Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) is a state corporation under the Ministry of Health established under the KEMSA Act 2013 whose mandate is to procure, warehouse and distribute medical commodities (medical logistics) to public health facilities. KEMSA obtained ISO 9001:2008 Certification in 2010 and has subsequently successfully been re-certified after every two years. KEMSA is currently on its 3rd cycle of recertification.
All KEMSA business processes are fully automated through the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Other automated systems include the Logistics Management Information System (LMIS) and the KEMSA e-mobile service.
KEMSA NEW BUSINESS MODEL
The KEMSA new business model is necessitated by the fact that the country has now embraced devolved system of government and the health function has been devolved to the Counties. In order to align to the devolved system of government and to ensure that public health facilities access medical commodities, KEMSA has re-configured its business model. Further, as all funds for procurement of medical commodities have been devolved to the Counties, KEMSA has accordingly reviewed all its systems, structures and business model and to be fully aligned to the devolved system of government. In this new business model, KEMSA has put systems and structures in place to ensure that supply of medical commodities to public health facilities continues uninterrupted. The new KEMSA business model will enable KEMSA to run a self- sustainable supply system.
In the new model, the county health facilities will submit orders and the appropriate payment to KEMSA. Upon submission of orders and payment, KEMSA will process the order and dispatch commodities to the particular facility. The county health facilities will order and pay for their medical commodities on a demand driven supply system. Under this model, KEMSA will use the funds realized from sale of medical commodities to county health facilities to replenish its stocks. KEMSA will ensure that its medical commodities stocks are in line with market demands. KEMSA already has the requisite transport system in place which includes outsourced transport, courier service and own fleet. This will ensure timely dispatch of all commodities ordered by the county health facilities.
