Healthcare Market Entry in the Philippines

Client Problem

Our client is a pioneering European healthcare technology company, aiming to be a leading manufacturer of medical devices for oncology, orthopaedics, sports, neurology, and musculoskeletal disorders. Our client is a growing company developing new markets and so wanted to evaluate and validate market opportunities in the Philippines. They requested us to investigate current market and potential, the competitive landscape as well as market entry options and the key factors of the business environment.

Our Solution

To evaluate the market opportunity, we tested the client’s market-match and competitiveness by conducting research and key stakeholder interviews with private and public hospitals and clinics, industry associations as well as distributors and government agencies. From this we were able to offer our client quantitative and qualitative data on the market allowing them to identify the better target market segments, along with learning the purchasing process in the Philippines.

Following this evaluation phase, the client decided to proceed to a distributor search. They agreed that working in partnership with a local distributor was the more suitable mode for market-entry in the Philippine medical devices sector. After long-listing and short-listing potential distributors, we presented the client with a ranking of the top five most suitable candidates, allowing them to decide on their preferred candidate.

Successful Result

Our client held face-to-face meetings and follow-up discussions with each shortlisted distributor candidate, following which a distributor agreement was offered and signed with the most suitable partner. With a time-to-market of six months, first purchase orders were made and a healthy sales funnel has now been established.

Key lessons learned:

  • Evaluation of the market opportunity is crucial
  • Understanding the ecosystem, stakeholders, and purchasing process is a must in determining the entry mode
  • Careful selection and vetting of partner candidates are important: the most suitable is the best
  • Market development does not stop when the first purchase order comes in – sales channel management and market development together with the distributor enables success in the long run

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