Customers

Baxter's supply chain extends from producers of raw materials to end users of Baxter's products. Maintaining a safe, secure and reliable supply chain is essential for ensuring patient safety, an important sustainability issue and a Baxter business objective.

This includes supporting patients in many remote locations worldwide. For example, Baxter has shipped dialysis supplies "the last mile" on flat-bottom boats on the Amazon to patients in remote Brazilian villages, via all-terrain vehicles to Aborigines in the Australian Outback and through mudslides to reach patients in Kentucky.

Baxter's supply chain must function without interruption even when natural disasters and other unexpected crises occur. For example, when bad weather threatens a Baxter facility, the company may relocate its customer service representatives to hotels in safe areas so they can continue serving patients and meeting hospital needs. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Baxter drivers carried chain saws, clearing fallen trees from roads themselves, to deliver renal products to patients.

Increasing Efficiency Through e-commerce

Baxter is increasingly using electronic ordering, invoicing, payment, distributor transactions and inquiry capabilities to streamline transactions with customers. In the United States, more than 70 percent of customer order transactions are currently conducted in this manner. For example, the company offers customers the eServices Center, a web portal for order placement, order/invoice/catalog inquiries and shipment tracking. In addition, Baxter supports standard electronic data interchange as well as transactions processed through the Global Healthcare Exchange.

Baxter launched a global electronic catalog in 2006, allowing customers to access approximately 65 percent of the company's products online. The catalog is available in 13 countries and the company is working to introduce it to additional countries and expand the range of available products.