The average patient has no idea that materials management or biomedical engineering departments exist, but without these departments, patients would have a radically different experience.

Surgeries would come to a grinding halt and efficiency would fly out the window. Staff members in these departments, after all, deal with equipment maintenance, repair, installations and pre-purchase evaluations. They also maintain databases, deliver stock, order items, monitor budgets and process recalls.

Most stressful is that materials in these departments are needed around the clock. Organization is therefore not only helpful, but mandatory, and a materials tracking system can play a vital role.