Balancing AI Potential in Medical Devices: Optimization and Human Thinking

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into medical devices has shown tremendous promise in revolutionizing patient care, diagnosis, and treatment. From detecting subtle anomalies in medical images to offering predictive insights, AI-powered medical devices offer remarkable potential.

However, as society embraces this transformative technology, it’s crucial to strike a balance between harnessing AI’s capabilities and preserving the indispensable role of human expertise. One key consideration is the optimization of both hardware and software in AI-driven medical devices. Cutting-edge AI algorithms are only as effective as the hardware they run on.

Ensuring that devices are equipped with the necessary processing power and memory to handle complex AI computations is paramount. Moreover, ongoing software updates are essential to refine AI algorithms, enhance accuracy, and address emerging medical challenges. Regular optimization ensures that medical devices remain relevant and effective throughout their lifespan.

While AI can greatly enhance efficiency and accuracy, it must not overshadow the importance of human thinking. Medical professionals possess a wealth of knowledge, experience, and intuition that AI cannot replicate. The human touch in diagnosis and treatment encompasses empathy, ethical judgment, and critical thinking, which are vital in complex medical cases and patient interactions. AI should be seen as a valuable tool that aids medical professionals rather than replacing their expertise.

To strike the right balance, interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial. Engineers, data scientists, and medical practitioners must collaborate to develop AI-powered medical devices that align with clinical needs and ethical standards. Regular feedback from healthcare providers can help fine-tune algorithms and ensure that AI recommendations are clinically sound as well as patient-centric.

Dynamic Team Promotes Diverse Supply Chain at WBENC Conference

Dynamic's Tami Schultz (left) and Farida Ali at the WBENC conference.

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) recently welcomed thousands of attendees to Nashville for its 2023 National Conference, the largest event of its kind for women business owners. The Dynamic Technology Solutions team was proud to participate in this important annual gathering that fuels business opportunities for women entrepreneurs and corporate executives and celebrates efforts by WBENC members to advance a more diverse supply chain.

This year’s “Momentum”-themed conference offered attendees opportunities to network, learn industry trends, and share innovative best practices. As a woman-owned business, Dynamic Technology Solutions was represented on-site by CEO and President Farida Ali and Business Development Vice President Tami Schultz, who connected with other certified women-owned businesses in the exhibit hall, demo stations, and education sessions.

According to WBENC, there are 13 million women-owned businesses in the U.S., representing 42% of all businesses, yet there is still significant disparity in revenue and capital between these businesses and others. As the largest certifier of women-owned businesses in the U.S., WBENC works to advance the success of women-owned businesses through its advocacy, events, and programs. It also promotes the next generation of female leadership through its Collegiate Accelerator program.

Learn more about WBENC on LinkedIn and on the WBENC website.

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Dynamic’s Tami Schultz (left) and Farida Ali at the WBENC conference.

Digitization and ESG in Focus at DMSCA Accelerate2023 Conference

Accelerate2023 conference promo

The Dynamic Technology Solutions team recently participated in one of the leading education and training events promoting diversity-led supplier development and supply chain strategy. Accelerate2023, the annual gathering of the Diverse Manufacturing Supply Chain Alliance (DMSCA), brought together procurement officers of large multinational companies and leaders of small to midsize manufacturers to promote a vision for U.S. manufacturing that is innovative, sustainable, and inclusive.

This year’s conference explored hot topics such as digitalized supply chain networks and ESG (environmental, sustainability, and governance)-driven circular supply chains, while also showcasing corporate supplier diversity. The Dynamic team members on-site at Accelerate2023 included COO Mike Hart, and Business Development Vice President Tami Schultz, who noted several useful trends and takeaways on topics of importance to both procurement leaders and suppliers.

“We’re hearing a key strategy to build resiliency into the supply base is a shift from globally centralized to local suppliers,” Ms. Schultz said. “Many life sciences customers are scaling up their local supply base.”

Ms. Schultz reported that procurement teams have also shifted from having an evenly divided internal/external focus to having more than 90% external focus to ensure the supply required will be available to generate the company’s revenue.

