The LRS Web Solutions' team volunteered at HSHS Mission Outreach and enjoyed a tour of the facility to celebrate the launch of the custom app built by the Web Solutions' team.
LRS Web Solutions partnered with Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach to develop a custom inventory and order management system that supports their work delivering medical supplies to communities around the world.
About HSHS Mission Outreach
HSHS Mission Outreach is a global health organization that equips medical missions, redistributes donated medical supplies and equipment to 102 countries around the world. More than 300 volunteers work in the 55,000 sq ft. warehouse in Springfield, Illinois.
In FY24, the organization sent 112 shipments to 34 countries in 4 continents. Those shipments reach an estimated 28 million people worldwide at partner hospitals and clinics.
The PROBLEM
Mission Outreach was using an inventory system made for a food bank, which was not optimized for their workflow and needs. It would take time to copy/paste inventory information into a spreadsheet and manually create labels.
Once a week, the staff would generate spreadsheets for the current inventory and upload the file to their website. Agencies could then shop for items. With items moving fast through their process, they knew there was a better way to keep agencies informed of their current inventory.
The staff developed a lot of "work arounds" to keep the system moving.
An audit of their inventory flow found that a big frustration fro the volunteers was with receiving items. "The process was so convoluted and hard to understand," says Erica Smith, Executive Director of Mission Outreach. LRS created a better system.
The SOLUTION
Now, Mission Outreach has a fully custom solution that can streamline every step of their process from receiving an item to shipping it out.
The new system allows the team to enter donated items, track where supplies are stored throughout their warehouses, and manage orders more efficiently. We also created an online storefront where healthcare providers and humanitarian organizations can view available inventory in real-time and order supplies immediately.
Once an order is placed, the system can generate pick sheets and shipping labels, helping staff quickly locate, collect, and prepare each item for delivery.
"The software and that level of specificity is an improvement over what we had before," says Vicki Detmers, Recipient Services and Operations Manager. "It helps us communicate more clearly, prevent fees, delays, and improve the shopping experience for our hospitals. And Rose and I no longer have to enter every box number manually."
The new software and shopping experience helps the hospitals have more information and make more informed decisions to preserve their budgets. It also has positive ripple effect for the entire process, including staging area where the pallets are loaded. "It's made our job a lot easier," says one worker who had over a decade of expereince in the previous software.
It also helps in the sort room, says Nick Amdor, Warehouse Supervisor. "We can run reports from the system to help us organize which donations should be put in inventory. We’re thinking years ahead, sometimes."
"Working with the LRS has been great. Everyone has been so flexible and patient," Erica notes. "You worked to understand our system."
“LRS is part of Mission Outreach now.“
Erica Smith
The BENEFIT
What once took hours to add and maintain inventory now takes minutes. "We only have to change the serial umber, and the information flows in." We can accept items with shorter expiration dates," says Vicki. She notes that this also saves supplies from going to the landfill.
One of the first areas the new software helped us is to make receiving a lot easier. Anybody can receive now and the process is easier," says Joe Hardwick, Volunteer Specialist.
Just a couple weeks after they started using the inventory system, Erica estimates the volunteers can save at least 10 hours a week in inventory management.
LRS & Mission Outreach
This project is a great example of how custom technology can simplify complex processes and give organizations more time to focus on the people and communities they serve.
Thank you to the Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach team for trusting LRS Web Solutions to help support your important mission.
As Erica Smith noted, “LRS is part of Mission Outreach now.“ We're proud to be part of your great work.