When to use this checklist
Use this checklist when a product disruption requires a fast, repeatable comparison of alternate SKUs, supplier paths, clinical constraints, and timing risk.
Triage the disruption
Start with the facts that determine urgency and decision ownership before comparing substitutions.
- Current item, manufacturer, contract status, and affected facilities.
- Known inventory, open orders, backorder timing, and supplier confidence.
- Clinical use case, frequency of use, and potential patient-care impact.
- Teams that need to approve substitutions before a switch can happen.
Compare viable alternatives
A substitute should be evaluated against supply availability and adoption risk together, not as a purchasing-only decision.
- Functional match, sizing, sterility, packaging, and documentation requirements.
- Training impact for clinical teams and any change in workflow.
- Pricing variance, freight impact, contract constraints, and approval path.
- Supplier reliability, delivery confidence, and contingency options.
Create the decision record
Close the review with a clear recommendation, named owners, and the trigger that would cause the team to revisit the decision.
- Recommended path and backup option.
- Approvers and implementation owner.
- Expected review date or inventory threshold.
- Open questions for sourcing, clinical, or supplier teams.
