The medical device and technology industry (in short, Medtech) seems to be unstoppable. By 2031, your industry is expected to be worth US$563 billion--a modest estimate in a time where medical care has become society's top priority.
To meet fast-growing demand, your business has to accelerate innovation in medical instruments, equipment, and devices. It may be used for diagnostics, monitoring, therapeutics, or even surgical instruments. It can even be bleeding-edge technologies such as 3D imaging, additive manufacturing, coatings, and surface treatments, micromanufacturing, and nanotechnology.
But regardless of how innovative your products are, the methods used to sell them remain largely unchanged. This can lead to your business losing its foothold to faster, more agile competitors in this highly attractive but competitive space. Over the years, your sales process may have become highly complicated due to high complexity in production and sales, a competitive market landscape, and high costs.
To overcome this challenge, your business can focus on supply chain efficiency and high business agility—while keeping costs and inventory levels low--to increase market share and expand your global sales force or distribution network.
But that's easier said than done. To completely transform the business, we would first have to understand the weaknesses and risks, before we can reveal the opportunities for Medtech business.
Your business in the medtech sector employs sales strategies to navigate competitive market conditions. However, these strategies can also be influenced by the business model. Here is a brief description of the various business models manufacturers in this space are using to meet market demand.
Demand for products is predictable and easily forecasted
Expends capital to produce goods in advance
Capital is bound to the finished goods until they are sold
Incoming orders use existing inventory, keeping lead times low
Are mass-produced at low costs and high quantities
Are readily available with extremely low lead times
Require little to no engineering and design
Standard products and specifications are clearly defined
Products are only produced when orders are received
Lowers risk of overproduction for manufacturer
Increased production costs and lead times
Cost more, but can be produced in large quantities upon order
Require some engineering and design
Can be manufactured and delivered fairly quickly
A flexible model that allows for speed and reduced waste
Parts and components are pre-produced
Assembly only happens when orders are received
The manufacturer is ready to fulfill orders instantly
Are ordered in lower quantities
Requires some engineering and design
Do not offer options to configure
Enables mass customization and faster response time
Products configured and assembled according to requirements
Standard subassemblies made-to-stock and instantly available
Final assembly is postponed until an order comes in
Are ordered in lower quantities
Offer a large number of configuration options
Requires moderate engineering and design
The manufacturer has an extremely complex or specialized product or solution
Project-based work starts only when order is received
Comprises a long timeline of design, engineering, and production
The final product is engineered according to unique specifications
Are ordered in low quantities
Requires a high degree of engineering and design
Has highly specific customer requirements
Highly optimized by emerging Industry 4.0 technology
The fast, low-cost, high-quality production of almost any product
Resource consumption can be kept under tight control
The manufacturer is equipped to produce anything a customer wants
Uses shared infrastructure to reduce costs and improve quality
Process expertise instead of products is sold to the customer
Are highly innovative and new to the market
Requires high customization or personalization
Needs to be low cost even in low quantities
Has fast time-to-market requirements
Medtech manufacturers meet demand via the different models we've highlighted. And the reality is, leaders in your industry use a mix of models in each business unit. That means the entire business is subject to the risks and complexity of every model used in the business. The success of your business would require multiple sales strategies that consider functions like supply chain, stock management, production, design, engineering costs, and quality control.
For example, glassware manufacturers that use the MTS model need extremely precise forecasting, while lab equipment manufacturers that use the CTO model need powerful and accurate configuration capabilities to help manage demand. A business that produces both types of products, would need sales strategies that can handle both types of business models.
The amount of data needed for these highly complex strategies, however, far exceeds what legacy systems are equipped to manage. Forward-thinking manufacturers are now turning to Industry 4.0 era systems to help manage their data and the complexity that comes with the rising number of business functions and sales strategies.
These are challenges that a powerful digital sales platform can overcome through seamless integration with a manufacturer’s ERP, and existing IT systems that your sales team depends on (e.g. Salesforce CRM). Ultimately, it is a strategic choice that your manufacturing business needs to make before it can meet the demands of the market today, and take advantage of the opportunities that come in the future.
Valuable sales data Electrical Equipment manufacturers need to extract from their ERP
That’s because a leading digital sales platform built for manufacturing is built to support all manufacturing models. It comes equipped with near-instant integration as well as features and functions that cover the full spectrum of manufacturing sales needs. A modern digital sales platform can integrate seamlessly with your ERP, and extract relevant sales data to support your end-to-end sales needs with:
With a powerful digital sales solution like the In Mind Cloud Digital Sales Platform, your electrical equipment manufacturing business can perform better. Your goal can be to reduce costs, increase revenue, improve efficiency, or simply to prepare your business with a competitive advantage--and our Digital Sales Platform is built to get you there.
Find out more about the role digital plays in modern manufacturing sales with the Medtech and High tech industries with our Manufacturing Sales Handbook.
Part of this blog post appeared in an article that was first published on the G2 blog