We offer a wide array of industry-focussed supply chain management services that address the challenges facing pharmaceutical and healthcare products companies, including:

• Integrated business planning
• Supply chain planning and process optimisation
• Profitability management and working capital reduction
• Asset management
• Complexity management (process and product)
• Lean / Six Sigma
• Risk management
• Tax efficiency
• Security of supply
• Technology transfer
• Governance and compliance

PwC medical device supply chain research

PwC have conducted in-depth market research in to the medical device sector.

Abstract

Achieving Supply Chain Efficiency in the Medical Devices Industry

Results Survey Medical Devices

The traditional ways of controlling the medical devices supply chain are no longer sufficient to meet the developments and price pressure in the market. During the last years the medical devices industry is facing more and more price pressure due to increasing interventions from federal law & regulations (e.g. Belgium), and due to the formation of buying groups (e.g. the Netherlands, Germany) in which individual hospitals bundle their buying power. This poses a major challenge to keep profit levels on a “healthy” level.

To understand how medical devices manufacturers are facing this challenge, PwC conducted a survey among the leading companies in the cardio/endovascular and orthopedic industry. The major observation is that more and more companies are reducing their end-to-end cost by controlling the supply chain more effectively and efficiently. With this trend the medical devices industry seems to undergo a similar development as the pharmaceutical industry in the last 10 years: from top line growth (internally neutral*) to profitable growth (externally neutral*).

In the survey the key areas identified to achieve a more efficient supply are examined:

• Improving product portfolio management
• Reducing consignment stock
• Improving cost-to-serve transparency

* introduced in the model developed by Hayes & Wheelwright to classify the importance of the supply chain

The preliminary findings of this report can be downloaded here. To receive the full whitepaper and accompanying presentation ensure you attend the PwC briefing on 10th October at LogiMed.