New HIDA White Paper Aids Manufacturers In Distribution Strategy Decisions
January 29, 2024 – HIDA’s new white paper, Distribution Channel Considerations For Medical Products Manufacturers, marks the latest resource to examine the role of distribution within the medical supply chain.
The paper explores key supply chain functions including order fulfillment, receiving and storage, kitting, billing management, and customer service. For each function, the white paper evaluates the pros and cons for using distribution versus selling direct.
“We wanted to help manufacturers make informed decisions about their channel strategy,” said HIDA Senior Vice President Elizabeth Hilla, Senior Vice President at HIDA and Executive Director of the HIDA Educational Foundation. “This resource lays out a structure for making those decisions.”
Among the key takeaways of the white paper are:
- Channel strategy should be based on maximizing value, not just minimizing costs.
- Distribution model decisions are driven by customer requirements.
- Most customers prefer to buy frequently-used medical supplies and devices through distribution, in order to ensure higher fill rates and shorter lead times.
- Manufacturers often depend on distribution in order to find prospects and service customers in fragmented healthcare markets.
The white paper was developed with guidance from industry leaders from manufacturers and distributors in the medical supply chain. The full white paper and a supporting PowerPoint presentation is available on HIDA.org.
About HIDA
Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) represents the healthcare distribution network – the essential link between global healthcare supply manufacturers and local care providers. HIDA members operate more than 500+ distribution centers to bring critical products, supplies, and services to more than 560,000 healthcare settings across the U.S., including hospitals, long-term care, physician practices, home care, and laboratories. Visit HIDA.org.