INNOVATION BU MEDICAL EQUIPMENT

“Let’s start by saying that true innovation is such if it creates tangible advantages or improvements for the company or customers. Every day, we move forward with the idea that it’s important to systematize all the different forms of innovation by factoring in aspects that range from business model to product, from company organization to service. Innovation must move from vision to strategy. This is why the Medical Equipment BU is increasingly investing in new market segments according to an ‘integrated system’ logic.

Innovation that follows an integrated system logic has multiple benefits. It lets you better manage process-related and organisational complexities, helping you move from vision to execution.

Company investment in new segments takes place in an integrated way, ensuring returns and advantages not only from the market but also from different company areas.

A new product is a significant investment in terms of resources. It must therefore be shared, taking the entire value chain into consideration: suppliers, production, sales, after-sales, internal processes, scientific contacts, distribution and end users. The goal is constant innovation, adaptation to market needs and the provision of outstanding service.

On our markets, we want our reliability and credibility to be distinguishing hallmarks. However, these two elements cannot be taken for granted and need to monitored continually.”

“Over the last year we’ve moved ahead with new takeovers in order to broaden our expertise and import know-how into the company by accelerating technological development, enabling new skills and injecting fresh development techniques into the system. The main aim is to systematize these innovations. All this also infers a change in behavioural models, fusing and promoting new skills to ensure progress and growth together.

This approach has seen the Medical Equipment BU set trends on the Treatment market, making it a global standard-setter for innovation in this segment.”

“In the Imaging sector we’re now a leading international player thanks to significant growth in a highly competitive segment we entered just a few years ago.

Lastly, in the Sterilization sector, we’ve implemented innovations that have yielded reliable, high-performance products.”

“Every company area needs to look outward and continuously improve by re-engineering products, processes and organisational models. Looking outward means abandoning a self-referential approach, finding solutions to problems and cooperating according to a logic of respect for the work of others. These factors are decisive when it comes to designing innovative solutions.”

“To achieve this, we rely on multiple sources. First, we gather direct feedback from people in the field, such as our Product Specialists, Sales Managers and Product Line Managers. Being in close contact with our products’ end users, they’re perfectly positioned to pass us detailed daily information on their needs, desires and challenges.

We conduct in-depth market analysis for our products, and on key competitors. This allows us to identify emerging trends, any gaps in the market and opportunities for differentiation.

Moreover, we’ve established partnerships with research bodies and key consultants in medicine and health technology, ensuring we’re always up to speed on the latest industry trends and innovations.”

“With their use as real-time clinical-diagnostic tools increasingly commonplace, the Medical Equipment BU sees digital technologies as vital. Virtual options, operated via software and apps, are also gaining ground. For example, we’re now seeing the advent of AI-based image diagnostics.”

“Several development projects are under way in the R&D area of the Medical Equipment BU and the focus is currently on Imaging. The goal is to promote state-of-the-art solutions and work on integration with new mobile devices.

“Our approach”, says Leonardo Simone, “is one of continuous investigation. Algorithms are increasingly being improved and merged with AI-generated interactions. What we aim to provide is a massive improvement in product usability. This vital key will allow us to unlock new market shares and move towards both diversified market segments and a younger, ‘digital native’ customer pool.

We’re increasingly IoT-oriented: we already have a connection with data harvested by the machines but we need to ensure it’s integrated more effectively.

With Exalens, the latest addition to the Cefla family, we’re planning the future not only from a strictly technological perspective to ensure greater stability, but also by improving the user experience.”

“Exalens was founded to bring AI and machine learning into the medical world, with a sharp focus on improving support for dentistry professionals in the pathological recognition and pre-diagnostic phase.

We work mainly with AI, the cloud, user interfaces and streaming services: skills in high demand at Cefla, which has a successful history of developing cutting-edge machine interfaces. Merging these two worlds allows us to offer the market an integrated range that’s designed to meet a dental practice’s every need. This is already an innovation in itself, true process innovation that complements product innovation.”

For dealers and end users alike, we’ll provide an ever-larger pool of services to create ever-increasing expertise in digital workflows.

Last year we launched and implemented an LMS (Learning Management System) website that offers technical training for dealers using new remote methods. Ever-growing sales volumes and greater technical/organisational complexity have led us to adopt a total learning approach involving the publication of constantly updated technical training packages. After initial basic training, the second step delivers a hands-on learning experience at Cefla.

This ensures training focuses on specific topics and is more interactive and participatory. A third and last step involves continuous training in e-learning mode to keep pace with new and upgraded features.