Asset Management with Salesforce

Solving the Use Case

Medical device companies have unique needs in an asset management use case. Some need a more sales-focused solution, while others need to manage the operations of medical device asset distribution. It’s clear that point systems aren’t an ideal solution…and Salesforce's flexibility makes it an attractive option for medical device companies needing more than a general-purpose inventory solution.

With the proper configuration, Salesforce Health Cloud can provide an ideal platform for various asset management use cases.

Configuring the Roles and Permissions

To get an implementation started, we define the personas, permissions, and roles in Salesforce Health Cloud. These roles are created to fulfill the needs of various operations, sales, and analytical users. They typically include:

• Shipment Coordinator
• Remote Sales Agent
• Technician
• Supply Chain Manager

Configuring the Object Model

Asset management platforms need four basic data categories for storing product details, location information, contact details, and quality history. These four categories enable complete asset lifecycle management, including procurement, shipping, installation, maintenance, replacement, and disposal. The categories are:

• Device Object
  Responsible for storing data related to the asset, including model numbers, device type, quality history, and lot numbers
• Facility Object
  Responsible for storing data related to inventory location, whether it’s trunk, consignment, or at a clinical trial site
• Case Object
  Responsible for storing data related to quality issues, repair details, and more
• Contact Object
  Stores data related to people in the asset management process, including contract administrators, business users, buyers, accounts payable, and logistics staff

Feature Configuration

Shipping

Thanks to integrations via Zenkraft, all shipping-related activities—including tracking and returns—can be handled entirely in the asset management platform. Logistics staff no longer need to manually log details from disparate shipping partner portals, like FedEx, DHL, or UPS. Activity is tracked automatically on the device record. This includes generating shipping labels, tracking shipping statuses, and generating return requests.

By integrating shipping activities into the asset management platform, staff can accurately track assets in real-time without manual effort.

Medical Device Management

The device object empowers unified insights into every asset’s location, condition, shipment lot, and more. Staff can cross-reference individual devices with other data points, including user contact details, location information, and cases.

Maintenance

Quality staff can track maintenance details on the case object in Salesforce. Case creation can be automatically triggered when a return is requested, ensuring no device issue goes unnoticed. Maintenance entries have their unique workflow, typically starting with a returned device and ending in a resolution, whether that means recommission or disposal.

Reporting

Analytical staff can generate robust reports across objects, ensuring stakeholders have real-time access to data that helps them make better decisions. We typically configure reports that measure standard KPIs like inventory turnover, lead time, return rate, forecast accuracy, and satisfaction. However, the dashboards we configure are usually entirely based on how the client measures success.