10 Reasons You Should Outsource Your Medical Devices
Outsourcing is becoming more common in industries around the world. In fact, the medical device outsourcing market size is estimated to be worth around US$231 billion by 2027. In recent years, the medical device market has seen growth due to new technologies and advances in manufacturing that cater to an aging population.
However, the changing and incredibly complex regulatory environment in addition to the competition that medical device companies face can be a challenge. As a result, growing numbers of medical device manufacturers are looking towards outsourcing as a solution to improve return on investment, boost agility, lower costs, and tap into better resources.
With that in mind, here are some of the benefits that come with working with medical device outsourcing companies to assemble, package, and protect your devices.
1. Improves Time To Market
Normally, your business would have to work with multiple suppliers and coordinate everything from start to finish when it comes to creating, prototyping, testing, and launching a medical device. With the rapid advancements in the medical industry, it can be a challenge to stay one step ahead of the competition.
On the other hand, working with an end-to-end medical device manufacturer can help get your product to market as quickly as possible. You can take advantage of their trusted contacts, capitalize on their expertise and resources, and minimize the risk of future delays.
2. Reduces Delays And Supply Chain Risks
If you decide to do business with a medical device manufacturer, you won’t have to take on the hassle of sourcing materials on your own along with finding trustworthy suppliers to work with.
Ideally, outsourcing the production of your medical device means that you’ll gain access to an already established network of suppliers and business relationships that can reduce your expenses and prevent any costly pitfalls that may occur.
3. Offers Greater Expertise And Specialization
Compared to in-house production, working with a third-party manufacturing specialist can give you greater access to engineering and manufacturing experience that may be beneficial to your brand.
You’ll be able to take advantage of a highly trained workforce to provide advice for your team on how to manage the creation of a medical device from start to finish. They would also have knowledge of how to deal with any troubleshooting during the manufacturing process.
4. Guarantees Better Cost Savings And Potential For Innovation
According to a 2021 KPMG survey on outsourcing, there are several reasons why businesses choose to outsource various processes. The main driver behind this include:
- Cost savings (32.3%)
- Access to innovation (20%)
- Quality improvement (15.4%)
- Increased agility (13.8%)
- Speed to market (12.3%)
- Risk transfer (6.2%)
All in all, this survey shows that most businesses believe that collaboration with other companies can improve profit. It can also lead to the generation of new ideas during the production and manufacturing process.
5. Grants Access To Numerous Resources And Services
In addition to lower costs and the simplification of the supply chain, partnering with a medical device manufacturer can allow you to benefit from their industry-specific intelligence, prototyping, assembly process, packaging, sterilization, and design and regulatory insights that you may not otherwise have access to.
6. Improves Ability To focus On Other Goals
If you outsource specific aspects of your business operations, you are also improving your ability to focus on your brand objectives. Taking production out of the equation can help you concentrate your efforts on marketing or developing the medical product or device you’re working on launching next.
Furthermore, you won’t have to go through the time to train or recruit new employees for your cause. Instead of taking months to launch a complex medical device, outsourcing manufacturing processes can speed things up dramatically to a matter of weeks since they have expertise in this area since production lines are already set up in the first place.
Reducing the stress associated with production can also provide a welcome boost to your creativity and innovation, allowing you to develop more advanced medical devices.
7. Avoid Long Term Commitment
The startup time to build a fully functioning production line, hire qualified staff, and invest in equipment can be significant. In contrast, outsourcing the manufacturing of devices, packaging, and assembly of parts helps businesses avoid a long-term commitment.
Instead of your capital being wasted on idle production lines and expensive machinery, you’ll be able to get a clearer picture of the total cost and timeframe required to manufacture a medical device with a third-party expert.
8. Reduces The Need To Hire More Employees
There are many moving parts that come with developing a medical device. One of these is hiring and training all the necessary staff to design, package, and produce your product.
Often, this can take more time than expected since you’ll need to create a job posting for every role, find an avenue to advertise the position, screen potential applicants, and interview candidates.
Even then, it can take several months to years before members of your product development team gain the necessary expertise to create a satisfactory product. On the contrary, medical device outsourcing means that you can already work with experts who have complete knowledge of the medical device development process.
9. Improves Scalability Of Your Business
When it comes to increasing or decreasing production volumes, working with an outsourced provider comes with many benefits. If you’re independently producing medical devices, it can be difficult to meet your growing news by upgrading technology, acquiring new staff, and funding new ventures.
However, outsourcing medical device production provides greater flexibility since these experienced companies can typically accommodate additional numbers with no issue.
10. Ensures Better Regulatory Compliance
If you’re new to the medical device industry and aren’t familiar with the current industry standards and regulatory requirements, it can be a challenge to get your product to market. To ensure that you’re submitting the right technical file and are registering your device under the correct classification, it may be a good idea to work with an experienced partner.
Ideally, working with a medical device design and manufacturing company that offers end-to-end services is the best fit for you. The reason for this is that they provide the regulatory requirements for the launch of your product, which makes them a valuable asset to your brand.
For instance, they should have ISO 13485 certification through the Medical Device Single Audit Programm (MDSAP), which will ensure your products are compliant to launch around the world without being restricted to just the United Kingdom, European Union, or the United States.
Steps To Consider When Outsourcing
For those in the medical device industry, outsourcing can help companies become more competitive overall while reducing risk. If you’re unsure of whether outsourcing is right for you or are choosing between several medical device outsourcing opportunities for your brand, consider following these next steps:
- Look at your company as a whole including your objectives, future goals, and current projects to determine whether outsourcing is an ideal fit for your needs
- Keep yourself up to date on medical regulations and ensure that your outsourcer has the necessary background knowledge
- Review your vendor strategy and create a range of criteria to determine how successful their services and functions are to your brand
- Compare various outsources and services within your industry in terms of cost, resources, time frames, reputation, and quality
- Consider the location of the company you plan on working with in terms of whether they can promote your expansion into future markets or conversely, come with environmental-related or other geopolitical challenges
- Check on the level of technology that the vendor possesses and whether it is advanced enough to meet the requirements and volume of the product you aim to outsource
- Examine the amount of liability that will be undertaken by your business and by your prospective vendor.
- Determine whether the onshore or offshore vendor can respond to your questions in a timely manner since you might run into communication issues later on.
The Bottom Line Of Outsourcing
If you decide to work with a medical device manufacturer, you stand to benefit in many ways. Firstly, you can be safe in the knowledge that your medical devices are being created, assembled, and packaged by an experienced provider that can reduce your overhead costs in terms of hiring staff and creating your own production line.
Ultimately, you can also gain a competitive edge over other businesses operating within your industry with the reduction of risks in the supply chain, better access to legal compliance, access to experienced staff, seamless processes, and all-around services that can give you a valuable market advantage.
In the future, companies that are able to boost their agility, cut down on operational costs, and improve their business strategies through outsourcing are more likely to become the new leaders in the medical device industry.
Assembly services for medical devices
Have any questions on the process of medical device outsourcing and how it can benefit your brand? Leave a comment below or email us!
