by
Joanna Padovano, Reporter | October 18, 2011
From the October 2011 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Specialization versus generalization
All parts providers are not created equal when it comes to the type of parts they offer. While some choose to sell equipment that encompasses a variety of different brands and modalities, others prefer to specialize in a select few with both sides holding opinions about the benefits of one strategy compared to the other.
C&G Technologies, for example, exclusively sells GE and Toshiba CT scanner parts. “Our particular [business] model’s always been focused on a niche,” Kramer explains. “In those cases where people try to do everything, you often find that, yeah, they do provide something of everything, but they’re not providing all of that thing and they’re not really doing it very well. It’s like [the expression] ‘jack of all trades, master of none.’ We like to be the jack of the trade and the master of it.”
Other companies that specialize in specific parts are JDI Solutions, which sells Siemens MRI and CT equipment, and TransAmerican Medical Imaging, which offers parts for Philips and GE-OEC mobile C-Arm imaging systems.
Customers can find a more general assortment of parts with ReMedPar. “We provide pretty much any replacement parts for the diagnostic imaging world,” says Mark Suffridge, the company’s senior vice president of sales and marketing.
Adam Imaging Parts also caters to a variety of imaging systems, such as CT, MRI, radiography, mammography, and RF, among others. “We’re very much a generalist,” says Glas. “We don’t specialize in any particular imaging modality.”
TROFF Medical, Mediquip Parts Plus and DMS Topline Medical also sell a more general selection of parts.
Find a trustworthy vendor with quality parts
When the time comes for facilities to purchase a medical part, trying to find the lowest price available is not always the best idea.
“We’re not in the business of auto parts, we’re in the business of high-end medical equipment,” says Kramer, who explains that some parts companies charge higher prices because they do a better job of testing and storing the parts, and most likely have superior inventory and handling procedures. “That’s worth paying a little bit more for,” he says. “This is a major investment; a single part may cost tens of thousands of dollars. Take the time to go visit the places and see who you feel the most comfortable with.”
According to Glas, “cheapest isn’t always the best value.” He has noticed that people seem to be more worried about the cost of parts than they ever have been before. “Everyone’s always concerned with price, but I see a lot more customers shopping around, looking at all of us parts vendors. We all get the same calls from the same people. It’s become a real, real challenge meeting that balance of price and quality.”
