I was happy to read an article where a purchasing department gets partial credit for record profits. The well-written article by Christopher Snowbeck, which appeared in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, examined the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the “controversy” of it being hugely “profitable” despite being a not-for-profit institution.

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In the article, it states: “UPMC is saving money by better managing the way it buys supplies from vendors. By using both its size and innovative ordering technology to get better deals, UPMC aims to avoid fueling even higher profit margins at the drug and medical device companies from which it buys products.”

Too few “record profit” articles go into specifics on what cost savings ideas are fueling the profits. They usually say the organization is cutting costs or increasing sales, but fail to completely give credit where credit is due.

So kudos go out to UPMC’s purchasing department. In purchasing and supply chain management, it’s not the proverbial fifteen minutes of fame. It’s more like only fifteen words of fame are the most one can expect for doing a good job. And UPMC Purchasing got nearly fifty words describing its contribution.

Well deserved, folks!