The unprecedented spikes in demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) and respirators initially made the corona crisis a procurement crisis as well. The MaSSC research (Material Supply Strategies in a Crisis) studied the procurement strategies for these scarce resources in the Netherlands and 33 other countries worldwide. Which structures and strategies turned out to be successful or unsuccessful, and especially, what can healthcare organizations and countries do to purchase more effectively and be more in control in a next crisis? It turns out most countries would benefit from better coordination between political power and the concentration of relevant procurement knowledge.
