DUBLIN, Ohio — Cardinal Health's Global Medical Products and Distribution (GMPD) business was presented with the HIRC Member Choice Award for Supplier Transparency at its March 2026 Academy conference. HIRC, a nonprofit consortium of healthcare leaders committed to improving supply chain transparency and resiliency, said its new award is based on customer nominations and recognizes our focus on predictable, responsible and shared practices that enhance resiliency.
“Customers throughout the nomination process consistently recognized Cardinal Health for proactively and responsibly sharing information that helps enable early risk identification, stronger planning and trusted collaboration across the healthcare supply chain,” said Jesse Schafer, HIRC executive director. “Such timely, accurate and reliable operational practices positively impact the healthcare supply chain and help ensure the continuity of patient care.”
Pete Bennett, senior vice president, global supply chain for GMPD, said, “Recognition from our customers is a testament to the collaboration we foster, as well as the discipline and commitment our teams deliver in protecting patient care across every link in the supply chain.”
Customer feedback: transparency that drives operational value
In nominating GMPD, customers praised their teams for clear communication on product supply chain, actionable insights and overall resiliency planning.
"Cardinal Health demonstrates a strong commitment to supply continuity through proactive planning and disciplined execution. They actively participate in weekly backorder mitigation meetings to identify and address potential disruptions well in advance of any impact to patient care," said Andrea Poulopoulos, senior vice president of supply chain, Corewell Health. "During sourcing discussions, the team consistently flags potential constraints related to global operations or geopolitical events, enabling our team to prepare alternate sourcing strategies."
Corewell Health is a valued customer of their specialty medical products and nursing care teams within GMPD. "Our organizations drive collaboration grounded in a shared commitment to helping deliver high-quality patient care and meaningful outcomes. The not-for-profit health system in Michigan operates 21 hospitals, more than 300 outpatient locations and several post-acute facilities," she said.
Poulopoulos also cited the company's consistent updates ahead of potential hurricanes to ensure critical information is shared before disruptions escalate.
"In preparation for hurricane season, Cardinal Health provided a transparent and detailed view of their storm readiness and response plans. Prior to anticipated events, their team proactively communicated that mitigation plans had been activated and followed up post-event to outline impacts and required logistical actions," she said. "Their team's communication cadence is disciplined, consistent and repeatable, providing sourcing teams with confidence that critical information will be surfaced promptly and with sufficient detail."
A continued focus on advancing the healthcare supply chain
Cardinal Health's GMPD business has been actively engaged with HIRC since 2023; their leaders have served on HIRC’s board of directors and its supplier advisory council. The company was among the first organizations to engage with emerging supply chain transparency standards and the first healthcare distributor to achieve HIRC’s Resiliency Badge with Diamond-level rating – the highest award possible indicating outperforming supply chain maturity scores in areas such as inventory management, logistics, risk management and more.
Most recently, Cardinal Health was recognized with the 2025 HIRC Transparency Badge, as well as the Diamond Resiliency Badge for exam gloves, surgical gloves and incontinence products, surpassing performance benchmarks set by a cohort of more than 350 healthcare leaders across the provider and supplier ecosystem. This diamond-level recognition reflects their manufacturing excellence and unwavering focus on quality for providers and patient care.
Jeff Porubcansky, senior vice president, Cardinal Health, U.S. Medical Products and Distribution, said, “At a time when the healthcare supply chain continues to face global logistics challenges, our commitment to resilience has never been more important. We are deeply grateful for our customer relationships and appreciate their nominations. This award is a reminder of how critical it is for our teams to continue communicating openly and act early in collaboration with providers and their supply chain teams to ensure they have the medical products they count on us to deliver.”
