Invacare 2008 Annual Report Download - page 15

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In 2008, Invacare launched Invacare iPartner Solutionssm, a growing suite of programs and services designed
to simplify business for HME providers, reduce their costs, optimize their resources and improve their bottom
line. Invacare iPartner Solutionssm will help HME providers respond to the challenges associated with
competitive bidding, escalating operating costs and changes in Medicare reimbursement. The Invacare iPartner
Solutionssm portfolio is currently divided into three areas: equipment maintenance solutions, business solutions
and billing solutions.
The company sells distributed products, primarily soft goods and disposable medical supplies, through ISG.
ISG products include ostomy, incontinence, wound care and diabetic supplies, as well as other soft goods and
disposables. ISG markets its products through field account managers, inside telesales, a customer service
department and the Internet. Additionally, ISG entered the long-term care market on a regional basis and markets
to those nursing homes utilizing independent manufacturer representatives. ISG also markets a Home Delivery
Program to home medical equipment providers through which ISG drop ships supplies in the provider’s name to
the customer’s address. Thus, providers have no products to stock, no minimum order requirements and delivery
is made within 24 to 48 hours nationwide. ISG also offers many customized marketing programs designed to
help its customers create awareness, grow companion and cash sales and assist in patient retention.
Invacare continues to improve performance and usability on www.invacare.com. In 2008, the company
focused on the implementation of a new website platform and web interface for Invacare.com, Invacare.ca and
Invacare Pro. The goal was to create a more usable web presence, concentrating on a customer-centric approach
that allows the company to field a user interface that more closely represents customer needs.
Also in 2008, the company continued its strategic advertising campaign in key trade publications that reach
the providers of home medical equipment. The company also contributed extensively to editorial coverage in
trade publications concerning the products the company manufactures and our representatives attended numerous
trade shows and conferences on a national and regional basis in which Invacare products were displayed to
providers, health care professionals and consumers. “Yes, You Can” ™continues to be Invacare’s global tagline,
and it remains steadfast in the new HME ads and indicative of the company’s “can do” attitude.
The company continues to generate greater consumer awareness of its products. This was evidenced by the
company’s sponsorship of a variety of wheelchair sporting events and support of various philanthropic causes
benefiting the consumers of our products. The company continued its sponsorships of individual wheelchair
athletes and teams, including several of the top-ranked male and female racers, handcyclists, and wheelchair
tennis players in the world. In fact, athletes using Invacare Top End wheelchair equipment brought home 122
medals from the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, China. In addition, Invacare was the title sponsor for the tenth year
in a row of the Invacare World Team Cup of Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, which took place in June in Italy.
The company also continued its support of disabled veterans through its sponsorship of the 28th National
Veterans Wheelchair Games, the largest annual wheelchair sports event in the world. The games bring a
competitive and recreational sports experience to military service veterans who use wheelchairs for their mobility
needs due to spinal cord injury, neurological conditions or amputation.
Europe
The company’s European operations consist primarily of manufacturing, marketing and distribution
operations in Western Europe and export sales activities through local distributors elsewhere in the world. The
company has a sales force and where appropriate, distribution centers in the United Kingdom, France, Germany,
Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Norway and the Netherlands, and sells
through distributors elsewhere in Europe. In markets where the company has its own sales force, product sales
are typically made through dealers of medical equipment and, in certain markets, directly to government
agencies. In 2008, the continued consolidation of big buying groups tending to develop their business on a
European scale has confirmed itself. As a result, Invacare is generalizing the application of pan-European pricing
policies.
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