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Strategic Mapping of Critical Products: Insights for Health Care Leaders

Strategic Mapping of Critical Products: Insights for Health Care Leaders provides health care leaders with a clear, visual view of supply chain concentration, manufacturing geography, and logistics dependencies across essential medical supplies.

Developed by the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM), this resource equips executives and supply chain leaders to move from reactive response to proactive risk management, supporting continuity of care when it matters most.

With global disruptions, extreme weather, geopolitical instability, and market consolidation, supply chain risk is currently a permanent leadership concern, not a crisis-only issue — yet many health care organizations still lack clear visibility into where their most critical product risks truly exist.

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Why Strategic Mapping of Critical Products Matters Now

Health care supply chains are highly interconnected and increasingly vulnerable. Concentration of manufacturing, reliance on limited geographic regions, and complex logistics networks can turn a single disruption into systemwide impact.

This resource helps leaders:

  • Identify concentration risk across critical product categories
  • Understand geographic and geopolitical exposure tied to sourcing decisions
  • Assess logistics and shipping dependencies that can delay access to care
  • Align sourcing strategies with organizational risk tolerance
  • Strengthen preparedness, resilience, and executive decision-making

Designed for executive and operational leaders, this heat map transforms complex data into practical insight — supporting smarter planning before disruptions occur.

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What's Included in This Resource

Each product category includes:

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Manufacturer market share visualization

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Country-of-origin and production exposure

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Logistics and shipping dependency insights

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Supplier-level risk signals and resilience initiatives

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Cross-supplier observations to inform sourcing strategy

Product Categories Covered

The initial release includes ten critical product categories essential to patient care:

  • Isolation Gowns

  • Surgical Gloves

  • Infusion Pump Administration Sets

  • Surgical Masks

  • Hypodermic Needles

  • Prefilled Flush Syringes

  • Respirator Masks (N95)

  • Blood Collection Tubes

  • Intravenous (IV) Solutions

  • Intravenous (IV) Tubing Extension Sets

How Leaders Use This Resource

Health system executives, supply chain leaders, and preparedness teams can use this resource to support informed decision-making within each organization’s unique operational and risk environment.

Inform board-level and executive risk discussions

Equip boards and executives with clear, data-driven visibility into supply chain concentration, geopolitical exposure, and single-site dependencies. This resource translates complex risk signals into actionable insights that support informed governance, capital planning, and enterprise risk oversight.

Support sourcing diversification and contingency planning

Use supplier market share, country-of-origin mapping, and logistics insights to diversify sourcing strategies. Leaders can proactively design contingency plans, align contracts to risk tolerance, and reduce overreliance on single suppliers, regions, or transportation routes.

Identify single-point-of-failure suppliers or regions

Quickly pinpoint suppliers, manufacturing sites, or geographies that represent critical single points of failure. The analysis highlights concentration risks across ten essential product categories, enabling earlier intervention before disruptions impact patient care or operations.

Strengthen emergency preparedness and continuity planning

Leverage scenario-ready intelligence to strengthen emergency preparedness. Leaders can validate buffer stock strategies, assess surge capacity, and align logistics alternatives to ensure continuity of care during pandemics, natural disasters, labor actions, or geopolitical shocks.

Guide strategic conversations with suppliers and partners

Anchor strategic supplier discussions in shared, objective data. This resource enables more informed conversations around transparency, dual sourcing, reshoring initiatives, compliance expectations, and joint investments that strengthen resilience across the health care supply ecosystem.

Member Access

Complimentary Preview

Not an AHRMM member? A complimentary preview is available to demonstrate the value of this resource.

The free preview includes:

  • An overview of the Strategic Mapping methodology
  • Executive context on supply chain risk and resilience
  • One full product category from the heat map (sample insight)

This preview is intended to help leaders understand how the full resource can support organizational preparedness and sourcing decisions.

Unlock the full version of this resource with AHRMM membership, along with year-round access to education, publications, resources and a community dedicated to supply chain excellence.

Access Free Preview 

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