International Medical Device Distributor Management
Finding the best quality international medical distributors requires persistence, cultural awareness and analytical skills. But that’s only half of what’s required to ensure a successful relationship. Making sure your new partner gets off to a fast start and continues to perform requires a hands-on approach. Be honest – do you really have the time and resources to do that? Or would it be best to outsource it to distribution experts who have the experience, understand the local culture, speak the language and know how to get the most out of the relationship?
We find great distributors and can help you manage the ongoing relationship to ensure peak performance
No sales manager wants to explain to their boss why the distributor they selected a year ago is not meeting expectations. There may be legitimate reasons for poor sales beyond your control but our experience is that sales tend to fall off if the initial training is lacking and the personal relationship is not nurtured. Even if your device is light years ahead of the competition it doesn’t sell itself! Distributors represent hundreds of products and the initial training you provide is critical, as is the timeliness of shipments, sales materials, refresher training, market presence, quality of your IFU, etc.
Our local consultants foster relationships effectively and efficiently which results in long-term successful partnerships with your distributors
Having one of our local consultants manage the relationship with the medical device distributor makes perfectly sense. Since they understand the local market conditions and culture very well and often have been active in this role for many years, they know which questions to ask and assure that the distributor is meeting the expectations. As the consultant is not on your payroll, it’s an efficient and effective way of managing the local distribution partners by only paying for the activities done.
PRIORITIZE
Determine which countries or regions seem like good potential markets for your medical device.
EVALUATE
Determine how to enter the focus markets based on local competition, pricing and route to market.
SEARCH
Define your ideal distributor profile, find matches, introduce your company and device, then qualify distributors.
SELECT
Conduct due diligence on your preferred short list of potential partners, do site visit, and coordinate getting signed contracts.
MANAGE
Communicate with your chosen distributor(s) and regularly monitor their ongoing sales performance
Frustrated with an underperforming distributor? Let us help you turn things around
If you have a distributor in a specific market that is not performing to expectations, we may be able to save and improve the relationship. Our highly experienced team of distribution consultants knows how to engage with medical device distributors and we can usually diagnose the problem with a few calls. It could be related to poor communication, pricing or intense local competition. Whatever the case, as a third-party consultant we can talk to distributors with an openness that usually reveals the real issue limiting your sales. And yes, in some cases the best solution may be to move on and find a new partner.