A quick peek into some research on … service management from Tech-Clarity Insight: Servicing Medical Devices: World Class Service Management for Medical Equipment. The research extends prior research on equipment service management including the prior report, Tech-Clarity Insight: Equipment Service Management: Maximizing Profit and Customer Value over the Equipment
Lifecycle. 
Wow, that was a mouthful! Sorry. In a nutshell, this report is intended to help medical device companies leverage lessons learned from other service-oriented industries, but points out distinct differences in the healthcare industry.
The Research Findings
The research highlights the need for service organizations to master two disciplines in order to achieve world class service:
- Operational Control
- Equipment Intelligence
These two fundamentals of Equipment Service Management (ESM) help companies maintain customer satisfaction, but also allow allow them to profit from the business of service.
For medical device companies, of course, these two disciplines must also address patient safety and regulatory compliance. The medical device industry is highly regulated, including mandatory requirements for tracking product configurations and service history (such as maintaining a “device master record” and tracking what work has been done and by whom). The best practices of ESM are well suited to help medical device companies address both general service management best practices, as well as the unique needs of their industry.
Implications for (Medical Device) Manufacturers
Medical device manufacturers are facing increased pressure from global markets. During the best of times, most saw service only as a necessary function to enable sales. Good service is good business, and happy customers are repeat customers. They are now finding that they also have to be lean in service to maintain profit margins. This is particularly true as more customers ask for fixed-price or performance-based service contracts. Today, more medical device companies are starting to view service as a strategic profit center in addition to maintaining its role in keeping customers happy (and buying more products). Medical device companies should learn from other industries that have already made the transition to being service-led companies, but always keep their eyes on the unique challenges and responsibilities they face as a part of the healthcare industry.
So that was a quick peek into some recent research on servicing medical equipment, I hope you found it interesting. Does the research reflect your experiences? Do you see it differently? Let us know what it looks like from your perspective.
Please feel free to review more free research and white papers about service management, PLM and other enterprise software for manufacturers from Tech-Clarity.