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Hospital Logistics KPIs: 8 Key Metrics with Formulas
In a hospital, supplies must always be available – but every extra shelf ties up money and medical products can expire. These eight metrics show whether your supply is both safe and efficient.
Why hospital logistics needs its own metrics
Unlike retail, the goal is not sales but security of supply: if a catheter is missing on the ward, a patient waits. At the same time many items expire, and wards like to build their own reserves. Good metrics make both sides visible – stockouts and excess stock.
1. Fill rate
How many ward requests were delivered complete and on time?
Fill rate = requests delivered complete and on time ÷ all requests × 100
2. Stockout rate
The share of requested line items the store could not supply. It is the early warning signal for shortages.
Stockout rate = line items not delivered ÷ line items requested × 100
3. Expiry rate
How much material is discarded because it expired? A rising rate points to excess stock or poor first-expired-first-out.
Expiry rate = value of expired items ÷ average inventory value × 100
4. Days of supply
How many days will current stock last at normal usage? Set a minimum for critical items and an upper limit for the rest.
Days of supply = current stock ÷ average daily usage
5. Inventory turnover
How many times per year is the stock fully used? A low value means a lot of tied-up capital.
Inventory turnover = annual usage (value) ÷ average inventory (value)
6. Inventory accuracy
Does the system stock match the shelf? Without accurate stock, automatic reordering does not work.
Inventory accuracy = correctly counted locations ÷ counted locations × 100
7. Lead time from request to ward
The time from the ward's request until the material is in the ward cabinet, in hours. It decides how much reserve wards need.
Lead time = time delivered to ward − time of request
8. Logistics cost per case
Logistics staff, transport and storage costs divided by the number of treated cases. This makes hospitals and years comparable.
Logistics cost per case = logistics costs in period ÷ cases in period
Example: one month in the central store
| Metric | Value in October | Example target |
|---|---|---|
| Fill rate | 96.8 % | ≥ 98 % |
| Stockout rate | 1.9 % | ≤ 1 % |
| Expiry rate | 0.7 % | ≤ 0.5 % |
| Days of supply (avg.) | 24 days | 14–21 days |
| Inventory turnover | 11.5 per year | ≥ 12 |
| Inventory accuracy | 97.4 % | ≥ 98 % |
The targets are examples – each hospital sets its own per item group. In the example, high days of supply and expiry belong together: too much stock that is used too slowly.
Five practical tips
- Split metrics by item group – OR supplies, sterile goods and office material behave very differently.
- Use an ABC analysis to find the 20 % of items that make up 80 % of the value, and control those closely.
- Supply ward cabinets with two-bin kanban instead of waiting for requests.
- Record expiry dates at put-away and pick first-expired-first-out.
- Show the metrics monthly on one page – with the trend, not just the current value.
Free Excel template
Warehouse Intelligence is a warehouse KPI dashboard in Excel: enter your data and see fill rate, inventory accuracy, turnover and days of supply with trends. In the interactive logistics dashboard you can try 15 metrics right in your browser.