Bergen Brunswig forms alliance with Baxter Healthcare to be logistics manager for the Baylor Healthcare System.ORANGE, Calif.--(HealthWire)--May 18, 1995--Bergen Brunswig Corporation (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. ) today announced that it has formed an alliance with Baxter Healthcare Corporation to provide the distribution channel for products to the Baylor Health Care System (BHCS BHCS Baylor Health Care System (Texas) BHCS Bore Hole Compensated Sonic (well logging tool for oil & gas) BHCS Big Head Club Society ) and its affiliates. BHCS, headquartered in Dallas, is the largest network of hospitals in the Southwest with seven hospitals and three affiliate hospitals with over 2,300 licensed beds. Its premier hospital, Baylor University Medical Center Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) is located at 3500 Gaston Avenue in east Dallas, Texas (USA). Its medical services are often listed in the annual U.S. News & World Report compilation of Best Hospitals. , is a five-hospital teaching complex specializing in organ transplantation The transfer of organs such as the kidneys, heart, or liver from one body to another. The transplantation of human organs has become a common medical procedure. Typical organs transplanted are the kidneys, heart, liver, pancreas, cornea, skin, bones, and lungs. , cardiology, gastroenterology gastroenterology Medical specialty dealing with digestion and the digestive system. In the 17th century Jan Baptista van Helmont conducted the first scientific studies in the field; William Beaumont published his own observations in 1833. , orthopedics, oncology and women's health Women's Health Definition Women's health is the effect of gender on disease and health that encompasses a broad range of biological and psychosocial issues. services. BHCS is also a participating member of the Voluntary Hospitals of America (VHA VHA Veterans Health Administration VHA Variable Housing Allowance VHA Villages Homeowners Association VHA Voluntary Hospitals Association VHA Virtual Home Agent VHA Very High Altitude VHA Vapor Hazard Area VHA Vermont Holstein-Friesian Association ) group. Through a unique relationship, Bergen Brunswig, Baxter and several strategic manufacturers (such as 3M, Abbott and DeRoyal) intend to make the continuum of care more efficient by way of boosting the distributors' role in materiels management. Bergen Brunswig will serve as the logistics coordinator with the Bergen information system managing the electronic catalog for all suppliers and processing all orders. The BHCS will then determine if the appropriate facilitator to complete the delivery process is Baxter or one of the Bergen Brunswig companies: Bergen Brunswig Drug Company, Alternate Site Distributors or Durr Medical. This integration concept originated in 1992 when BHCS and Bergen Brunswig redesigned and expanded the traditional hospital/manufacturer/wholesaler relationship to include the ordering and delivery of product categories such as IVs, contrast media and custom procedural packs in a just-in-time format. Continued development of the relationship and process identified the desire for a "one-stop-shop" that would facilitate the distribution of products throughout the BHCS continuum of care. As a result, BHCS determined Bergen Brunswig and Baxter would be the best vehicles to drive the process. "This Alliance is very unique because of the level at which each distributor will become involved with the materiels management process," said Robert E. Martini, Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Bergen Brunswig Corporation. "The expected high level of integration between the Alliance partners and manufacturers will be an extraordinary breakthrough compared to traditional methods of the healthcare delivery system and the role of the distributor." "Most distributors get involved with their customers at the purchase order phase, but these Alliance partners will participate at the master scheduling level, creating forecasts, handling billing of materiels and inventory and managing the flow of goods through point of use," explained Lee Majewski, Corporate Director of Materiels Services for the Baylor Health Care System. "Baylor's goal is to operate in a paperless environment within 18 months, thereby reducing costs significantly. We chose these Alliance partners because they better fit our business strategies and possess the experience in value added Value Added The enhancement a company gives its product or service before offering the product to customers. Notes: This can either increase the products price or value. and reengineering initiatives which contribute to thinking of new strategies." Baxter Healthcare Corporation's Group Vice President of Business Process Innovation, Darnell Martin, added, "In this changing environment, we need to draw on the strengths that distributor/manufacturer alliances can bring to taking costs out of the system. We will develop processes to ensure equal opportunity and access to BHCS for all manufacturers. Manufacturers will continue to provide quality products and services to achieve the optimal quality of patient care." Bergen Brunswig Corporation, with annualized annualized Of or relating to a variable that has been mathematically converted to a yearly rate. Inflation and interest rates are generally annualized since it is on this basis that these two variables are ordinarily stated and compared. revenues in excess of $8.0 billion, is the nation's largest supplier of pharmaceuticals to the managed care market, with its Durr Medical subsidiary the fourth largest distributor of medical and surgical supplies to hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, veterinary clinics and physicians. Bergen's specialty wholesaling division, Alternate Site Distributors, furnishes pharmaceuticals and oncology products to clinic and physician accounts. Baxter International (NYSE:BAX), through its subsidiaries, is the leading manufacturer and marketer of healthcare products and services in nearly 100 countries worldwide. The company concentrates research and development programs in biotechnology, cardiovascular medicine, renal therapy and related medical fields. Baxter sales in 1994 totaled $9.3 billion. CONTACT: Bergen Brunswig Corporation, Orange Lisa Riordan, Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. , 800/840-5131 |
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