{"id":33110,"date":"2018-11-13T16:12:04","date_gmt":"2018-11-13T21:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\/"},"modified":"2018-11-13T16:12:04","modified_gmt":"2018-11-13T21:12:04","slug":"additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\/","title":{"rendered":"Additive Manufacturing: Manufacturing Competitive Advantage in MedTech at Stryker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Competitive Advantages from Additive Manufacturing in the Medical Device Industry<\/em><\/p>\n

Stryker (NYSE: SYK) is Michigan-based manufacturer of technologically-advanced medical devices. In 2017, the company earned $12.4 billion revenue and $1.0 billion net income, primarily from its \u201cMedSurg\u201d (medical instruments, endoscopy, etc.), Orthopedics, and Neurotechnology & Spine market business segments.[1]<\/a>\u00a0For a complex manufacturer such as Stryker, additive manufacturing offers an unparalleled opportunity to revolutionize the product development and production processes.<\/p>\n

For product development, additive manufacturing increases speed-to-market and simplifies the multi-stage prototyping processes. The technology makes it possible to create samples in hours, rather than days or weeks.[2]<\/a>\u00a0This provides Stryker with a competitive advantage in creating novel products, such as their additive manufactured Tritanium spine implants, which were launched in 2014.[3]<\/a> Successfully transitioning R&D to into new products improves patients\u2019 health outcomes, fulfilling the company\u2019s overarching mission to \u201cenhance patient care\u201d.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

In comparison to traditional manufacturing processes like forging or CNC machining, additive manufacturing reduces capital investments and volume requirements for a product line.[5]<\/a> This enables medical device manufacturers to produce a broader assortment of devices (improving patient and physician choice) without adding overhead from extra product lines or more set-up time from switching between low-volume SKUs. Additionally, additive manufacturing significantly reduces material waste inherent in traditional manufacturing processes, improving Stryker\u2019s margins to offset industry-wide cost cutting pressures in healthcare.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Management\u2019s Short- and Medium-Term Strategy<\/em><\/p>\n

Stryker has publicly recognized additive manufacturing as a driver of orthopedic innovation, a key part of the company\u2019s mission. Short-term, Stryker has demonstrated a commitment to pursuing R&D. The company collaborates with Ph.D. programs to develop innovative applications of additive manufacturing to orthopedics. For instance, the company has applied porous printing techniques to knee, spine and hip implants to improve an implant\u2019s ability to integrate with human bones post-surgery, reducing the risk of rejection and infection.[7]<\/a>\u00a0 In addition, Stryker has formed partnerships with cross-disciplinary industry leaders (e.g., GE Additive) to accelerate innovation.<\/p>\n

The company is also significantly investing in additive manufacturing over the medium-term time horizon. Stryker opened an additive manufacturing-focused global technology center in 2017. The Cork, Ireland-based facility, called the AMagine Institute, provides best-in-class manufacturing resources and signals the company\u2019s strong commitment to investing in this topic.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recommendation for Additional Steps<\/em><\/p>\n

Building on Stryker\u2019s existing commitment to additive manufacturing, I recommend that Stryker expands its additive manufacturing initiative through partnerships, thought leadership, and market engagement.<\/p>\n

By expanding its diversity of partnerships (e.g., contract manufacturers, 3D printing start-ups), Stryker can benefit from diverse perspectives and broader subject matter expertise. Additionally, partaking in joint ventures and strategic minority investments can increase Stryker\u2019s access to cutting-edge additive manufacturing technology (e.g., range of printable materials, printer hardware).<\/p>\n

Participating in industry thought leadership and advocacy, such as to increase insurance coverage for additively-manufactured implants and to set best-in-class quality protocols, will perpetuate Stryker\u2019s reputation in the medical device industry. The FDA is actively involved in developing guidelines for additive manufacturing; Stryker can further cement its market leadership by assisting in these efforts.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

Finally, engaging key opinion leaders (KOLs) and patients will facilitate successful market entry. Starting a dialogue to ensure stakeholders understand the benefits of additive manufacturing, such as improved product choice and design elements that lower the risk that the human body rejects the implant post-surgery, can accelerate how quickly the market adopts these products, improving Stryker\u2019s revenue opportunity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Open Topics for Discussion<\/em><\/p>\n

