Malin Gustavsson

Elos Medtech has identified three focus areas that are critical success factors in our sustainability agenda: Care for Our Business, Care for Our People, and Care for Our Responsibilities. These are the sustainability topics where we have the greatest impact, and thus the greatest possibility to improve the lives of millions of patients. In this blog article series, we will go into detail and describe all three focus areas and what they mean for us, our customers, and the industry. Let’s start with Care for Our business!   

Committed to product performance and excellence

Caring for our business means ensuring customer satisfaction and product performance. One way for us to do that is to follow our industry’s rules and regulations. Elos Medtech develops and manufactures medical devices in a highly regulated environment. We hold a certification according to ISO 13485 (quality management system for medical devices) and comply with the requirements of international legislation and product safety standards, such as the United States FDA’s quality system regulations, European Medical Devices Directive and ISO 14971. Our commitment to product performance and excellence also extends to our distributors for our own products, and we ensure that they comply with applicable parts of the regulations.

Ensuring customer satisfaction in the medical device industry

We want to improve the lives of patients and help people live rich, active and fulfilling lives. To accomplish that, Elos Medtech combines knowledge and expertise to develop the best components and products in partnership with our customers. Our long-lasting and close relationships with our customers, distributors, and business partners have been of great importance for Elos Medtech’s growth and success over the last decades. We have CDMO customers in Europe, Asia, and the US, whereby approximately 30 percent of the customers represent 85 percent of the total sales. To better understand our customers, their needs and preferences, we conduct customer surveys on a regular basis. Customer satisfaction results are also analyzed in a biannual management review, which monitors customer complaints, quality ratings, and delivery performance.

Investments help improve our environmental performance

Another way for us to care for our business is to invest in sustainable solutions. Our aim is to invest more than five percent of our investment budget in projects that improve our environmental performance. In 2017, we invested more than seven percent of the budget in a new cooling system and waste heat recovery project at Elos Medtech Pinol in Denmark. The focus of the project was to reduce the amount of cooling required by a new compressor. By recovering the heat from the compressor via a waterborne cross-flow exchanger, the heat can be transferred to a heat pump that utilizes the waste heat to heat up other rooms and water at the premises. By making this investment, we will reduce the site’s energy consumption by 200,000 kWh per year going forward.

Elos Medtech never compromises on quality

We love the medtech industry and care for our business in many different ways. As a trustworthy partner in the medical device business, Elos Medtech is fully committed to knowing and following all relevant laws, rules, regulations, and procedures. We guarantee high product quality through dedication to critical details and we focus on patient safety in both decisions and work processes. That way, we ensure high quality in everything that we do.  

Our world continues to change – our passion remains the same

The world is changing all around us. To continue to thrive as a business over the next years and beyond, we must look ahead, understand our stakeholders’ needs, trends and other forces that will shape our business in the future. We must get ready for tomorrow today!

I hope this blog article gave you a good insight into how we Care for Our Business. Keep an eye out for our two upcoming blog articles about how we Care for Our People and Care for Our Responsibilities. In the meantime, visit us on our website and talk to us on our social media channels!

He is driven by new challenges, loves alpine skiing, and has extensive knowledge in logistics and supply chain management. Andreas Liljeskog is the new Head of Procurement & Logistics at Elos Medtech in Timmersdala. Seeing the possibilities of the company and how he could contribute at a grass-root level, his next destination was a given. It is now fair to say Elos Medtech is on top of its logistics game.

Hi, Andreas! You joined Elos Medtech as the Head of Procurement & Logistics a few months ago. Tell me about your previous experience?

In 2008, I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Economics after four years of studying International Business Engineering at the University of Skovde. I started working as the Production Planning Manager for Semper with responsibility for production planning. I ran a project together with the marketing organization to convert sales into production needs focusing on long-term capacity and material planning.

After three years at Semper, I began my career in the medtech industry and became part of Nobel Biocare’s supply chain organization. My responsibility was somewhat similar to what I did at Semper but at a much larger scale. It included capacity and material planning for factories across the globe: Europe, Asia, USA, and Canada. In addition, I ran a number of improvement projects.

My next job was as the Supply Chain Manager for Kinnarps. Initially, I was responsible for the order-to-delivery process analyzing information flows and decision making processes for production, planning, and product supply. I made a pre-study and identified logistics and material handling processes from customer needs, quotes, and orders to manufacturing, delivery, and assembly. Eventually, I became responsible for the business process development department as well as the back-office function. I was in charge of 20 employees while also running a number of improvement and organization projects.

In 2016, I joined Dentsply Sirona Implants for a demand planning project. I was very intrigued to return to the medtech industry. During one year, I ran a project in close cooperation with the sales organization to forecast production, purchase and inventory planning.

When the year had passed, I became part of Dentsply´s PMO (Project Management Office) organization to work with generic operation projects. One of the projects I headed was called “Buy-finished-goods” with the purpose of outsourcing defined products and processes to key suppliers with the ambition to have the supplier delivering a finished goods packaged product directly into Dentsply´s finished goods warehouse.

