Single-Source Medical Center Relocation Service Provider

The Challenge

The vision of the U.S. Naval Hospital Guam is to lead Navy medicine in quality, patient-centered care. When it became evident that the existing 56-year-old hospital could no longer do that in an efficient manner, the U.S. Navy decided to build a new facility on the Pacific Island of Guam.

The decision to build a new facility presented an enormous logistical challenge. Not only did the furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) need to be sourced domestically, over 130 cargo container loads of diverse inventory needed to be organized, shipped, tracked, delivered and installed internationally, over 6,000 miles away on this unincorporated territory of the United States. Additionally, an entire relocation from the existing hospital had to occur in sync with the new facility outfitting.

A complicated relocation project of this magnitude presents a very complex vendor management challenge which typically involves having to source a myriad of providers, including:

Foreign & Domestic

• Warehouse and asset management providers
• Biomedical equipment services provider
• Trucking Companies
• International freight forwarder
• Customs

Foreign Based Providers

• Office furniture installers
• Office moving company
• IT and desktop support
• Space decommissioning

The Solution

As a global relocation and transportation provider with wholly owned locations and diverse internal workplace and logistics capabilities, Suddath was able to provide a single-source solution addressing all of the interrelated project requirements.

To make this project happen the right way, on time and on budget, the client needed to find a way to simplify all the planning and sourcing components so that the complex logistical challenge could be tackled. Consolidating services allowed the client to reduce complexity, streamline communication, increase accountability, reduce risks, and avoid unnecessary mistakes, downtime and costs. Suddath provided a customized solution leveraging the services of its Los Angeles location, its global logistics division and its global project management office to give the client the opportunity to work with one provider. The unique structure of Suddath allowed for self-performance of all critical project services and addressed the unique labor requirements including certified installers for multiple lines of office and healthcare furniture, HIPAA certified movers, a biomedical equipment technician, and OSHA 10 certified on-island workers to bring the project together under one roof, on time, and on budget.

Key Services

• Receiving, consolidation, inventory management and shipment of 130 international container loads of furniture and medical equipment from Los Angeles to Guam
• On-site biomedical equipment technician
• Web-based asset tracking and inventory management
• International freight forwarding, freight brokerage and customs clearance
• On-island consolidation, delivery and installation of new FF&E for new hospital
  • Medical equipment
  • 750 Haworth^® cubicles
  • Six high-density file systems
  • Custom cabinetry and artwork
• Relocation of an active 400,000 square foot hospital into newly constructed environment, plus
  • 400 medical staff and support personnel
  • Medical records
  • Emergency treatment rooms
  • Surgical rooms
  • Patient rooms
  • MRI facilities
• Decommission of vacated hospital
  • Office furniture
  • Medical equipment
  • Technology assets
• Comprehensive technology relocation