Conference attendees also had a chance to hear the latest developments in digitalization and ESG. “Leaders are continuing to prioritize digitalization as a way to increase data-driven transparency throughout the sub-tier supply chains,” according to Ms. Schultz. “But to achieve that transparency, organizations need to adopt common frameworks for digital process, data definition, and data integrity. In addition, companies are increasingly focused on ESG strategies as a competitive advantage with both employees and customers.”

Panelists noted that workforce development and access to qualified talent continue to be challenges for companies. As older workers retire, leaders need to ensure that legacy knowledge is retained and passed along to a new, more diverse generation of professionals.

Event speakers also stressed that suppliers today must be aligned with their customers’ core values in order to succeed. Life sciences customers, they said, are looking for a supply base that represents the patient population they support, and they need to make their supply base decisions accordingly. One medical device company noted that it is a patient-centric company with high expectations for its suppliers, adding that if a supplier doesn’t deliver for it, then the company can’t deliver for its patients.

For Your Supply Chain Summer Reading List: A thriller, a graphic novel, and a “How-To” book

Supply Chain Summer Reading List

It’s tempting, as you head out on vacation this summer, to leave the laptop at home and turn your attention to the best-selling mystery novel you picked up at the airport while waiting for your delayed flight to finally board.  But there’s an argument to be made for filling your suitcase with books that explore—and offer thought-provoking remedies to—the critical mysteries that you wrangle with every day: How to keep your supply chain moving in the face of natural and man-made disasters. How to create and manage a product development process that maximizes profitability and remains resilient regardless of market forces. How to forecast new challenges and turn them into opportunities before they wreak havoc with your business. How to infuse the spirit of innovation, experimentation, and constant questioning throughout your company, using crises to spur growth.

Not the relaxing read you were looking for? On the contrary, we would submit that the following collection of books may well provide not only solace in this challenging time but bring you back to work both reenergized and recommitted.

In Ian Bremmer’s new book, The Power of Crisis, this renowned political scientist explores the paralysis that many business leaders have felt when confronting recent global health emergencies, climate change, and even artificial intelligence, especially when consensus on actions to take has become so difficult to reach. But, through a careful look at both historic and current strategies, he’s able to demonstrate that “governments, corporations, and every concerned citizen … can use these coming crises to create … worldwide prosperity and opportunity.”

MIT professor and serial entrepreneur Yossi Sheffi, who spoke to Dynamic in a recent edition of Value Chain, provides similar evidence in The Resilent Enterprise. Building on his 2016 volume, The Power of Resilience, Sheffi uses real-world case studies from such companies as Nokia, Dell, UPS, Apple, and Toyota to show how the flexibility—and resilience—these companies have built into their supply chains have allowed them, despite the volatile marketplace in which they operate, to balance security, redundancy, and short-term profits, reducing risk and achieving competitive advantage.

In Transforming Supply Chains, Sydney-based supply chain thought leaders John Gattorna and Deborah Ellis take a similar stance, showing how companies can successfully incorporate geopolitics, climate change, social media, and fragmenting consumer behavior into both their supply chain design and their daily operations. Toward that same end, Risk—and Your Supply Chain, by supply chain and procurement leaders Omer Abdullah and Subash Chandar, reexamines standard approaches to crisis and risk management and concludes that business leaders can not only safeguard against current crises, but prepare for those yet to come.

The mindset necessary to take this approach, argues supply chain consultant Nicolas Vandeput in Data Science for Supply Chain Forecasting, is rooted in such scientific method principles as experimentation, observation, and constant questioning. Product management veteran Matthew Fitzgerald applies this approach to product lifecycle management in Trees Don’t Grow to the Sky, warning, in the words of the German proverb from which he took his book’s title, against straight-line thinking, pointing out that “the product, the customer, the market will not continue to grow simply because they have always grown in the past.”

