Ep 123: Healing Healthcare Supply Chains feat. Luká Yancopoulos

Many supply chains deal with pain points. Unlike other industries, however, healthcare deals with sourcing and procurement pain points that bring actual pain. In an industry where securing lower costs does not offer the same incentive as it does for others, it takes a different approach to help decision makers see the risks and rewards before them.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Luká Yancopoulos. During the pandemic, Luká and William Danon started Pandemic Relief Supply, a venture that delivered $20 million worth of health care supplies to frontline workers. They received the 2022 UPenn President’s Engagement, Innovation, and Sustainability award for their efforts. That venture is now Grapevine, a system that addresses miscommunications between suppliers and buyers in the healthcare industry.

In this interview, Luká shares the backstory of the company he founded without meaning to, based on a desire to be a force for good during the most difficult days of the pandemic:

• Why 40% of healthcare industry spending is wasted due to supply chain inefficiencies and manual human errors
• How improved transparency can reduce costs and improve buyer-supplier relationships
• His experiences working with skeptics compared to newer, more nimble companies that welcome change