www.iansandison.co.uk / [email protected] selling to the nhs ian sandison

www.iansandison.co.uk / [email protected]

Selling to the NHS

Ian Sandison


Selling to the NHS

• Purchasing Landscape

• Buyer/User/Influencer mix

• Defend and Grow


Product Types

• Mass Market • Across a hospital site, in all hospitals, on a regular basis • High Volume , low to medium cost

• Specialist • Specific hospitals and depts, smaller volume, medium

cost• Capital

• Can be across hospital site or specialist, regular or occasional use

• Medium to high cost, can have lower cost consumable


The Purchasing Landscape

• Nationally – www.supplychain.nhs.uk

• Manages Procurement

• Manages Physical Logistics

• Hosts E-Cat 500,000 lines

• Used by most trusts

• Operated under 10 year contract by DHL

http://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/




• Categories of products include

• Theatre/Surgical

• Medical

• Clinical, orthopaedic, cardiology, pathology, imaging

• Food, office and other items



Blood Gas AnalysisAnalyser Equipment, Associated

Reagents and consumables Pathology M Roberts Launched

Full Blood Count Analysers and Associated Equipment Pathology M Roberts 01-Jul-09

Neonatal Screening Pathology M Roberts 15-Jun-09

Liquid Based Cytology Pathology M Roberts 01-Jul-09




• Categories of products include

• Theatre/Surgical

• Medical

• Clinical, orthopaedic, cardiology, pathology, imaging

• Food, office and other items




• Nationally – www.pasa.nhs.uk

• Strategic Purchasing

• Primarily Pharmaceuticals and Services

• Centre for Evidence Based Purchasing– Links to Horizon Scanning Centre– Nat Innovation centre– Nat Tech Adoption Centre

• PS Magazine – online

http://www.pasa.nhs.uk/



• Regionally – www.pasa.nhs.uk go to Collaborative Procurement Hubs (CPH)

• 10 regional purchasing groups covering the UK and with about 75% of trusts as members

• Specific regional purchasing, do offer a volume commitment and do have more exclusivity in their contracts, often only 1 or 2 suppliers per product group




• Locally - each hospital trust has its own purchasing team, they can choose the product and route based upon price, performance, service and delivery

• Can agree volume commitments, easily managed locally and can be large customers.

• Departmental – NHS Business Managers also have the power to purchase products dependent on their local need and autonomy, they will not necessarily use local, regional or national agreements.

• Buyer Details of all English NHS Trusts on www.pasa.nhs.uk




• National

• Regional

• Local

• Departmental


Buyer/User/Influencer

• Make it easy for the customer

• Conservative, busy, targets, understaffed

• Recruit internal champions and advocates

• Feed them the data required to put forward a business case for your product

• Ensure they can ‘sell on’ your product to others



• Know your Unique Selling Point– Differentiator Vs competition

• Understand the care pathway and touch points of your product– Where does your product touch a HCW or patient and

how does it impact on their role, patient care and pathway

• Patient or Cost Benefit of your product– Sharper, quicker, safer, easier, more complete ?



• Identify key centres for your product

• Know your KOL types and specifically job titles, these will differ from by trust.

• Map the product use path and decide who are your Influencers and Users. – Theatre manager/ Surgeon/ward clerk

• Develop a sales story for each user type



• What campaign, initiative can you align yourself to. – Darzi - tackle Obesity, reduce smoking and

alcohol harm, drug addiction and mental health

• Others include– HCAI reduction, 18 week referral, early

discharge

• NSF- Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease



• Go for smaller, easier, confidence and experience building initial wins, the larger the opportunity, the longer and more complex it will be to secure.

• Be aware of peer rivalry

• Be tenacious and persistent


Defend and Grow

• Very Conservative customers

• Change averse

• Once you are incumbent it is challenging to remove

• This works against newcomers

• Regular customer visits, questions, learning, feedback to NPD, upgrades.

• Re-inforce value added


Summary

• Research the various purchasing groups

• Research current initiatives

• Understand your product/HCW usage pathway

• Understand your User/Buyer/Influencer mix

• Decide on initial target accounts

• Develop your sales story


Ian Sandison

07968-303457

www.iansandison.co.uk / [email protected] selling to the nhs ian sandison

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