Olympus 2014 Annual Report Download - page 14

Special Feature: Reliable Growth in Global Markets
Europe
Q
Q
Q
Frank Drewalowski
Division Manager of Medical
Business Div. of Europe,
Medical Business Group
What is your view of the business environment in the European market?
Also, would you please discuss the past year’s results?
What initiatives and policies will you focus on over the next year?
Finally, would you please discuss your medium-to-long-term business growth strategies?
A
A
AAt the Medical Business Group Europe, our market
responsibility also includes Russia and the CIS coun-
tries as well as the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
The market conditions in our region therefore vary
quite signifi cantly and, consequently, our business
environment is rather complex. Sometimes this can
balance things out nicely. On the fl ipside, it may also
be challenging to attain exceptionally strong sales
growth across the board. For example, in the fi scal
year ended March 2013, Russia posted terrifi c growth
while our business in southern European countries
suffered from the Eurocrisis. In the past year,
however, sales in Russia dropped sharply again, after
government investment in the healthcare system and
general regulations for the import of medical technol-
ogy products changed. While our business in Spain
and Italy was quite robust after the economic crisis
seems to have bottomed outand sales in many other
countries posted strong growth, we could not fully
compensate for the unforeseen setback in the
Russian market to the extent that we would have
liked to.
Overall, our medical endoscope solutions for
GI departments in the fi ve biggest markets—
Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain, and
Italy—and the Nordic countries have traditionally
been major strongholds of our business in Europe,
and this was further bolstered with the recent
launch of EXERA III. Our business with surgical
endoscopy solutions was fueled by the successful
launch of our 3D imaging system with the world’s
only defl ectable 3D tip laparoscope.
In the fi eld of surgical energy devices, THUNDER-
BEAT, the world’s fi rst hand device that delivers the
benefi ts of bipolar energy for sealing and ultrasound
energy for cutting, was a main growth driver with
varied target achievement rates across the region.
In some key countries, we made major inroads and
achieved tremendous growth even above our highly
ambitious targets. We are pursuing to systematically
learn from such best practices and to identify to what
extent a similar approach might help us in other coun-
tries, even if market conditions might differ.
As for general trends in the business environment,
we see that healthcare providers and hospitals are
increasingly expecting integrated value propositions
and a good understanding of their value chain from
medical technology companies. For us, this means to
approach customers more holistically, both in terms
ofour various products and systems as well as in
terms of service and training. In other words, we must
work closely as a team not only within our business
units but also across these units and ancillary func-
tions. We are pleased that with this approach we have
built strong partnerships with several prestigious
university hospitals by delivering integrated systems
and operating room solutions.
In line with our global strategy, our surgical business is
also the fi eld where we are pursuing the most dynamic
growth in EMEA, especially in the area of energy
devices, such as THUNDERBEAT, and devices for Ear
Nose and Throat (ENT) applications, such as DIEGO
ELITE. Competition is strong and well established in
these areas, but we believe that our innovative prod-
ucts and solutions provide unique value to healthcare
providers and meet their needs in terms of clinical as
well as economic benefi ts. To ensure that we make
the most of the growth opportunities, we are investing
in expanding the sales force for surgical energy and
ENT devices. We also implement special organiza-
tional conditions in the way we steer and monitor
these growth business areas across EMEA. We have
designated them as “Greenhouse” projects because
the idea is to make sure these businesses grow
strong before they are fully integrated into the usual
organizational structures next to our already well-
established business areas.
Investing in training is also a major part of our
growth strategy. We are increasing our Medical
Expert Training for
healthcare professionals
to train them on the new
possibilities for early
diagnosis and minimally
invasive treatment that
our innovations enable.
And we have set up a
new systematic inte-
grated training curriculum for our expanding sales force.
Regarding clinical benefi ts, we will continue
tofocus on our unique Narrow Band Imaging (NBI)
technology, for better early endoscopic detection of
cancer in the fi elds of gastroenterology, pulmonol-
ogy, urology, and ENT. In the fi eld of minimally
invasive surgical treatment, we will seek to further
enhance our See & Treat positioning, as we believe
we offer anideally matched portfolio of surgical
endoscopy and energy based surgical devices for
the operating room.
As a sales and marketing organization that sells highly
innovative products, we must also be innovative in our
marketing and sales approach and adapt to evolving
and often more complex decision-making processes
at healthcare providers in Europe. Therefore, enhanc-
ing our expertise in identifying and catering to the
needs of our customers and the various stakeholders
of healthcare providers are essential for our long-term
growth. Against this background, we have initiated
our comprehensive Olympus Sales Force Effective-
ness program that will help us to meet the customer
needs in a systematic and evidence-based way. We
will also maintain a strong focus on excellence in after
sales and repair service management.
From a more general perspective, one of the
overarching trends in the EMEA region is that people
have ever higher expectations for quality of life. Thus,
the number of patients tends to grow because in
mature markets the population is aging while in
emerging markets more people can afford access
tobetter healthcare systems.
At the same time, healthcare systems need to
become more economically effi cient when healthcare
budgets are limited. With our focus on early diagnosis
and minimally invasive treatment, we believe our
medical systems are well positioned to meet the
demands of these two interlinked trends.
The European market consists of various countries with differing operating
environments. Olympus aims to grow its operations throughout the region
byworking closely with customers on a local level in order to meet their
needsin a systematic, evidence-based way and by exchanging best practices
across countries.
Frank Drewalowski and President Sasa at the Medica (in Düsseldorf, Germany,
November 2013) with 3D glasses at a 3D surgical endoscopy demonstration
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