FALL RIVER, Mass., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Millstone Medical Outsourcing, the fast-growing innovator of aftermarket medical device services, today launched the industry’s first Loaner Expedite Program -- a streamlined system that cuts the cost and time to deliver fully inspected surgical kits to operating rooms.
The program solves one of the most persistent problems facing orthopaedic manufacturers: How to maximize the use of loaner kits to reduce the required investment in inventory.
“These kits can cost $50,000 each -- a huge investment for any manufacturer,” said Shannon Tillman, president of Millstone Medical Outsourcing. “At the same time, they’re essential for every surgery. By the time a kit is sent to the field for a surgery, employed by the surgeon, and returned to the OEM for restocking, manufacturers spend more than $400 for shipping and the associated processing labor.”
Until now, kits have been returned to the OEM for inspection and replenishment after each use, taking them out of commission for up to ten days at a time in between surgeries. Manufacturers absorb the related costs, even if it just means breaking even, to ensure surgeons use their devices, rather than those of a competitor.
Approximately 20 percent of all surgeries require loaner kits. This inefficient program costs some of the largest manufacturers more than $50 million a year, with leading OEMs shipping more than 100,000 kits annually. Shipping alone can cost as much as $150 per round trip, while internal hourly labor rates of $80 or more can become untenable.
At the other end of the spectrum, start-up companies, which tend to focus more of their resources on R&D, may lack the infrastructure to easily manage the transfer of just a dozen kits.
Millstone Medical’s loaner expedite service cuts overall inventory costs by 40 percent -- which translates into multi-million-dollar, bottom-line savings. Other key components are also reduced: shipping costs are trimmed by more than 65 percent, and labor costs by more than 20 percent.
Millstone Medical cuts downtime and transit time to 2 days through forward deployment of loaner expedite staff to high volume field sales territories. Following surgery, each local expeditor provides objective onsite inspection, calls in replenishment orders to the OEM, and expedites the kit to the next surgery location.
“Everyone in the industry assumes this is a necessary cost of doing business,” said Hosam Affifi, president and CEO of VERTEBRON, Inc., a spinal implant manufacturer that has been using Millstone Medical’s Loaner Expedite Program since spring of 2004. “We’re cutting costs and improving service through a revolutionary model -- and getting more resources to our customers, faster than the competition.”
The Loaner Expedite Program enhances Millstone Medical’s portfolio of outsourced aftermarket services:
* Repackaging opened but unused medical devices * Reprocessing orthopaedic devices intended for single use, in conjunction with the manufacturer * Field inventory auditing to accurately track manufacturers’ deployed inventory across national sales territories * Tracking and recycling instruments required for surgery, helping manufacturers maximize the number of surgeries for devices and extend the life of instruments to rural and international markets
“The orthopaedic and spine industry is growing 15 percent annually -- which makes aggressive expansion critical to simply maintain market share,” said Tillman. “With the Loaner Expedite Program, OEMs free up capital for sales and R&D -- and stop wasting it on managing idle inventory.”
Founded in 2000, Millstone Medical Outsourcing strictly adheres to FDA Quality System Regulations. Customer products are processed according to industry best practices, and Millstone Medical is ISO 13485:2003 certified and FDA registered.
About Millstone Medical Outsourcing
Millstone Medical Outsourcing helps leading medical device manufacturers capture millions of dollars a year by sterile packaging, reprocessing, repackaging and accurately auditing deployed inventories. A commitment to outstanding quality and service has helped the company secure partnerships with six of the country’s top 10 medical device manufacturers. Millstone Medical Outsourcing is a privately held company headquartered in Fall River, Mass. and can be reached at http://www.millstonemedical.com or (508) 679-8385.
Millstone Medical Outsourcing
CONTACT: Adam Parken, aparken@corporateink.com, or Corinne Sheehan,csheehan@corporateink.com, both for Millstone Medical Outsourcing, +1-617-969-9192
Web site: http://www.millstonemedical.com//
