Of course, the OEM's that prevail in medical equipment research, development and manufacture usually outsource the task of moving new equipment from the plant to the hospital, oftentimes to such logistics firms.

For example, Philips has an exclusive distribution arrangement with Berger Transportation, which has its own in-house special products division, concentrating solely on moving medical equipment. GE's been another big customer as well, just as GE's struck up exclusive deals with other regional powerhouses like Berwick, PA based Pilot Freight Services. Such partnerships are the norm at the industry's top rungs.





Meanwhile, an overseas manufacturer like Ziehm, Inc. has retained Clinical Engineering Consultants, which bills itself as a sales, service and logistics operation, to distribute its C-arms throughout the Midwest, at the same time selling and servicing them. That's a unique arrangement to be sure, but distributing medical equipment is a business dominated by multi-company arrangements, outsourcing, creativity, long-standing partnerships, and durability.

"Companies have come in and out of the business but it's pretty much the same players," says California based Sage Point Transit president Lee Bernier, "We've tripped and stumbled but we've all learned."

And that includes the customer too, who as they've become more sophisticated and cost conscious, has opted to work with logistics companies, experts, who design, create and execute the entire transportation scenario.

"Trucking companies truck, ocean companies move via ocean and airfreight companies fly shipments," says Ward Peterson, regional director, Transgroup, an Ohio based logistics company with a division, TransMedequip devoted solely to moving medical equipment nationally and globally.

"However, by using a logistics provider like Transgroup, which delivers complete solutions, our customers can do what they do best, grow their business," he says. Logistics solutions companies like TransGroup and all the others mentioned in this article are also able to negotiate and obtain rates that simply are not available to the occasional shipper, no small consideration.

More Industry Reports