PACIFIC HEALTHCARE Pacific Healthcare is the largest health care provider in Santa Barbara County. The institution consists of three hospitals:…

PACIFIC HEALTHCAREPacific Healthcare is the largest health care provider in Santa Barbara County. The institutionconsists of three hospitals: Pacific Memorial (415 beds), Pacific Cabrillo (250 beds), and PacificIsla Vista (300 beds); also included are two nursing homes and ten outpatient clinics. Allcombined, Pacific Healthcare has over 1,500 beds.Barney Rubble, corporate director of supply management for Pacific, is in charge ofprocuring supplies for all Pacific Healthcare subsidiaries.Mr. Thurston Howell, director of radiology, had been in charge of supplier selection of Xray film at Pacific for the past fifteen years. In the past, Mr. Howell refused to authorize the useof any X ray film other than Kodak.Recently, Mr. Howell passed away, leaving Barney Rubble the opportunity to change thepolicy on selecting the supplier of the film. After a detailed investigation, Mr. Rubble had reasonto believe that the current Kodak price was above that of possible competition.The existing agreement with Kodak calls for furnishing X ray equipment, along withmaintenance and service, at a substantial discount for using Kodak as the single supplier of the Xray film. Kodak refused to provide these services if it were not the only source used for X rayfilm.X ray film comes in different types and sizes for various uses. The three types of filmused at Pacific hospitals are general X ray film, film for mammograms, and film for CAT scans.Pacific uses approximately 1,500 sheets of X ray film per day.Kodak film has been the industry standard in the past. There are also four othercompanies that manufacture X ray film: Dupont, Agfa, Fuji, and 3M. The quality of Dupont andAgfa is consistent with Kodak. Fuji and 3M film is thought to be of lower quality; however, thisfilm meets minimum spec requirements. The prices of each brand are listed in Appendix A.APPENDIX AManufacturer X ray film, price per sheetKodak $1.80Agfa $1.58Dupont $1.50Fuji $1.403M $1.35Obtaining the highest quality with the best service at the lowest overall cost is PacificHealthcare’s supply strategy for medical supplies. Pacific’s objective is to find a single-sourcesupplier for a one-year contract.1. What alternatives should Barney Rubble consider when addressing the problem?2. Should Pacific’s supply policies allow for any medical staff personnel to controlsourcing decisions?3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of staying with Kodak—or changingsuppliers? How would you evaluate these?4. What action could Mr. Rubble have taken prior to Mr. Howell’s death to obtainreduced film prices?