Allegheny Health Network Cuts Supplier Onboarding Times by 50% Utilizing Cleo's WebEDI Portal

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Allegheny Health Network (AHN), an integrated healthcare system with 14 hospitals and 2,600 physicians, transformed its complex supply chain operations by partnering with Cleo. Facing bottlenecks from manual order fulfillment and inconsistent supplier technical capabilities, AHN implemented a suite of Supply Chain Automation tools, including Cleo’s Supplier Portal and Supplier Testing Portal. This digital overhaul resulted in a 50% reduction in supplier onboarding time and generated $180,000 in operational savings by replacing manual workflows with automated, scalable business processes.

KEY PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES

• Self-Service Supplier Enablement: Deployed a Supplier Testing Portal that allows EDI-capable partners to validate their own maps and connections independently, eliminating manual document verification.

• Non-EDI Digital Transformation: Utilized the Supplier Portal to provide smaller suppliers with a web-based interface, enabling them to achieve full EDI compliance without internal technical expertise.

• Procure-to-Pay Acceleration: Digitized fulfillment workflows to centralize supplier interactions, significantly reducing communication gaps and shortening the overall procurement cycle.

• Operational Scalability: Removed the manual bottlenecks that hindered expansion, allowing the healthcare network to scale its supplier base to meet the demands of its hundreds of physician practice locations.

• Enhanced Data Accuracy: Automated procurement processes across the entire supplier network, reducing manual errors that previously led to fulfillment delays and operational friction.

INTRODUCTION

Allegheny Health Network is an integrated health care delivery system serving the greater Western Pennsylvania region. More than 2,600 physicians and 22,000 employees serve our system's 14 hospitals as well as our ambulatory medical and surgery centers, Health + Wellness Pavilions, and hundreds of physician practice locations.

BUSINESS NEEDS

With an extensive supplier network and a complex supply chain, Allegheny Health Network (AHN) needed a more efficient way to manage supplier onboarding and order fulfillment.

Ensuring timely, accurate deliveries is critical to maintaining high standards of patient care and operational excellence.

SOLUTIONS

AHN partnered with Cleo to implement multiple solutions to streamline supplier onboarding and fulfillment operations. The three main solutions include:

Supplier Portal

For suppliers that are not EDI-capable, AHN uses Cleo’s Supplier Portal. This intuitive, easy-to-use web-based tool is used by suppliers to become EDI compliant without needing in-house expertise.

By using the Supplier Portal, AHN is able to:

• Automate procurement processes across all suppliers

• Digitize, scale, and streamline fulfillment workflows

• Centralize supplier interactions for improved visibility and performance tracking

• Reduce errors, manual steps, communication gaps, and procure-to-pay cycle times

Supplier Testing Portal

For suppliers that are EDI-capable, AHN uses Cleo’s Supplier Testing Portal. This self-service tool allows suppliers to digitally validate their EDI maps and connections independently.

The result: faster onboarding and fewer delays by eliminating manual document validation and back-and-forth communication.