For a period of time, the project included Elos Medtech, which is how I first got in contact with the company. At a later stage, it was formed a joint project between Dentsply and Elos Medtech in Timmersdala where we wanted to work with improvements in the logistics and supply processes. I had the opportunity to work with and visit the site in Timmersdala and in Maj 2018, I fully joined Elos Medtech in Timmersdala as an employee.

Describe your role at Elos Medtech in Timmersdala?

My role as Head of Procurement & Logistics at Elos Medtech in Timmersdala is both new and old. The function itself has previously existed but evolved a lot around the production process. Elos Medtech has now chosen to include the role in the Management Team and increase the focus on logistics and supply chain planning as well as strategic procurement.

My main responsibility as the Head of Procurement & Logistics is to lead and develop the logistics and procurement team. We are responsible for production planning and strategic as well as operational purchases for the Timmersdala production site. The latter includes procurement, supplier selection, negotiation of contracts, and planning and executing supplier quality management together with our QA function. The function is also responsible for raw materials inventory management.

With increased focus on logistics and supply chain planning, our logistics team is now directly responsible for the operational customer service. We have dedicated Supply Planners who are solely responsible for deliveries and making sure our customers receive all the information they need such as stock availability and delivery times. We have seen large improvements in customer response times with this new organizational setup.

Supply Chain Management is very much about minimizing non-value adding activities to reduce complexity, lead times, and costs, and we want this to be our focus.

Why did you decide to work at Elos Medtech?

From a logistics and supply chain point of view, I think it is very exciting to operate in the medtech industry. There is so much left to do! While the automotive industry, for example, is very much at the forefront, the medtech industry has still got challenges to face. I am very driven by the fact that all processes are not yet optimized and that I am able to contribute with new insights and ways to think – and hopefully improve things.

I chose to work at Elos Medtech because I wanted to get involved in this exciting journey that the company is undertaking. I was intrigued to work with a smaller company that allows me to be closer to the production and make a difference at grass-root level. Elos Medtech in Timmersdala is full of possibilities and there is so much knowledge in the organization – over 50 years of experience in development and manufacturing in the medtech industry!

What does your role mean to Elos Medtech’s customers, do you think?

I try to put myself in the customer’s shoes and keep one step ahead. To me, it is important to understand the customers’ needs to be able to meet them in the best way possible. I think communication, trust, and transparency is the key to maintaining long-term relationships and confident customers. It is also important to engage yourself at an early stage to be proactive and provide value-added services to your customers.

Which are the strongest trends in sourcing at the moment?

A while ago, I visited a procurement seminar in Brussels where professionals shared their knowledge in sourcing and what is on trend in the medtech industry right now. One of the subjects was time-to-market and the need for contract development and manufacturing partners to be involved early in the process, which also comes with higher demands on technical knowledge. There was also focus on risk management and the importance for legal manufacturers to implement risk management in their outsourcing activities.

Of course, there were discussions about the new Medical Device Directive (MDR), which enters into force 2020, and how it will affect the supply chain in terms of costs, requirements, and responsibility. Another subject was single sourcing versus dual sourcing. The trend pointed towards long-term collaborations and single sourcing, meaning the legal manufacturer chooses to outsource some of the steps in the production process to one contract development and manufacturing partner instead of using several suppliers.

What about Elos Medtech, do you offer single or dual sourcing?

Both, actually! Elos Medtech offers single sourcing, which is beneficial for customers who want to use one reliable partner to reduce costs and unnecessary administrative work. But we also offer dual sourcing for our dental segment via our production sites in Sweden and Denmark for customers who want to secure extra capacity and minimize the risk of disruption in supply.

Thank you for sharing all of your knowledge and insights Andreas. Last but not least, what do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

I enjoy spending time with friends and family. I live with my wife and two kids; my son who is five and my daughter who is eight. I have a great passion for alpine skiing and in the wintertime, my family and I love to visit ski resorts in Sweden as well as abroad. In the summertime, I enjoy riding mountain bike and playing golf.

Would you like to learn more about Elos Medtech and what we can offer? Read more about Supply & Inventory Management as well as our other services.

The dental industry is moving forward at a fast pace. Over the years, Elos Medtech has developed a strong global dental offer. Our long-term dedicated focus has been very successful and created new customer inquiries. To meet these inquiries, we have appointed Soren Olesen as our Dental Business Director at Elos Medtech. Taking on the role, he will lead our new global dental strategy. I met with him to discuss the next step on the dental market and what the future might hold for Elos Medtech.

Hi, Soren! Tell me about your role as Dental Business Director and the new dental strategy. How will you combine your contract manufacturing offer with your dental product portfolio?

My role as Dental Business Director is to create a global dental strategy to meet our business goals and provide our customers a comprehensive range of services and products that we can offer the dental implant market now and in the future.

