Deciding when outsourcing is right—and when it’s not—can be a major undertaking for medical technology executives. But using a process that models a company’s possible scenarios can help to make even a complex decision simpler.
Rita Medical Systems Inc. is a medical device manufacturer that builds and markets its own radio-frequency (RF) generators and disposable needles for tissue ablation. Although the company had achieved high profit margins by manufacturing in-house, it was leaving money on the table because its high-cost Silicon Valley facility was operating under low-volume conditions.
Volumes were growing, but not fast enough to cover the company’s Silicon Valley overhead.
Eventually, outsourcing became a serious option. Seeking outsourcing partners, the company entertained proposals from several contractors. Proposals received from outsource providers were significantly less expensive than Rita’s loaded unit cost.
As sometimes happens to executives who have not outsourced previously, however, Rita’s management was struck by the amount of infrastructure that would have to be maintained in order to manage an outsourcing strategy effectively.
Still, even when the cost of internal functions necessary to support an outsourcing infrastructure was added in, outsourcing remained a cheaper option than continuing to manufacture in-house.
