For a decade, healthcare supply chain investment has chased visibility. But seeing a disruption is not the same as responding to one. In 2026, the organizations pulling ahead are the ones that can turn a signal into coordinated action. That gap between visibility and response is now the defining divide in the healthcare supply chain.
Yet progress is often held back by fragmented data, disconnected systems, and manual workflows. The same Black Book study reported that 81% of respondents lacked near-real-time visibility across critical supply domains, suppliers, and sites of care. This is not surprising, as many organizations manage a dispersed supply chain. For example, before working with Infor™, one New York healthcare organization managed data from more than 120 vendors and 600 contracts. When data is siloed across that many partners, inconsistencies follow, and proactively managing the supply chain becomes harder to sustain.
Leading organizations are responding differently. They are consolidating data, improving shortage management, strengthening sourcing decisions, and accelerating substitute workflows. The difference comes down to enterprise visibility, clinical coordination, and workflow speed, which let them move quickly from a disruption signal to a coordinated response. Black Book frames this as the central test for 2026: whether a health system can translate visibility into action faster and coordinate sourcing and clinical decisions more cleanly.
For supply chain and finance leaders, closing that gap requires more than another dashboard. It requires reliable data and connected workflows that let teams act without adding inventory or administrative burden.
This isn't theoretical. At Confluence Health, an integrated healthcare delivery system in north central Washington, staff are using our chat-based experience and agents to get real-time information without having to sift through reports. For Stace Webley and his team, this means less time on manual tasks and more time utilizing staff's talents to care for patients.
The question for leaders is whether their data, workflows, and decisions enable that kind of consistent response, or whether every disruption still demands more inventory, manual escalation, and individual heroics.
Supply chain’s role is becoming more strategic
Healthcare supply chain teams are being asked to do more than negotiate contracts and manage inventory. They increasingly contribute to cost control, operational resilience, and clinicians’ ability to access the supplies they need. A Black Book study notes that expense pressure and working-capital stress are pushing supply chain modernization forward and elevating the function beyond a back-office efficiency initiative.Yet progress is often held back by fragmented data, disconnected systems, and manual workflows. The same Black Book study reported that 81% of respondents lacked near-real-time visibility across critical supply domains, suppliers, and sites of care. This is not surprising, as many organizations manage a dispersed supply chain. For example, before working with Infor™, one New York healthcare organization managed data from more than 120 vendors and 600 contracts. When data is siloed across that many partners, inconsistencies follow, and proactively managing the supply chain becomes harder to sustain.
From reactive processes to coordinated action
This is where the divide becomes visible. When a product is backordered, teams at less-connected organizations still have to search across systems, confirm availability, identify an acceptable substitute, coordinate clinical review, and track down approvals before they can act. Every step adds delay, cost, and risk to patient care.Leading organizations are responding differently. They are consolidating data, improving shortage management, strengthening sourcing decisions, and accelerating substitute workflows. The difference comes down to enterprise visibility, clinical coordination, and workflow speed, which let them move quickly from a disruption signal to a coordinated response. Black Book frames this as the central test for 2026: whether a health system can translate visibility into action faster and coordinate sourcing and clinical decisions more cleanly.
For supply chain and finance leaders, closing that gap requires more than another dashboard. It requires reliable data and connected workflows that let teams act without adding inventory or administrative burden.
How Infor supports the shift
Infor has spent decades helping health systems unite finance and supply chain data with information from the electronic health record (EHR). That foundation is now reflected in independent recognition: In a Black Book study of 783 healthcare supply chain leaders, Infor was ranked the #1 client-rated vendor in Enterprise Backbone, ERP, MMIS, and Procure-to-Pay Platforms, with the highest scores in item-master governance, strategic sourcing and e-procurement, and total cost of ownership. It isn't just about product satisfaction. It's about proactivity, and that's where we're investing alongside our healthcare customers. For example, some health systems are already using Infor Inventory Intelligence to help optimize reorder points, order quantities, and inventory levels based on their own consumption patterns. Recent releases have automated routine work such as vendor backorder follow-up, packing slip processing, and decentralized recall response, reducing manual effort and helping teams respond faster. This fall, we are building on that momentum with capabilities such as anomaly detection, more intelligent forecasting, and artificial intelligence (AI) agents designed to help identify issues earlier and accelerate action.This isn't theoretical. At Confluence Health, an integrated healthcare delivery system in north central Washington, staff are using our chat-based experience and agents to get real-time information without having to sift through reports. For Stace Webley and his team, this means less time on manual tasks and more time utilizing staff's talents to care for patients.
The question for leaders is whether their data, workflows, and decisions enable that kind of consistent response, or whether every disruption still demands more inventory, manual escalation, and individual heroics.