Future Lies in Service for In Vitro Diagnostic Equipment Manufacturers

New York, August 21, 2007 — Technological innovations are no longer the sole benchmark for success for manufacturers of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) equipment manufacturers as additional service offerings increasingly become a hot selling point, according to The Diagnostic Equipment Service Conundrum: How Much Is Too Much?, How Little Is Too Little?, a new report from market research firm Kalorama Information.

The research points to an overwhelming trend in shared risk and partnership between IVD vendor and lab. A key factor in today’s market is a climate where clinical laboratories are pressurized to do more with less, where cost constraints are being channeled to manufactures in a constant push for price reductions. What sets individual vendors apart is the ability to provide additional instrument specific service offerings, managed service offerings, and remote diagnostic capabilities.

“In this market setting, efficient management of customer and technical service extras is critical,” notes Shara Rosen, the report’s author. “Expertise and skill in managing these various aspects of the service mix help companies offer service programs that are just enough to differentiate them from the competition. Service programs that offer too much may result in revenue loss. Programs that are perceived as being inadequate place the company at a competitive disadvantage.”

The study analyzes each aspect of service: on-site field service programs, training, technical support, installation and integration and technical bulletins are examined. Specific instruments considered include:

• Clinical Chemistry/Integrated Analyzers
• Immunoassay Analyzers
• Hematology Analyzers
• Coagulation Instrumentation
• Laboratory Automation

A one-of-a-kind report that serves as an industry benchmarking tool, The Diagnostic Equipment Service Conundrum provides an overview of industry service contract practices obtained from company information and a representative cross section of hospital labs in relation to hospital size, core lab, hospital affiliation, and geographic distribution. It can be purchased directly from Kalorama Information by visiting http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Diagnostic-Equipment-Service-1494342.

About Kalorama Information
Kalorama Information supplies the latest in independent market research on medical markets including healthcare, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices. For more information, contact Tom Ehart at 240-747-3014 or tehart@marketresearch.com, or visit www.KaloramaInformation.com.