The More Things Change…

For many, an anniversary presents an obvious time to reflect on the past—what’s been accomplished, where you’ve been, memories you’ve had. For me, MPO’s 15th anniversary is an unusual situation. While I was writing about the industry at that time, my coverage focus as editor of another magazine was decidedly on the design engineer as the target reader. I knew of outsourcing, but it really was like an entirely different entity from what I was covering. I do remember, however, when MPO debuted (then by its full name of Medical Product Outsourcing). Speaking with a colleague at the time, we knew they had nailed it as the direction the industry was headed even then was in flux—you know, when “no one was outsourcing anything.” Yeah, right.

So, in the interest of reminiscing about those early days of MPO, I went to the man who’s captained the ship since even before that first issue debuted. Group Publisher Howard Revitch pulled out the first two issues of the magazine from that first year so I could take a look back. Having worked with Howard for more than two years now, it was easy to identify how much his fingerprints were all over those early issues. Perhaps not directly, but the spirit and themes he values are very much present in those 2003 issues.

For example, one needs to look no further than the Editor’s Letter in the debut issue, written by then editor Andy Teng. “Each issue will key in on important trends affecting medical device and in-vitro diagnostic contract manufacturing, which, until now, have received scant coverage. Our goal is to offer relevant insight for OEMs and their outsource partners to best respond to today’s dynamic changes. A healthy mix of staff-written articles and industry professional-contributed stories provides balance and insight to our editorial lineup.” That recipe is still true today and can be heard coming from the mouth of Howard whenever anyone brings up the content or editorial focus of the magazine. New avenues for the delivery of that message have since emerged, such as the brand’s website (which debuted alongside the print magazine), enewsletter, social media accounts, and educational conference events, but the targeted focus has been maintained—something upon which Howard remains vigilant.

In fact, Howard’s message to readers in that debut issue is still something he is able to state today. “It is with great pleasure that I introduce Medical Product Outsourcing—the first and only publication dedicated 100% to the outsourcing of medical device and in-vitro diagnostic products.”He continued in that presentation to highlight the targeted content of MPO, “It will cover all aspects of medical device and IVD outsourcing, from partnership issues to regulatory concerns to design and manufacturing complexities.” And after 15 years of presenting this type of information to the industry, Howard (and myself alike) still enjoys learning of new dynamics that impact this fantastic industry.

Another aspect I found particularly interesting in those early issues was a feature titled “The Outlook on Outsourcing.” This article provided the results of a survey conducted by management consulting firm PRTM. The company had reached out to more than 40 of the world’s top medical device companies at the time to gain their insights and responses. It was interesting to see how many of the responses still rang true with device makers of today.

One question inquired about OEMs’ reasons for outsourcing. The top responses given were “Access to Technology (63 percent),” “Speed to Market (50 percent),” and “Reduce/Eliminate Overhead (47 percent).” The only changes today to those responses would likely be that more of the companies would cite those reasons, increasing the percentages.

Another percentage that would likely increase significantly if posed today was the response to the question regarding how long companies had worked with contract manufacturers. The top answer, at 63 percent, was “more than 5 years.” Now, you’d need a completely different range of answers, with the last option as “more than 20 years.”

Another relevant question that still mirrors the issues of today’s outsourcing relationship was one on the success factors in a contract manufacturing relationship. “Accumulated Experience (87 percent),”  “Extensive Communications (81 percent),”  “’Partnership Mentality’ (71 percent),” and  “Trust (61 percent)” (which, in my opinion, seems low) were the top responses. Again, today would likely produce similar results if such a survey were conducted. Most interesting to me, however, is that the “partnership” dynamic was in play even back then. OEMs weren’t seeking part providers, but rather solution partners with which to collaborate.

Looking back through these issues from 2003 only strengthens my belief in the cliché, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”