Diversification
Industry Context
SMEs operating in the traditional sectors continue to experience serious threats such as the demise of large companies, e.g. MG Rover, and rapidly increasing competition from low-cost economies. Within a relative short time tooling companies, for instance, are no longer asked even to quote for new projects; it is a foregone conclusion that these will be sourced in China or Eastern Europe. In order to survive these SMEs had to become lean and mean, be creative and efficient. The healthcare market on the other hand is a stable and growing marketplace that requires the skills of these SMEs to develop innovative and customisable solutions, thus presenting them with a lifeline - an opportunity for survival and growth.
Opportunity
We have, through our work with companies, demonstrated that this opportunity is real and that, with expert support, SMEs can successfully enter the healthcare sector. But the medical and healthcare market is complex. Specially the NHS, which is different from traditional sectors in two key aspects:
1. It requires robust evidence of the efficacy of a product or a of company’s capability
This means that SMEs have to demonstrate that their product works and is safe, which might require setting-up clinical trials
2. A very complex procurement system.
This means that SMEs have to identify and approach decision makers and influencers at local Trusts, Procurement Hubs, Procurement Consortiums, NHS Purchase and Supply Agency and Department of Health, which is time consuming and resource intensive.
| Need | Capability |
In order to deal with these complex challenges ‘traditional sector’ SMEs and companies with new concepts need expert advice and support on a range of aspects such as Technology Assessment, Competitive Benchmarking, Business Strategy and Planning, identifying and building partnerships, securing Intellectual Property Rights, Product Certification & Validation and Sales & Marketing strategies. | We have built a team of experts with over 120 years of experience in industry and 60 years of experience in healthcare technologies. This means that we have the capability to engage with directors and managers in SMEs effectively. Also, we have developed a proven approach to defining a company’s needs and providing flexible support that produces benefits for some 100 companies. |
Results
This has allowed us to help SMEs to think strategically about their future business options and to provide mechanisms for change, access to innovation tools, routes to related and enabling technologies and, not least, access to the wider knowledge base of regulations, standards, procedures and common practices found in the healthcare sector.