Building a Business Ecosystem in the Medical Device and Medical Material Manufacturing Industry:

Abstract

In recent years, manufacturers involved in medical care have developed seamless production and supply systems using platforms such as kits of medical materials for surgical applications, establishment of cooperative relationships with competitors, and logistics and information management of operating rooms. Through connection of these activities, in this study we examined the possibility of creating new value through constructing a business ecosystem in the manufacturing industry involved in medical care and the “servitization of the manufacturing industry”. Examination of the status of value creation among 84 medical device and medical material companies showed that they provide value centered on “product value” to customers based on a traditional value chain model. Furthermore, to examine the status of integration of products and services, verification was conducted using a servitization inducement model, and companies were found to be unable to respond to “customized solutions” and “integration of business processes” that lead to “servitization.” This confirms that there is a structural hole. Finally, we propose a strategy to build a business ecosystem to bridge structural gaps, activate information flow with customers, and promote servitization.

Keywords

• manufacturing industry involved in medical care
• servitization of the manufacturing industry
• servitization incentive model