Materials management leaders have long been seen as the keepers of hospital storerooms: subject matter experts on procurement, inventory, and vendor relationships. But that definition is changing. In a resource-constrained healthcare landscape — especially in rural hospitals — materials managers are being called on to think more broadly, operate more strategically, and collaborate across departments like never before.
And it’s about time.
In healthcare, materials decisions ripple far beyond purchasing. Every item received, used, or wasted affects not just inventory but patient billing, accounts payable, and long-term capital planning. When materials professionals understand how these interconnected processes work, they’re better equipped to:
Doug Van Houten, a former hospital materials manager, and current strategic consultant at Multiview, has seen all sides of the equation.
"When i was a materials manager, I supervised a team of nine using Multiview every day. What I realized is, the more we understood about finance — how a PO affected accounts payable, how an asset was depreciated — the better decisions we made."
Doug also emphasizes clinical and billing knowledge: understanding what supplies were chargeable, what they were used for, and how they tied into patient care. “Even a general understanding of product use by Materials Management staff assists organizations by helping clinicians locate products, easier sub identification for backorders and assistance in recognizing critical supplies needed for patient care.
All too often, a disconnect exists between materials and other departments. Teams are focused on their own workflows and priorities, often without full visibility into how their decisions affect others. Clinical teams may request products without knowing cost implications. Finance might lack real-time updates on what’s actually in use. Materials may not be aware of how delays affect patient billing or downstream operations.
At the core of these challenges is a visibility problem: without shared systems or integrated communication, it's hard to maintain alignment across functions.
That might be manageable in a large hospital with siloed departments and extra budget padding. But in a rural facility with tight margins and lean teams? It's a recipe for inefficiency.
"I’ve seen hospitals where finance was still depreciating assets that had left the building years ago," said Van Houten. "No one had closed the loop between what was traded in on a new capital asset and what was still listed in finance."
To elevate their role, materials managers need more than good instincts—they need foundational knowledge of how their work affects finance, clinical operations, and revenue management.
That doesn’t mean becoming an accountant or a clinician. But it does mean knowing enough to:
This shift also helps materials leaders advocate for their own needs. A director who can tie automation investment to reduced invoice processing costs, or show how improved inventory turnover supports cash flow and clinical readiness, is far more likely to be heard at the leadership table.
Of course, this kind of cross-functional thinking is easier when your ERP actually supports it. That’s where Multiview shines. Because all core financial functions — from procurement to GL to capital asset tracking — are integrated in one platform, materials leaders don’t have to guess at the financial impact of their actions. They can see it.
Want to know how much you spent with a vendor over the last 12 months? How many chargeable supplies were used in the OR last quarter? What’s still sitting on the books but missing from inventory? Multiview makes it easy to surface that data and act on it.
Just as important, materials leaders can share those insights with finance, clinical departments, and revenue teams, creating a shared language of operational and financial impact. That leads to better decisions, and stronger outcomes for patients and staff alike.
If you’re a materials manager who wants to grow into a more strategic role, start here:
Ask questions. Sit down with finance, billing, and clinical teams. Ask about chargeables, fixed assets, invoice workflows, and clinical use cases. The more you learn, the more effective you’ll be.
Learn the basics. Understand accounting fundamentals: debits, credits, expenses vs. assets, depreciation. Get to know how supplies affect patient charges and clinical workflows.
Use your data. If you have an ERP like Multiview, dig into the reporting tools. Start tracking key spend categories, usage rates, and capital purchases.
Be proactive. If you see a gap between departments, be the one to bridge it. Set up regular check-ins with AP, clinical leaders, or revenue cycle teams. Share your challenges. Offer solutions.
The days of siloed supply chain functions are over. To thrive in modern healthcare —especially in smaller hospitals where every team must punch above its weight — materials managers need to operate at the intersection of logistics, finance, clinical care, and revenue management.
When you understand not just what to buy, but why it matters across the organization, you become a more strategic partner.
And that’s a role worth investing in.