MTD-Verlag GmbH Market/ambulatory surgery: Getinge is increasingly bringing MT specialist dealers on board

(11/2022) Getinge is currently making a partial reversal in the outpatient market from direct business, which is unaffordable due to its complex nature, to intensified partnerships with specialist medical technology retailers. That is the essence of a conversation between ZMT board member Frank-Dietrich Warkalla (Falk Medizintechnik) and Martina Di Iullo (Distributor Manager DACH, Getinge) and Stefan Leidenberger (Sales Director Ambulatory Surgery Centers DACH, Getinge).

This made it clear that Getinge is currently focusing on high-performance specialist dealers who “fly the Getinge flag high in the market”, says Warkalla. The core of this is a hybrid model, i.e. parallel market development via direct and specialist trade sales in close cooperation, since the medical technology specialist trade can offer customers a significantly larger range of products.

Of course, Getinge is not taking this course without reason. During the conversation it became clear that Getinge has to react to certain developments in the market. On the one hand, the company has traditionally been strong in the hospital market for a long time, but now they want to score points in the outpatient sector in terms of awareness and market share - including via the specialist trade channel.

In addition, there are changes in the political framework, which obviously make the outpatient sector interesting for the company. Among other things, reference is made to political developments such as the decision of the state parliament in Lower Saxony to reform the hospital law. As a result, Getinge expects a further shift in patient care to the outpatient area. And here you obviously calculate quite a bit about the specialist trade sales boat.

However, it also became clear during the conversation that Getinge has very clear ideas about market cultivation in view of the increased cooperation with specialist dealers. The people in Rastatt are obviously not delighted with the tendency of some large specialist dealers to expand their Germany-wide activities and work together with selected suppliers on the basis of exclusive contracts. That's just not the strategic approach. Rather, they are pursuing the goal of a “long-term strategic focus on regionally strong dealers”.

However, Getinge's expectations of the specialist trade are not bad either, as Warkalla emphasizes. Expecting more sales and market share - who wouldn't want that...? On the way there, the company expects “proactive cooperation” and qualitative feedback on market development when it comes to market development. It goes without saying that the specialist trade should also open up further sales channels for the wide range of products in this context.

The specialist trade partners should support their own sales force with the appropriate demo equipment. Qualified service technicians are one of the great strengths of good MT specialist retail companies. Nevertheless, from now on the manufacturer requires regular participation in training courses, embedded in the Getinge training tool - for service and sales. In the case of fast-moving items, stock goods should be made available, and a correspondingly prominent placement of the contractual products on the specialist retail website or in the online shop is expected.

If you ask a lot, you have to deliver. And Getinge does. The company intends to increase its own specialist staff in-house to support specialist trade partners – in the areas of project planning and product configuration, among other things, and at the same time provide more contacts for the specialist trade. Interesting perspectives opened up in this context