Still too heavy for the beach? Then consider illustrator Dean Motter’s recent graphic interpretation of the late management guru Eliyahu M. Goldratt’s 1984 best-selling business novel, The Goal, which tells the story of a harried plant manager who saves his factory after a former professor introduces him to the Theory of Constraints. Or Devil in the Chain, billed as “a supply chain management business thriller.” In business turnaround expert James Amoah’s story, a family uses the principles of supply chain management to lead their chocolate business from likely failure to success.

Inspired? Then start putting together your Christmas gift list today. One suggestion: Sustainable Procurement, due out in December, purchasing authority Jonathan O’Brien’s argument that savvy management of supply chains is intricately tied to the quest for sustainability.

Supply Chain, Sustainability, and Workforce Challenges Top of Mind at Women Business Owners Conference

Women’s Business Enterprise National Council Conference

Last week, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) celebrated 25 years of promoting women-owned businesses at its annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Held in person for the first time since 2019, the conference drew 4,000 people, providing incredible opportunities for attendees and suppliers to network and share information about the most pressing topics in the current economic climate, including supply chain struggles and challenges related to employee acquisition and retention.

As a woman-owned company, the Dynamic Technology Solutions team was on-hand to connect with other women entrepreneurs, learn about the challenges facing these business leaders, and meet face-to-face with the large OEMs serving this audience. Our representatives held many one-on-one meetings with medical device and pharma OEMs that included supplier diversity, procurement, and IT business members.

During the conference, we heard directly from suppliers that supply chain resiliency is now an imperative and that sustainability has become a topic of emerging importance.

Speakers and attendees noted that suppliers need to mirror their customers when it comes to adopting an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) perspective. Though there’s no specific road map to follow, it’s essential for suppliers to pursue some ESG initiatives and aspirations in order to even get in the door.

A Focus on Workforce Issues

Another recurring message for business owners at the event was that companies need to keep focused on workforce issues—not only in terms of how to attract new employees but also on how to keep them.

Employers focused on hiring and retention should keep in mind that since the start of the pandemic, workforce demographics have changed considerably. In contrast to members of older generations, young professionals are more likely to seek and value work-life balance, team environment, technology, sustainability, and alignment with company purpose when making decisions about employers.

As reported during the conference, close to 50% of young people polled entering the job market said that they would not join a company unless that company matched their values. This generational shift in mindset has become a real challenge in attracting and hiring talent from an increasingly tight pool of candidates.

One conference speaker offered a possible solution to address the shortage of qualified employees. Accenture CEO, North America, James Etheredge has initiated an 18-month professional apprenticeship program at the company to fill a significant need for skilled workers. The company hopes to fill 20% of its entry-level roles from the apprenticeship program in the U.S. by 2022.

Participating in the WBENC conference and other industry events is just one of the ways the Dynamic team stays informed and connected to the issues and challenges facing businesses today, helping them solve problems and deliver solutions for clients.

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Session at 2022 Women’s Business Enterprise National Council Conference. Source: WBENC

Skin in the Game: A Collaborative Approach to Identifying Supply Chain Risk

skin-in-the-game

Transparency and visibility are critical to the effective operation of supply chains, and manufacturers and suppliers share a great deal of information in order to increase efficiency and predictability and, ultimately, get materials and products to the right place at the right time. But that type of collaboration often falls short in one key area—the identification of risk.

Typically, manufacturers are highly diligent when it comes to asking suppliers to share data about costs, schedules, and lead times—but very few apply the same sort of rigor when it comes to requiring information about upstream supply risks. They may hope that suppliers give them that information, or they may try to find it on their own, but they rarely press suppliers for it. As a result, there is an increased likelihood that disruptions will catch them by surprise and that they will be forced to react to problems rather than prevent them.

That approach is becoming less and less tenable. As a report from McKinsey & Company notes, we are now “operating in a world where disruptions are regular occurrences. Averaging across industries, companies can now expect supply chain disruptions lasting a month or longer to occur every 3.7 years, and the most severe events take a major financial toll.”

