2nd Bauerfeind Branch Forum
Bauerfeind AG and medical aid retailers to continue quality partnership in 2008, 10/29/2007
„We know that the medical aid market will continue changing, as it did before. This is why we should act now“. Hans B. Bauerfeind called upon specialized medical aid dealers in Düsseldorf/Neuss last week not to let up in their efforts of actively shaping the market. The Board Chairman of Bauerfeind AG invited the attendants of the 2nd Bauerfeind Branch Forum to set up an Advisory Council. The elected members of the Council will represent the interests of the Bauerfeind Quality Partners and contribute their proposals to the implementation and further development of the Partner Program. High-caliber speakers made valuable suggestions of how to penetrate the market successfully to about 400 participants of the Forum.
A year ago, Bauerfeind AG – one of the leading producers of compression stockings, bandages, ortheses, orthopedic insoles and prosthetic fitted parts – proposed to German medical aid dealers to forge an alliance for securing the future. The concept of the Bauerfeind Quality Partner Program launched at that time is that only the quality of the products and the quality of consulting and other services secure the best possible care of the patients. Meanwhile, over 1000 partners among retailers and suppliers have joined the initiative to face the challenges of the health reform together and actively shape the future of the industry. The Quality Partners attend training and continuing education courses organized by Bauerfeind and undertake certain marketing activities together with the supplier which raise the awareness of the products of a medical aid retailer among customers. New actions are planned for 2008. Besides, new training and continuing education subjects will be included.
A year after the inception of the Quality Partner Program this Thuringia-based family business wants to intensify cooperation with specialized retailers and suppliers even more and proposed the formation of an Advisory Council. The Advisory Council will be elected through a trustee by written ballot early in 2008 and represent the interests of over 1000 specialized medical aid dealers in the Bauerfeind Quality Partner Program.
The Quality Partner Program from Bauerfeind was the right way of actively meeting new challenges in the health market, Jürgen Meyer believed. As Vice President of Central Association of Ophthalmic Practitioners, he discussed concurrent aspects between his field and the present developments in the health market at the 2nd Bauerfeind Branch Forum. Meyer reported on the dramatic consequences of the health reform of 2004 for the ophthalmic practitioners: The share which health insurance companies had in total sales by their guild dropped from 18.4 per cent (819 million EUR) in 2003 to 1.6 per cent (59 million EUR) in 2006. On the other hand, overall sales by ophthalmic practitioners had recovered for a number of years, thanks to extensive advertising. However, the path from the visual aid for which the health insurance company once paid to the private funding of a lifestyle product was not easy at all. „Come out of your purely medical corner. Convince your customers of the extra benefits of your products and find allies“, Jürgen Meyer suggested.
Prof. Dr. Carl Christian von Weizsäcker insisted that quality was a success only if the entire value-added chain subscribed to the quality target. The economist of the Max Planck Institute Bonn spoke out in favor of quality partnerships between manufacturers and distributors and called upon them to invest in quality extensively and in time. „Customers will accept higher prices on a continuing basis if the prices are backed by good quality“, Weizsäcker explained. For him, the „independent entrepreneur who considers long terms“ was the „suitable entrepreneur for a quality partnership designed to last for a long time“.
Herbert Galster of TÜV Rheinland suggested: „The quality of service makes all the difference. The end consumer is coming in focus.“ Galster recommended medical aid retailers to integrate their customers in the quality program as sustaining quality judges – the way twelve medical aid retailers with 55 outlets were doing already. They take part in the TÜV label „attested customer satisfaction“ pilot project, which had been initiated by Bauerfeind AG and also included extensive customer polls. „You should know what customers want. The customer is your guarantor of quality“, Galster underlined.
„Pros attend training camps. Each one of them has potential for improvement“, Steffen Schlatter, of Schlatter Training und Beratung, is convinced. He presented the new training and further education program for Bauerfeind Quality Partners. Totally 17 activities include seminars on the successful introduction and implementation recommended retail price line by medical aids dealers.
Quoting sports, Volker Bister, distribution manager of Bauerfeind Fußorthopädie, explained how a medical aids retailer could actively tap new target groups. This needed branded products exactly tailored to the proposed target group such as Bauerfeind AG offered with the 3-zone insole TRIactive® – and an open approach to the customer. Volker Bister mentioned cooperation with societies or actions during sport events as examples. „If the specialized retailer does not occupy the market, others will do it“, Bister warned.
„Let us act now – from a position of strength“, Board Chairman Hans B. Bauerfeind called upon attendees to further actively shape the market together. The Quality Partner Program had stood the test of time and its implementation will be advanced intensively also in 2008. It was important to make even better use of the possibilities inherent in the program and to build the building named quality leadership. „Whatever we do, we will do it better“, Hans B. Bauerfeind said with the Quality Partner Advisory Council in mind.
