsistent pricing, limited visibility and minimal enterprise control. 

What is now emerging is a clear shift. Health systems are moving away from decentralized purchasing toward procurement governance models designed to restore control, standardization, and system-wide accountability. 

While indirect spend is often framed as a cost issue, healthcare leaders increasingly see a deeper problem: lack of governance. 

When purchasing is distributed across facilities and service lines without consistent standards, organizations face predictable outcomes: 

The result is not just inefficiency; it’s loss of control over spend behavior. 

As John Geurin, SVP, Vertical Markets for Healthcare at Staples Business, explains: “We’ve been partnering with health systems to move from fragmented purchasing to governed, standardized procurement that improves visibility, consistency and control across the enterprise.” 

Procurement is shifting from a transactional function to a managed enterprise system where consistency and control sit alongside cost efficiency. 

Geurin notes, “Health systems that succeed focus on control and consistency, while simplifying execution rather than overcomplicating it.” 

Supplier expectations are also evolving toward supporting enterprise-wide standardization rather than category-level fulfillment. 

Indirect categories such as facilities supplies, breakroom products, office essentials, furniture and environmental services inputs are increasingly recognized as drivers of operational performance. 

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