The “Push” Approach

Manufacturers can address this by establishing a disciplined process in which suppliers proactively “push” risk information to manufacturers, rather than waiting to be asked for it. That means that contracts and RFPs should require suppliers to provide information on potential issues with obsolescence, sourcing, sustainability, and compliance for the manufacturer’s mission-critical products and components. The point is to ensure that suppliers have some skin in the game, and a clear responsibility for scanning the horizon for risk.

This process should also include mechanisms that make sure that this supplier risk information is fed to the appropriate people and functions within the manufacturer organization. This should include product and engineering teams, who can use that information to modify designs to mitigate the identified potential risks. Internal teams should also communicate closely with suppliers to provide guidance on specifications and streamline the authorization of alternative components to help reduce risk.

Mutual Benefit

All of this will require fundamental change in the traditional relationship with suppliers, and that may make suppliers uncomfortable. Therefore, it’s important to remind them that the increased responsiveness to risk that this process will bring will benefit them and the supply chain as a whole, as well as the manufacturer. And it will them help build higher levels of trust that strengthen their relationships with their customers.

This process is not, in itself, a cure-all for supply chain risk, and manufacturers will still need formal internal processes for evaluating these risks using a broad range of data and mechanisms to ensure that senior management can monitor risk. But the flow of supplier information can support those internal processes. Suppliers are, by definition, in a better position to see upstream risks—and in essence, this approach lets manufacturers tap into that perspective to extend their “risk perimeter” further out from the organization. Moreover, in the event of an unavoidable disruption, the shared understanding of risk and the increased levels of trust will put suppliers and manufacturers in a better position to work together to recover, thereby enhancing the resilience of the supply chain.

Reflections on the DA4S Conference: ESG, Partnering, and Diversity

DA4S Conference

When the Diversity Alliance for Science held its spring East Coast conference in Newark, New Jersey, several members of the Dynamic Technology Solutions team were in attendance. The following is drawn from their observations during the conference.

For 15 years, the Diversity Alliance for Science (DA4S) has been focusing on bringing greater diversity, in terms of both people and companies, to the life sciences industry. At the recent DA4S East Coast Conference, two aspects of that effort were prominent throughout the event—the need to enhance Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) programs, and the forging of partnerships between a variety of companies.

ESG has been around for a while, but as the meeting showed, it is now more important than ever. Today, partners, suppliers, employees, investors, and customers assess the companies that they work with through the lens of ESG. That message came through loud and clear at the meeting, where large pharma companies talked about the ESG attributes they expect to see in their suppliers.

Those pharma companies have good reason to look for those attributes. A few years ago, the McKinsey & Company management consulting firm performed a meta-study of more 2,000 studies examining ESG initiatives and found that 63% reported a positive business impact from those efforts, while only 8% reported a negative impact. So, as discussions at the meeting made clear, ESG is no longer a “do the right thing,” corporate social responsibility initiative—it is a powerful business mandate that can drive real results, now and in the long term. Certainly, suppliers will need to continue to provide value and quality with their products and services, but ESG will need to be in the mix as well.

Meanwhile, the importance of partnerships, captured in the event’s theme of “The Power of Us,” was underscored in several ways. Some discussions, for example, explored how Tier 1, 2, and 3 supplier relationships can bring unique value and innovation to life sciences organizations. A number of supplier showcase presentations (including one by our Vice President of Business Development Tami Schultz) provided insights into a range of solutions available to partners. Roundtable events brought different companies together for mutual education and discussions of possible partnering opportunities. And in the final session of the conference, representatives from various suppliers joined their customer counterparts on stage to talk about the partnering journeys they had taken. Every story was unique, but they all shared a common theme: that partnerships are an important key to building growth and success.

The value of ESG and partnerships—and ultimately, diversity in life sciences—are well understood at Dynamic Technology Solutions. But it was good to have that view reinforced at the meeting, and to have a chance to collaborate with others to explore ways to improve the industry on both fronts.

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Dynamic Technology Solutions’ Robert Werner, Tami Schultz, and Dan Wood at the DA4S East Coast Connection in Newark, New Jersey.

