Global Vision with Local Focus will be Key Strategy to Succeed in Highly Fragmented European Medical Imaging Market

The European medical imaging services market is highly fragmented, intensely competitive and beset with pricing pressures. The expansion of service portfolios to include new, customised service structures will be critical to keeping in sync with evolving consumer needs. The most important challenge for market participants will be to conflate a global view with a local approach that addresses specific country market requirements.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Service Opportunities for Medical Imaging Market of Europe, comprising mobile imaging services, maintenance services and managed equipment services (MES), finds that the market earned revenues of $6.13 billion in 2010 and estimates this to reach $10.1 billion in 2017.

"The entire value chain offered by MES providers proves itself economically viable by reducing the capital outflow when distributed over a number of years," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Kaavya Karunanithi. "There has been tremendous improvement in the spectrum of services offered in the last few years."

Expanded service portfolios offering competitive, customised solutions catering to the demands of all user groups have benefited market growth. Services have been extended to cover all aspects related to medical equipment such as procurement, installation, maintenance, user training, insurance, upgrades, financial planning, performance monitoring and asset management. The resultant reduction in equipment downtime and distribution of capital asset investment over a period of time has enabled capital savings of 15- 20 per cent.

"There has been an increase in the range of services offered by service providers including fixed contract deals by third party providers, asset management and financial planning, managed services, training and upgrades, managed equipment servicing and exhaustive mobile service options across all modalities," adds Karunanithi. "This reduces the costs incurred on the maintenance of hospital equipment for larger hospitals and trusts as well as saves capital investment on equipment in smaller hospitals and clinics."

However, cost containment policies of healthcare institutions are narrowing the profit margins for maintenance and MES service providers. This is being exacerbated by the rising numbers of global and local service providers across all segments, resulting in intensified competition and price wars. Another challenge is the highly fragmented nature of the European market, with each country having its own set of regulations and monetary directives.

Service providers should modify their services portfolio to offer best-in-class value propositions that meet the needs of various end-user groups. This will help service providers increase their market penetration. A robust marketing strategy will also support growth.

"To succeed in the medical imaging services markets of Europe, it is crucial for market participants to understand local dynamics in addition to having a global vision," concludes Karunanithi. "Minimal response times, maximum downtime reduction, alongside equipment upgrades at minimal cost, will ensure competitive success."

If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail with your full contact details to Janique Morvan, Corporate Communications, at janique.morvan@frost.com.

Service Opportunities for Medical Imaging Market of Europe is part of the Medical Imaging Growth Partnership Service programme, which also includes research in the following markets: European Mobile Imaging Services Market, Medical Imaging Equipment Services Market in Europe and Medical Imaging Equipment Service - Analysis of the European Market. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.