I am delighted to provide a reference for American Contract Systems.  We converted to ACS at the beginning of 2003.  We projected and realized savings of approximately 25% or $200,000.  These savings have been sustained over the last three years.  ACS looks for ways to save money for the hospital and works closely with vendors to do so.

I was drawn to ACS because of its straight-forward business model; that is, they price each item in accordance with the contract price (or better) and then add the appropriate labor, sterilization and logistic fees.  This allows the hospital to be “in control” of the pricing – we know how much the deletion or addition of a component will be.  This is not the scenario I encountered with previous custom sterile packers.  In fact, I felt like we were at the mercy of the whims of ACS’ competitors whenever we made the slightest change.  ACS has done an excellent job in maintaining the agreed upon pricing of the pack.  Because of their business model and our contracts, I did not see the “bait and switch” game that seems common in the custom pack business.  If you choose ACS, you can be assured that the pricing will be at the contract rates and will only change in accordance with contractual pricing adjustments or component changes.  

Another issue with the “other” pack makers is that they often run a 3-4 month (or more depending on the rep) supply of each pack when it is manufactured.  I don’t know about your hospital, but we have been known to make changes.  With ACS, they limit the production runs to more like 4-6 weeks which, in turn, limits the amount of time it takes to deplete existing inventory before the using department gets the revised pack.

ACS is attentive to our account.  Our rep and David Thomson meet with us (Materials) and the customers regularly to ensure that things are going well.  Questions are researched and answered quickly and confidently.  The ACS business model allows them to respond quickly when our volumes fluctuate and the whole company is focused on making sure their customers have the packs they want when they need them.  They require approval for all changes.  When items are nationally backordered, they do whatever it takes to limit the impact to their customers.

As a matter of administrative procedure, we visited their warehouse and observed their sterilization process.  If you have not had the opportunity to do this, I urge you to do so.  Not only is it interesting, but it also inspires confidence in the simplicity of the model, the cleanliness of the plant, the understanding of the infection control regulations etc.  Suffice to say, our Infection Control Director was pleased with what she saw and she is a highly-respected clinician in the Infection Control field.