Our Strategy
SANBS strategy 2025-2030:
‘Serving with Heart’ and
building a better future
Our Strategy
SANBS strategy 2025-2030: ‘Serving with Heart’ and building a better future
Metrics to achieve the mission
Our mission, to ‘Serve with Heart’, deliver with excellence and save lives, rests on four core metrics: Cost, Quality, Reliability and Coverage. These are translated into clear targets, measured through weighted indices, and reviewed regularly by the Board, Exco and management.
Essentially each of these indices comprises a number of internal metrics and at least one external metric to ensure comparability with other blood services.
Reliability
Reliability, for SANBS, is a foundational value that aligns our company with the quality of being able to perform well, irrespective of the challenges that we encounter.
We maintain product and service reliability through:
Resilience of infrastructure
- Standardised donor infrastructure with state-of-the-art digital technology, integrated with process automation at blood banks
Consistency of delivery
- Accountability and effective cost control contribute immensely to consistency of delivery
Constantly improving our process reliability
- A feedback system available to doctors, donors, patients and employees - invaluable insights re expectation and requirements
- Feedback facilitates identification of weaknesses - an opportunity for continuous improvement, employees training and process optimisations
Turnaround time
- The amount of time taken to complete a process/fulfil a request
- Reduced product delays
- Reduced idle time by key employees
Reliability index
- Stakeholder engagement
- Order vs issue
- Turnaround time
- No replacements
- Misdirected transfusion errors
Cost
Cost management is an important consideration. Over the past few years, operating costs have increased above inflation. We will strive to contain these costs going forward. Unpaid debts from government and private entities also need to be urgently reduced. Addressing these issues head on will ensure SANBS remains financial sustainable in the long run.
We will achieve reduced costs by:
Improving variable cost per unit
- Essential cost-effective expenditure
- Become more prudent
- Maintain disciplined cost management
Reducing costs of collections
- Increase mobile units and reduce number of fixed sites
Reducing levels of wastage
- Minimise blood wastage and wasteful expenditure
Reducing logistic and peripheral costs
- Review fleet and related activities to optimise process and costs for delivery of blood products
- Optimise inventory levels
Cost index
- Benchmark cost of RBC
- Working capital (cents/rand of turnover)
- Employees cost % of total costs
- Procurement spend saving
Quality and blood safety
Quality is a crucial part of SANBS, and an important pillar for the future. Quality processes will ensure we are able to track our activities and manage them optimally, from the screening process of blood donors to the transfusion of blood products to patients. Direct message and notification systems have been enhanced and streamlined for an improved user experience. Employees log improvement opportunities to allow a proactive response. The quality team is integrated into the operational areas and is approached as advisory experts.
Optimal quality in SANBS is achieved and maintained through:
- An entrenched quality culture
- International standards accreditation
- Quality improvements through quality failure logging
- Reducing wastage and adverse effects
- Improving service quality with insight from our stakeholder experience
Quality and blood saftey index
- Quality Index
- Blood Safety Index
Coverage
It is imperative for SANBS to have its blood and blood products made available to all, irrespective of location. As a company, we provide trusted blood products and services, and these need to be available to all patients. We also have to be able to meet growing expectations and demands.
We will extend coverage to all through:
- Collecting blood at key population concentration points
- Services available in traditional and new areas
- Curbing blood shortages in previously under serviced areas
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Initiatives including use of:
- mobile units in collections
- smart fridges
Coverage index
- Total SA Coverage (issues per 1000 pop.)
- SA Public Sector Coverage
- SA Private Sector Coverage
- % Blood Availability to hospitals performing caesarean sections
In contributing to a sustainable future and looking beyond environmental considerations alone, SANBS has aligned its strategy to support the following UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Good Health & Well-being
Quality Education
Gender Equality
Decent Work & Economic Growth
Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
Responsible Consumption & Production
Climate Action
Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
Conclusion and looking forward
‘Serving with Heart’ builds on our seven iHEALTh objectives but shifts the lens to a truly customer centric, empathetic, and responsive model of care.
This strategic evolution ensures that SANBS remains relevant and resilient amid an everchanging healthcare landscape. By combining the discipline and learnings of iHEALTh with a people-first mindset, we will continue to deliver on our promise: saving lives, and ‘Serving with Heart’, every single day. It calls us to:
Embed empathy and responsiveness in all touchpoints, from donor invitations to patient deliveries
Deepen stakeholder partnerships, co creating solutions with clinicians, medical schemes, and communities
Innovate with purpose, harnessing data, digital channels and new delivery models to make giving and receiving blood as seamless as possible
Empower our people, equipping every colleague to lead with compassion, accountability, and a shared sense of purpose