MedTech distributor search India
With a fast-growing population and a rapidly expanding economy, India is on the rise. This doesn’t mean progress is visible everywhere.
Finding the right distribution partners is key to success.
While world class medical facilities are common in the cities, rural areas are years behind in the quality and availability of medical care. India imports most of its medical devices and IVD and demand for high quality medical devices and equipment is growing quickly as more private hospitals and clinics are built.
Next to that, understand that India is not nearly as homogenous as many western countries. If you are entering the market for the first time, don't expect to find 1-2 distributors that will cover the whole nation in the best possible way. You are best off picking a region or regions and concentrating on them as a start (note that more than 85% of healthcare expenditure happens in top 20 clusters). Obvious clusters include large cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata or Hyderabad. These conglomerates all have sophisticated medical distribution networks, and you expect your India medical distributor partners to be strong here. Alternatively, a nationwide master distributor having a network of sub-distributors could be an option. It can also be considered to appoint more than one distributor in a region to increase coverage and get more attention from individual partners.
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Does your device require servicing?
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Does your device require hands on training with surgeons?
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Is your medical device used by consumers?
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Do you prefer a large India medical equipment distributor or focused regional/specialist distributors?
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Which regions do you plan to focus on?
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Are there competitors that need to be excluded when looking for a distributor?
Above questions, and probably more, will dictate the ideal distributor profile. Finding India medical device distributors online can be challenging. Many of them don’t have great websites and even the good ones are therefore not easily found. Next to that, India is a relationship-driven country and making use of someone on the ground, having good connections in the Indian MedTech world, will more than pay for itself in finding a high performing distributor.
Distributor search process
Gateway MedTech starts with generating an initial list of screened specialty India medical distributors that potentially match your distributor profile. The initial list is generated from our database, local desk research and existing networks. Out of those, we select the ones that meet the criteria of your India medical device distributor profile. We will screen and qualify these potential partners.
Our qualification process includes contacting these distributors, introducing your company, providing product information and potentially samples. We interview each distributor to determine if the company has the resources, experience and potential to successfully market your products. Through this process we identify the companies with a sincere interest in your product (-s) and provide feedback of the top candidates.
During this process we provide regular updates including strategic feedback from the distributors contacted. The outcome is that we connect you with potential partners that have serious interest representing you in the Indian market or focus regions.
Don’t skip the due diligence in evaluating distributors
Some distributors may present themselves as having a large sales team and a wide distribution network throughout India. This may or may not be true. Big India medical equipment distributors may seem appealing, but dots on a map should not be confused with market penetration. Smaller regional and specialist distributors may work harder for you and produce better results. We advise to hire someone on the ground in India to perform due diligence for you, including credit checks of your shortlist candidates. Initial enthusiasm for your products is encouraging but the last thing you want is to ink a contract only to find out a year later that it was all smoke and mirrors and your devices collect dust on shelves in a Mumbai warehouse. In all cases, be hesitant granting exclusivity without the right conditions in place.
In addition to assisting with distribution screening and qualification, Gateway MedTech can also assist with distributor selection and the implementation phase of establishing a distribution network. Besides that, GM can support with distributor management on your behalf. Having completed over a hundred distributor search projects so far, we know exactly how to find and screen medical device and IVD distributors in India. Our native experts in India have deep connections in the industry and operate with the highest integrity.