The platform for our dental strategy is our capability of combining development and manufacturing as well as our specialized expertise in innovative digital dentistry products and instruments. We will continue to collaborate with our present customers, providing dental implant companies with dental products, but also increase our collaboration with technical partners, providing them with services for enabling a seamless digital workflow. Our technical partners include CAD, CAM, printing, and scanner companies.

Our new strategy mainly derives from the growing interest among dental companies to collaborate with a strategic development and production partner as well as being at the forefront of digital dentistry. This requires an innovation speed and resources that some companies are not capable of investing in. This is where Elos Medtech comes in. We will function as a bridge between dental implant companies and technical partners using our Digital Dentistry products and Elos Open Digital Solution as their way to create more business and move forward. With our new dental strategy, we want to set the standards for digital dentistry and create the optimal digital workflow.

“We will continue to collaborate with our present customers, but also increase our collaboration with technical partners”

There seems to be a great interest in digital dentistry in general and Elos Accurate in particular. Why is that?

Change toward digitalization is a global trend affecting our society including the dental industry. More dental professionals are moving away from traditional techniques and towards digital equipment such as intra-oral and lab scanners, CAD/CAM software, and 3D printers.

The increased interest in Elos Accurate; our own-developed digital dentistry solution, is without a doubt based on our vision of partnership. We strongly believe collaboration creates value for everyone involved. Keeping a close dialogue with our partners based on mutual trust and maintaining a high level of competence has led to a product portfolio with the right focus – innovative prosthetic and lab products including a library for an open digital workflow.

“Keeping a close dialogue with our partners and maintaining a high level of competence has led to a product portfolio with the right focus – simple and innovative dental products for an open digital workflow.”

Elos Medtech has had a strong growth in the dental implant business segment. Why?

Since 2014, we have had a double-digit growth. Based on our extensive knowledge and specialization, we have managed to meet the market’s need for a trusted strategic partner in the development and production of dental implant products in an ever-increasing regulatory environment. These are the reasons for our long-term sustainable growth.

Many companies are starting to acknowledge the need for innovation from an outside partner. While many traditional contract manufacturing companies compete in efficiency and LEAN manufacturing, Elos Medtech benchmarks against our own customers on how to create value and competitive advantages to move forward. We have the competence to match our customers’ in-house resources for developing and producing dental implant products. Creating value for our customers based on a high level of in-depth understanding of digital dentistry, quality excellence and design for manufacturing makes us best in class.

What are the advantages of the new dental strategy for your customers?

As collaboration partner, our customers will get direct access to our vast experience and extensive knowledge in product design and development, engineering, manufacturing, delivery as well as product application, CAD/CAM and library software.

By our digital product portfolio, dental implant companies will benefit from an injected market position by successful market launches of integrated solutions and premium products for dental professionals, expanding their product portfolio and reducing time to market. The technical partners such as CAD, CAM and scanner companies will benefit from the increased market penetration provided by our open digital workflow and Elos Accurate.

Using Elos Open Digital Solution, dental professionals will achieve a seamless workflow regardless of technique. This allows them to make all the choices they need to carry out their work in the best way possible. They can choose from all the major lab scanners as well as CAD/CAM software, upload Elos Accurate libraries for free, and mill restorations in-house or off-site.

Our new dental strategy allows more dental players to utilize the advantages of digital dentistry and an open digital workflow. We simplify for both dental implant companies and technical partners as well as dental professionals.

Tell me about the investments you have made over the past few years?

We strongly believe that value is created from not only from production efficiency. In addition to our Automated Factory and robotics, we have invested heavily in human capital; competencies, capabilities, research, and knowledge to further develop our dental products and services. This is what differentiates us from traditional contract manufacturing companies where investments are mainly focused on machines and other production equipment.

To provide state-of-the-art digital solutions we need to have specialist knowledge. The power of the Elos Medtech group is that we have the ability to develop competencies for innovative dental products and world-class quality systems as well as collaborate closely across our specialized areas.

How will you take the next step in the US market with your dental products?

Representing about 35 percent of the total global dental implant market, we need to be directly present with our offering in the US market with sales representatives and shipping ability. We are now in the process of creating a full Product Concept For The US Market. Taking this next step into the US market is an important milestone for us as it confirms our dental focus and will serve as a platform for further investments.

What is the outlook for 2019 for Elos Medtech’s dental business segment?

The outlook for 2019 and the coming years is positive. The market is shifting from being surgeon driven to becoming prosthetics driven. This is a trend that Elos Medtech picked up a long time ago and also the reason we are at the forefront of digital dentistry today.

Being part of the very niche business of contract manufacturing for more than 25 years and increasing our focus in digital dentistry for the past few years, maintaining an independent role and building a high level of competence, we strongly believe that we have earned our position on the market as a trusted partner.

Thank you, Soren, for sharing your knowledge and information. We look forward to seeing what the future might hold for Elos Medtech and the dental industry!

Would you like to know more about Elos Accurate and Elos Open Digital Solution? Visit our website for dental professionals. For more information on our development and manufacturing offer, please visit elosmedtech.com.