Three of the top five orthopedic manufacturers save millions yearly with solutions
Fall River, MA — March 11, 2005 — Millstone Medical Outsourcing, a provider of aftermarket solutions for medical device manufacturers, has launched three inventory management services designed to quickly redeploying existing inventory.
Millstone Medical's new offerings target three emerging aftermarket opportunities: repackaging, reprocessing and field inventory auditing.
Three orthopedic manufacturers, including Michigan-based Stryker, have begun to work with Millstone Medical to optimize field inventory, reduce labor costs and deliver better value to hospitals and other medical institutions. For example, Stryker began using Millstone Medical on a targeted basis in 2004 to clean and sort the Hoffmann II External Fixation trauma devices, which are managed through Stryker's Orthopedics division in the United States.
The medical device market is expanding, including double-digit growth in implantable devices such as spinal implants, hips and knees. Analyst research indicates a 13 percent annual market increase, and PRTM forecasts 20 percent growth in medical device outsourcing services, year over year.
"We're helping medical device manufacturers capture maximum inventory value by quickly redeploying surgical instrumentation and implantable devices," said Shannon Tillman, president of Millstone Medical Outsourcing. "Our reprocessing and repackaging services cut costs for everyone, increase [original equipment manufacturer (OEM)] margins and reduce time to market when compared with manufacturing a replacement part from scratch."
Millstone said repackaged and reprocessed devices have high value to customers and relatively low additional production costs — on average, saving 75 cents on the dollar. Outsourcing this work to Millstone Medical lets manufacturers focus on their core business: new products and innovation.
Millstone's new offerings focus primarily on aftermarket services. Aftermarket services are defined as those occurring after the deployment of finished products to the field, including reprocessing, repackaging unused medical equipment and inventory auditing.
Manufacturers can track orders and projects in real time on Millstone Medical's secure Web site.
Millstone Medical Outsourcing, founded in 2000, is Food and Drug Administration (FDA) registered and adheres to FDA Quality System Regulations. Customer products are processed according to industry best practices, and Millstone Medical is ISO 13485:1996 registered.
