Unlocking Value Across the Healthcare Procurement Life Cycle: A Case Study Example

Context

This case study is based on practical guidance shared during Health Procurement Africa’s (HPA) Ask the Expert webinar on unlocking value throughout the healthcare procurement life cycle. The session was delivered by HPA procurement experts alongside practitioners from Kenya and Nigeria, and explored how public-sector health procurement teams can move beyond transactional purchasing to deliver sustained value across medical supplies, equipment, and services.

Watch the full Ask the Expert webinar recording here.

Introduction

The concept of value in procurement has broadened significantly. Where once the focus was price and lead times, effective procurement now encompasses cost reduction at supplier level, risk management, waste elimination, quality improvement, innovation, and supply chain sustainability. Value is created at the planning stage, protected through contract terms, and measured at implementation — with stakeholder engagement, standardisation, and competitive supply markets underpinning every stage.

Value Across the Procurement Life Cycle

The seven-stage procurement cycle divides into two phases. The first three stages focus on analysis; the final four on developing strategies and systems to capture and sustain value.

The emphasis within the cycle varies by procurement category. For medical supplies and commodities — high-throughput, fast-moving goods — the critical areas are demand forecasting, inventory management, and distribution. For medical equipment, with its long operational life, the focus shifts to total life cycle costing: acquisition, operating, and disposal costs must all be assessed before a procurement decision is made. Equipment contracting options — outright purchase, leasing, or managed equipment services — should be evaluated on cost-benefit terms, with robust service level agreements, performance clauses, and exit provisions in place where services are outsourced. Medical services present additional complexity due to their intangible nature, variability, and the need for close ongoing integration between buyer and supplier.

Case Application: Unlocking Value in Kenya’s Public Health System

Kenya’s public health system faced a persistent paradox: catastrophic stockouts of essential, low-cost medicines occurring simultaneously with millions of shillings tied up in specialised or slow-moving supplies expiring unused. The response focused on two areas: smart forecasting and supply planning, and last mile visibility.

Smart Forecasting and Supply Planning

Kenya shifted from traditional historic-data procurement to demand-driven purchasing using point-of-service consumption data and mobility data. Three tools support this approach.

Last Mile Visibility

Kenya identified that value is most at risk not at the point of tender but after supplies pass through facility gates — where leakages, poor stock management, and a disconnect between procurement and clinical teams erode impact. The government’s response was digitisation and integration of facility-level inventory management through the Taifa Care system, which includes Tiberbu Kenya EMR and Afya KE, implemented across all public facilities.

This enabled real-time stock visibility at national, county, and facility level; eliminated dead stock and emergency local purchases; and allowed healthcare workers to match patient diagnosis to available medicines. Regular audits prevent leakage. Last mile visibility feeds accurate consumption data back into forecasting and supply planning, closing the loop.

Case Application: Integrated Malaria Campaign Procurement, Nigeria

In 2025, Catholic Relief Services’ Global Fund Malaria Project integrated two large-scale malaria campaigns across six Nigerian states: insecticide-treated nets (ITN) mass distribution targeting all households (every three years), and seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) targeting children under five during peak rainfall. The integrated campaign distributed 23.7 million ITNs and 46 million SMC treatments.

Key Challenges

Procurement and Logistics Strategies

The campaign was delivered as scheduled. Early planning eliminated emergency shipments. Sub-national collaboration optimised warehouse and transport use. The approach has since been replicated in other health programmes and strengthened stakeholder confidence in the supply chain.

Lessons Learned

• Value in procurement is broader than price. Cost reduction at the supplier level, risk management, waste elimination, quality, and supply chain sustainability all contribute — and require different tools and approaches at each stage of the procurement cycle.
• For medical supplies, demand forecasting and last mile visibility are where the greatest value is at risk. Tendering is necessary but insufficient — the problems lie downstream.
• For medical equipment, life cycle costing is essential. Acquisition price is a small fraction of total cost; operating, maintenance, and disposal costs must be evaluated before a procurement decision is made.
• Digitisation and real-time data transform supply chain performance. Visibility at facility level prevents stockouts before they occur and creates the accurate consumption data needed for effective forecasting.
• Early planning and stakeholder coordination are the foundation of complex campaign logistics. The integration of two large-scale campaigns was only achievable because of advance procurement, synchronised delivery, and continuous multi-stakeholder engagement.

Conclusion

This case study demonstrates that unlocking value across the healthcare procurement life cycle requires more than competitive tendering. Kenya’s experience shows how digital tools, real-time data, and demand-driven procurement can eliminate the paradox of simultaneous stockouts and waste. Nigeria’s integrated campaign illustrates how early planning, risk management, and structured stakeholder coordination can deliver at scale under complex conditions. In both cases, the shift from transactional purchasing to strategic procurement directly improved health commodity availability and patient outcomes.