Procurement case study
IDN Eliminates $340K Annual Cold Chain Waste by Switching Formats
6-hospital IDN with 11 affiliated outpatient and SNF sites
Challenge
Annual cryopreserved amniotic graft waste totaled $340K across the IDN, driven by –80 °C freezer failures at outpatient sites and infrequent use at SNFs causing stock to age past application windows. Capital request to add monitored freezers system-wide was $220K plus ongoing service contracts.
Intervention
Procurement issued an RFP requiring lyophilized format availability for the network's primary amniotic SKUs. Awarded contracts to vendors with both formats available; standardized cryopreserved use at the three highest-volume hospital wound centers only; switched all ambulatory and SNF sites to lyophilized.
Results
Annual waste avoided
$340K
Avoided freezer capex
$220K + service contracts
Sites carrying cryopreserved
17 → 3
Clinical outcomes
No measurable change
Takeaway
Format selection should be a procurement-led decision matched to site volume and infrastructure. Defaulting the whole network to one format because the flagship hospital uses it is the single most common source of avoidable AWC waste.
Last updated: 2026-06-28