A Bold Transformation

In today’s cost-sensitive healthcare environment, non-acute providers face mounting pressures to deliver high-quality care while navigating increasingly complex supply chains. For Duly Health and Care, meeting these challenges required more than incremental improvements—it demanded a bold transformation.

The transformation began with a strategic partnership through AdvantageTrust, a division of HealthTrust Performance Group. In less than a year, Duly launched a comprehensive implementation initiative that not only reinvented its procurement strategy, but also delivered nearly $4 million in verified savings, surpassing aggressive targets and earning it the 2025 Operational Excellence Award from HealthTrust for a non-acute care provider (see more in Celebrating excellence: HealthTrust 2025 Member Recognition Awards).

A strategic partnership

From the outset, the initiative was grounded in partnership, precision and performance. Duly’s leadership, including Vice President of Procurement Steven Samaan and Vice President of Supply Chain Al McQueen, emphasized the importance of:

• A single source of truth for procurement
• Clear alignment on scope and outcomes
• A partner who could move with speed and grit

Samaan shares that before partnering with AdvantageTrust, one of Duly’s issues was the lack of a single source of truth in its supplier landscape. “We needed a partner who could help us consolidate suppliers, identify cost-saving opportunities and bring consistency to our procurement processes, as well as structure, responsiveness and reliability. Internally, we also needed the right team in place to lead the effort,” he adds. “AdvantageTrust came in with a strong execution team and a shared sense of urgency.”

Key wins across a number of categories

An early and impactful win came through supplier consolidation in PCs and laptops. “With Windows 10 reaching end-of-support, healthcare organizations like ours faced increasing cybersecurity and compliance risks,” Samaan explains. “To safeguard our environment and maintain operational resilience, we executed a full hardware refresh—replacing more than 1,700 PCs and laptops with Windows 11-enabled devices. This transition not only eliminated security vulnerabilities, but it also modernized our client infrastructure—enhancing speed, reliability and user productivity.”

“Beyond security, the hardware refresh was a strategic investment in total cost of ownership optimization. By standardizing on Dell products, the team reduced lifecycle maintenance costs, improved device manageability & positioned the fleet for long-term scalability.”

Caroline Douglas, Director of Strategic Accounts for AdvantageTrust

 

Overall, the project yielded nearly $200,000 in unit cost savings and helped Duly mitigate more than $242,000 in potential tariff expenses.”

These moves not only streamlined operations, but also created significant cost savings and simplified logistics across the organization. “The AdvantageTrust supplier network—spanning pharma-ceuticals, medical equipment and purchased services—helped us optimize costs and improve rebate opportunities,” McQueen shares. “That directly impacts our bottom line and allows us to pass savings on to our patients.”

“Having the AdvantageTrust partner-ship to help with tariff mitigation strategies was indispensable,” McQueen says. “Not only were we able to leverage their contract expertise, but we were able to lock in prices further out into the life of the contracts while the market is navigating these changes globally.”

The partnership also delivered results in more traditional categories like medical-surgical supplies, where standardization improved product quality and consistency across care sites. Pharmacy pricing and flu shot agreements were transitioned to new frameworks, ensuring uniformity and value throughout the network.

“Having the AdvantageTrust partnership to help with tariff mitigation strategies was indispensable.”

Al McQueen

Behind these successes was a disciplined execution of implementation milestones and a robust contract lifecycle management process. AdvantageTrust colleagues worked closely with Duly’s internal teams to understand inventory needs and market dynamics, ensuring that every decision was informed by data and aligned with clinical priorities.

Clear data & end-to-end support

Data-driven decision-making also played a pivotal role in the initiative’s success. By refining data taxonomy and improving spend visibility, Duly was able to identify leakage, optimize total cost of ownership and monitor performance across service lines. This heightened transparency continues to shape Duly’s budgeting and sourcing strategies, turning short-term savings into long-term reinvestment in community care.

Another key factor was the end-to-end support. From hands-on guidance and targeted training to proactive problem-solving, the AdvantageTrust team became an extension of Duly’s own. “They have professional resources available within selective specialty categories—whether it’s pharmacy, purchased services or med-surg—to support your business,” McQueen says.

Duly’s results exemplify how strategic planning, member engagement and cross-functional accountability can turn implementation into a launchpad for sustained financial improvement and partnership success.

A lasting partnership

“For other providers, Duly’s journey offers clear takeaways: Choose someone who will partner with you and stay in communication throughout the process, and that includes finding answers if they don’t know them,” Samaan shares.

“If members consider the GPO first—before sourcing independently—they can unlock savings much faster. The contracts are already negotiated, the pricing is set and the terms are favorable,” McQueen adds.

“Choose someone who will partner with you & stay in communication throughout the process; that includes finding answers if they don’t know them.”

Steven Samaan

Duly hit its savings guarantee before the 60-day implementation window even closed, which is remarkable, in Douglas’s opinion. “And, Duly was open to conversions. Even with preferred vendors—like Staples or WB Mason—they were willing to explore alternatives. For example, with Sodexo, they initially considered some other suppliers but quickly pivoted to our contracted option once they saw the value. That flexibility has been key to their success,” she adds.

By setting a new benchmark for operational excellence, Duly Health and Care has not only transformed its own supply chain performance but also paved the way for others to follow.

Anatomy of a Great Partnership

Duly Health and Care’s initiative exemplifies how strategic planning, member engagement & cross-functional accountability can turn implementation into a launchpad for sustained financial improvement & partnership success. Emphasizing two key points,
Al McQueen & Steven Samaan summarize the engagement:

1 | Strong supplier relationships

Suppliers within the AdvantageTrust network are genuinely invested in growing their business & supporting ours. Whether it’s margin, revenue or market share, they’re committed to collaboration. Meeting many of them at the HTU conference reinforced the strength of those relationships.

2 | The importance of data 

We’re currently working with AdvantageTrust to fine-tune a huge resource—our data feed. Our team doesn’t have the bandwidth to manually analyze spend taxonomy, but AdvantageTrust helps us identify leakage & build a pipeline of opportunities. It’s a strategic advantage that allows us to think ahead & plan proactively.

Check out opportunities for your non-acute care facilities with the AdvantageTrust difference by reaching out to your HealthTrust Account Manager or by emailing atmembership@advantagetrustpg.com

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