Twenty years ago, REPertoire debuted in support of distributors, and specifically the reps that build and own the relationships with the mutual clinical customers shared by distributors and suppliers.
Today, the emphasis on reps remains. We understand the value and services that distributors provide, from picking, packing, shipping and collecting, to providing access for suppliers to their physicians and clinicians who use those products and influence the decision process in purchasing them.
A lot has changed in the last twenty years. I spent time discussing those changes recently with Repertoire Founder Brian Taylor. But what was most interesting about that conversation wasn’t how the market has shifted. Rather, how the most integral part of medical distribution remains the rep, and “the inherent value that the field rep continues to bring to the process,” Brian said. “While formularies may be in vogue and some buying decisions have shifted to different venues, it would be pretty risky to lose sight of the reps. They remain major influencers of products with their customers, and many of those customers are getting larger. Unfortunately that value sometimes gets overlooked.”
Not here. MDSI is fortunate to publish two magazines that serve two converging markets. Repertoire serves the 6,500 distribution reps and Journal of Healthcare Contracting (JHC) serves IDN, Hospital, and GPO executives. Through JHC we get an inside look at what these caregivers are doing and how they are morphing their systems.
All indications and survey results say IDNs will continue to buy practices and work to improve outcomes. What we are surprisingly not seeing is a change in the buying patterns of their owned ambulatory care practices. Less than 10 percent of those IDNs tell us their practices are on a formulary driven by the system.
This is critical information for every stakeholder in the supply channel. For distribution reps it means your roles and ability to move market share for manufacturers will be as important as ever. For manufacturers, it means that aligning yourself and your sales teams with the right distribution partner will continue to be critical as we go in to 2015.
Reps matter, and will continue to matter. We’ll continue to cover the industry in unique ways that highlight the role you play. We’ve created a channel called REP Days for distributor reps and supplier reps to share their stories about life in the field. Look for announcements regarding fresh content on the Dail-E News, or go straight to the YouTube Channel (Repertoire).
Dedicated to distribution
R. Scott Adams