Additive manufacturing represents an exciting opportunity for Stryker and other medical device companies to accelerate product development and improve patient choice. However, as with most innovation, the new technology raises several broader questions.<\/p>\n

For one, devices manufactured using additive manufacturing may have higher production costs versus mass produced devices. How should the benefits of additive manufacturing be balanced with other industry considerations for healthcare, such as escalating cost of care?<\/p>\n

Secondly, as additive manufacturing creates an opportunity to manufacture individually customized devices in the distant future, who should be responsible for interfacing with patients and handling their data \u2013 medical device manufacturers, physician practices, or other industry groups?<\/p>\n

(791 words.)<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> \u201cStryker Annual Review, 2017.\u201d Link: https:\/\/stryker.gcs-web.com\/static-files\/8ba65de6-2145-45da-a2ea-82a6d83fdff8<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> \u201cHow Additive Manufacturing is Transforming Medical Manufacturing.\u201d Medical Product Outsourcing (July 29, 2015). Link: https:\/\/www.mpo-mag.com\/issues\/2015-07-01\/view_columns\/how-additive-manufacturing-is-transforming-medical-manufacturing<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> \u201cInformation for healthcare professionals: Tritanium In Growth Technology.\u201d Stryker. Link: http:\/\/www.stryker.com\/builttofuse\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> \u201cOur Company.\u201d Stryker. Link: https:\/\/www.stryker.com\/us\/en\/about.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Banerjee, Dr. Preeta M. \u201c3D opportunity for technology, media, and telecommunications.\u201d Deloitte (December 7, 2015). Link: https:\/\/www2.deloitte.com\/insights\/us\/en\/focus\/3d-opportunity\/3d-printing-in-technology-media-telecom-tmt-industry.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> \u201cStryker Tritanium Manufacturing Overview.\u201d Stryker. Link: http:\/\/www.stryker.com\/builttofuse\/media\/assets\/TRITA-BR-2%20Tritanium%20Manufacturing%20Overview%20FINAL.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Matassi, F., Botti, A., Sirleo, L., Carulli, C., & Innocenti, M. \u201cPorous metal for orthopedic implants.\u201d Clinical cases in mineral and bone metabolism : the official journal of the Italian Society of Osteoporosis, Mineral Metabolism, and Skeletal Diseases (October 11, 2013). Link: https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3796997\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> \u201cThe 3Rs of 3D Printing: FDA\u2019s Role.\u201d U.S. Food and Drug Administration (December 21, 2016). Link: https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/ForConsumers\/ConsumerUpdates\/ucm533992.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Medical device technology is widely recognized as a competitive industry, with pressure from technological advances and broader cost pressure in healthcare. How can industry leaders such as Stryker leverage new technologies like additive manufacturing to build a long-term competitive advantage?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11645,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[4292],"class_list":["post-33110","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","hentry","category-orthopedics","hck-taxonomy-organization-stryker","hck-taxonomy-industry-medical-devices-and-supplies","hck-taxonomy-country-united-states"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/rc-tom-challenge-2018\/","yoast_head":"\nAdditive Manufacturing: Manufacturing Competitive Advantage in MedTech at Stryker - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Additive Manufacturing: Manufacturing Competitive Advantage in MedTech at Stryker - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Medical device technology is widely recognized as a competitive industry, with pressure from technological advances and broader cost pressure in healthcare. How can industry leaders such as Stryker leverage new technologies like additive manufacturing to build a long-term competitive advantage?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\\\/\",\"name\":\"Additive Manufacturing: Manufacturing Competitive Advantage in MedTech at Stryker - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-13T21:12:04+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Additive Manufacturing: Manufacturing Competitive Advantage in MedTech at Stryker\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Additive Manufacturing: Manufacturing Competitive Advantage in MedTech at Stryker - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Additive Manufacturing: Manufacturing Competitive Advantage in MedTech at Stryker - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"Medical device technology is widely recognized as a competitive industry, with pressure from technological advances and broader cost pressure in healthcare. How can industry leaders such as Stryker leverage new technologies like additive manufacturing to build a long-term competitive advantage?","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\/","name":"Additive Manufacturing: Manufacturing Competitive Advantage in MedTech at Stryker - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-11-13T21:12:04+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/additive-manufacturing-manufacturing-competitive-advantage-in-medtech-at-stryker\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Additive Manufacturing: Manufacturing Competitive Advantage in MedTech at Stryker"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/33110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/33110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}