Don’t Be Taken by Surprise: The Case for Proactive End-of-Life (EOL) Planning

Proactive Product End of Life

Not long ago, the manufacturer of an automated, high-performance medical device was getting ready to introduce a new system. The new product had been validated, and the company had scheduled the launch. But in a last-minute review, the product development team realized that one of the device’s key technical components was nearing the end of its lifecycle. There was no way the company could release the product with components that were about to expire but replacing them with a next-generation version would have required revalidation—and that would have significantly delayed the product launch.

The dilemma this company faced points to the critical importance of taking a proactive approach to end-of-life planning. Without that, this type of surprise can result not only in operational disruptions but also in financial loss and, perhaps more critically, an undercutting of customer loyalty—which could be long-term.

Too Little, Too Late

While most companies know they need to pay attention to product lifecycles, many rely on notifications from OEM vendors to alert them that the end of a product’s life is approaching. However, a recent study by SiliconExpert indicates that those notifications may not be coming soon enough. As SiliconExpert reported, “companies typically fall victim to a high demand and limited availability situation.” As a result, the study found that “28% of product change notices (PCNs) were for part numbers with last time buy dates of ‘immediately,’ meaning that waiting for a PCN may result in a costly redesign.”1

How can you avoid being the “victim” in this scenario? The key is starting by taking an integrated approach across engineering, product management, and the supply chain that not only includes a view of the entire product lifecycle but is also a critical part of the product management process. This requires understanding, identifying, and tracking each of the assemblies, parts, and raw materials that will become part of a finished good—capturing end-of-life data along the way.

Rank and File

While products with an active status might not have a published EOL date, it’s possible to estimate EOL by determining the normal lifecycle for each type of part and then subtracting the amount of time during which the product has been in production.

All the components should be ranked based on both their estimated lifecycle and their supply chain vulnerabilities—but it’s also important to consider how consequential each component is to the business and the disruptions that could occur should the part reach its EOL.

Understanding all of that will allow you to plan future updates proactively and look for substitute products or components well before you need them.

An important part of being proactive is qualifying second sources for the parts and components you’ll need. This involves validating alternate parts, identifying additional sourcing options, and planning two generations of a product or instrument simultaneously. By doing this, you can avoid potential supply constraints, long before you’re faced with either EOL or product obsolescence.

For the medical device manufacturer faced with a part at the end of its life, Dynamic was able to help by making a last time buy of all the stock of that product then available and holding it in the Dynamic warehouse. This allowed the company to make its launch date. At the same time, however, Dynamic was able to help the company prepare for the future by providing research and recommendations for available replacement options that met specifications and integrating those into the customer’s change management processes.

To better understand your company’s EOL risk and exposure, consider utilizing Dynamic’s newest tool, the EOL PrepSM Self-Diagnostic, which is available on a complimentary basis to industry professionals by clicking here.

 

1 https://www.siliconexpert.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/SiliconExpert-White-Paper-How-Reliable-is-EOL-Forecasting.pdf

Managing the “Big 3” Product End-Of-Life (EOL) Risks

Managing Product End of Life Risks

Managing End-of-Life (EOL) transitions of components or products is a challenging business discipline. Some OEMs provide advance notice of product EOL dates, which can alert your company to trigger a transition process. However, sometimes external factors – including technology shortages or supply chain constraints – can shorten or negatively impact transition time.

Addressing the Three Biggest EOL Risks

To address risks, your company should proactively identify and prepare for the three biggest product EOL risks, which include:

  • Operational Disruption often results from the staff’s lack of time to support the research, procurement and testing of alternate solutions. In complex industries, the testing and validation of a new component often involves multiple internal and external stakeholders and can take months, often pulling resources from other key projects.
  • Financial Loss can occur from an inability to ship product or provide a service. This is a major concern, particularly in regulated industries, where even a minor component change can halt an entire system, and have significant balance sheet implications.
  • Customer Loyalty is always tested when a significant product delay or outage occurs. There is often little tolerance from customers, who expect technology to function without disruption, and customer loss is a tangible risk.

