Finding Medical Distributors in Europe
If you wish to enter the European medical device market, you may need to opt for different distribution channels in Europe due to differences in language, culture, economic situation or mindset of the population. For instance, there are very few traditional medical distributors in France and the majority of medical device distribution is handled directly by manufacturers. These manufacturers usually distribute third party products next to their own products. As a result, it may take more time to successfully launch your medical device in France as this market is not as transparent as the surrounding markets.
Entering the larger EU medical device markets first seems to be a logical step. However, when entering Germany for instance you also need to be aware that you may run into a lot of locally produced competing products. Smaller European markets with little production may be a better option depending on your device.
There are even regional cultural differences to consider. In Italy or Spain you typically need to use multiple distributors because an end-user from Barcelona may only wants to do business with a local medical distributor and not with a distributor located in Madrid. After many years of experience in European medical device market, we are ready to assist you to make the best strategy for entering the European market and help you to find the best EU medical distributors for your products.
Proper distributor evaluation is extremely important to your success in Europe
Whether you are looking to expand your existing network of medical distributors, or are entering a new market for the first time, properly evaluating new distributors is vital. All too often, companies rush into a new market after obtaining regulatory approval only to discover later that they wished they had done more due diligence before selecting their EU medical distribution partners. Choosing the wrong distributor can lead to significant loss in potential sales and a poor relationship with end users, damaging your brand name in a market and potential for future success in Europe.
The first step in the European distributor selection process is to create a distributor profile, based on your product and specific requirements. This can be provided by you or created after conducting a thorough country analysis. Using this profile we generate a pre-screened list of potential medical device distributors. Depending on the size of the country or a region within that country (e.g. northern Italy, Germany, France, etc.) and the medical device niche we are focusing on, this list usually consists of 10 to 25 medical distributors.
After you have reviewed and approved the pre-screened distributor profiles, we go through a methodical process of contacting and qualifying these medical distributors. During this process we contact these companies, introduce your company and provide product information, pricing, and (sometimes) samples. Interested medical device distributors will be interviewed, asked to provide details on how they intend to launch your products, and will be checked for references.
This process narrows the list substantially, leaving two or three distributors per selected country or region that have expressed a sincere interest in selling your products and meet all of the requirements set forth in your distributor profile. After our follow up discussions with these medical distributors we will set up a conference call between you and the distributor(s) and we can arrange a face-to-face meeting if desired.
This extensive bottom-up research and due diligence process takes two to three months to complete and the work is done by our local office in the EU market you wish to enter. Throughout this process we will provide you with regular progress reports for your review and feedback. Our European medical distributor search services are performed on a fixed fee basis.
Please contact us for more information or a free proposal on our European medical distributor search services.
