How Facilities Get Better Prices on Consumables

Consumables are where a facility's money quietly goes. Individually the items look cheap, a urine bag at KSh 45, a box of swabs at KSh 200, but multiply by a year of patient load and the total is real money. A few habits help.

Order on a schedule, not when you run out. Emergency top ups are always bought at retail. A standing monthly order lets your supplier plan, and a supplier who can plan will give you a better rate. We hold agreed pricing for scheduled customers even when spot prices move.

Order by the carton, not the piece. The price break between ten urine bags and a hundred is bigger than most buyers expect, because the handling cost is nearly the same for us either way.

Consolidate suppliers. Splitting a small order across three vendors to save fifty shillings on one line usually costs more in delivery fees than it saves. Put the volume with one supplier and then negotiate the whole basket.

And ask. Kenyan medical supply pricing has room in it, everyone knows it, and a polite question about a better rate on a repeat order almost always gets one. Our number is on every page of this site.