Mitigating the “Big 3” Product EOL Risks: Your Change Management Plan

The most effective course of action your company can follow to avoid the “Big 3” EOL risks is to proactively plan for them. The initial step in this process is to ensure proactive notification of upcoming EOL dates. It’s essential to maintain a view of product lifecycle roadmaps; to understand exactly what is in each Bill of Materials (BOM) for each finished product; and to automatically receive notifications at the product, component and accessory levels. As an EOL date approaches, a transition process can be triggered, and a Change Management Plan created.

Your Change Management Plan should address how the component or product change could impact or disrupt the business. It should also include the estimated timeline, and information about replacement options. Often the EOL product or component will have a direct replacement or next-generation option. If a direct replacement is not available, satisfactory options will need to be researched, and supply chain risk and availability for those options will need to be analyzed. Depending on industry regulations and the differences with the replacement product, a re-validation process might be required.

As part of its change management plan, your company should also consider making a last time buy of available stock for an EOL component or product.  This can be an effective strategy to bridge the transition and prevent potential business interruption. Last time buys often involved warehousing of the inventory and potential price increases of the component due to limited supply.

How Dynamic Can Help with EOL Risk Management

Managing the “Big 3” EOL risks across multiple products and platforms is a labor-intensive undertaking that requires proactive planning and process management. As an initial step in evaluating EOL risk exposure, Dynamic has created the EOL PrepSM Self-Diagnostic. This tool consists of ten questions that can help your company identify and prioritize specific vulnerabilities and opportunities related to its EOL risks; to understand the complete range of EOL best practices it should follow; and to create a tailored action plan designed to reduce its EOL-related risks.

Dynamic’s EOL PrepSM Self-Diagnostic is available on a complimentary basis to industry professionals upon request, by clicking here. Dynamic provides a broad range of services related to product lifecycle management, including EOL risk management, and is prepared to answer any questions you may have.

Dynamic Technology Solutions Attends Diversity Supply Chain National Education and Training Event: ACCELERATE 2022

Dynamic Technology Solutions showed a strong presence at ACCELERATE 2022, the premier education and training conference of the Diverse Manufacturing Supply Chain Alliance (DMSCA). Dynamic was represented by Vice President of Business Development, Tami Schultz and Business Development Director, Bob Werner at the convention which featured over 30 leading organizations in the manufacturing space.

The event, held in Scottsdale, AZ last month, addressed practical small-midsize manufacturer development solutions, with a focus on digitalization of supply chain management in the current, ever-changing environment.

“There was a strong emphasis on passion,” said Schultz, as she shared her impression of the event. “Passion for digitalized supply chain, passion for the importance of diverse suppliers that innovate and drive results for leading manufacturers.”

The panel discussion around “Supply Chain Collaboration Through Advanced Manufacturing Technologies” proved to be a highlight of the conference. Featuring special guest, Felipe Bezamat Kuzmanic, Head of Advanced Manufacturing and Global Leadership Fellow at the World Economic Forum, this session addressed current supply chain constraints due to COVID-19. This topic has been a point of emphasis for Dynamic over the last two years, as the organization published multiple resources to aid suppliers and manufacturers in navigating the pandemic, including a proprietary methodology, Supply Chain Risk ScoringSM.

Another interesting session was a demonstration on the “Use of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) and the Connected Worker” by Brian Townley, Business Development Associate at MxD. Brian detailed the use of VR and AR in the workplace, enabling non-technical associates to make repairs on complex technologies without in-depth knowledge of the devices. Dynamic has identified an increase in the use of virtual reality in the design and design for manufacturing phases of product development in its clients and the life science industry. This session was a welcome addition to the conference and educational for the DTS team.

The event was well attended and served as a homecoming of sorts for one of the prominent diversity-led supplier development organizations in the supply chain strategy sphere. After a long and patient wait, an in-person event provided meaningful interactions and networking opportunities.

“This was a great opportunity to collaborate with members of DMSCA face-to-face,” Bob Werner reflected in reviewing the event. “I was impressed with participation by leading manufacturers with key Sr. Leaders and staff in attendance. I look forward to growing the relationships we made and implementing what we learned into our day-to-day functions.”