(01/2021) Medika Medizintechnik GmbH, one of the largest family-run trading and service companies in the German healthcare market, opened its fourth branch in Germany on October 1, 2020 in Oberhausen. It is the first Medika branch in North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to products from well-known manufacturers and own brands, the company also offers customers comprehensive services. Customers are public and private hospitals, hospital chains, medical care centers and general practitioners. In an interview with the MTD editorial team, managing partner Stefan Weiß commented on the company's situation and the new branch.
Mr. Weiß, could you describe the dimensions of the company with a few key data?
We currently have 180 employees and achieved sales of 72 million euros in 2019. We expect a significant increase for the current year.
Do you generate sales primarily from capital goods or consumables?
We are a committed full-range supplier. In 2019, 55 percent of our sales came from consumables, 25 percent from appliances and 20 percent from home furnishings. And this year, in which we were able to significantly increase the share of sales with our own brands, including protective products, the share of sales from consumables will increase significantly.
Do you specialize in certain medical procedures or are you a generalist when it comes to medical devices?
As I said, we are a committed full-range supplier and therefore, of course, generalists. However, specialization in certain sub-segments is absolutely necessary today. We now cover the areas of instruments, endoscopy, HF surgery, cardiology and OR management with the respective product specialists. We have also installed product management for our new lines and protective products and have made our purchasing more professional.
What role do own brands play in the context of consumables?
Private labels play a very important role in our strategic direction. On the one hand, it was necessary to expand this segment by focusing on sales throughout Germany and Austria; on the other hand, it is important to reduce our dependency on individual strong and large suppliers as much as possible. With our own products, we were also able to submit offers to purchasing groups and private clinic operators without any problems and achieve corresponding listings.
You have been quoted in the media several times as part of the Corona crisis. Was and is personal protective equipment (PPE) a profitable business for you?
Protective products were and indeed are a very important part of our own brands. During the pandemic, Medika was one of the few companies that was still able to deliver. Our organization here was in full swing and we had to take a lot of risks. In addition to economic success, we also always pursued the goal of helping the health facilities and thus the people. Logically, we had to pay a little more for these risks than in the past.
What role do services play and which are the most important?
Our company has been adding as much service as possible to the various products since the mid-1990s. Our service portfolio has grown steadily over the past 25 years. These include above all logistics, tender management, electronic data exchange (digitization), planning and development, instrument management, technical service, assembly, but also training and further education.
Your customers include hospitals, MVZs and general practitioners. The most important customer group is likely to be the hospitals and clinic chains. How big is the share of sales that are accounted for by hospitals?
The positive sales development in recent years is primarily based on the clinic business. We currently make around 90 percent of our sales with clinics. Sales with the ni
