A report on the autoanalyzer market in Delhi; Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd.

Abstract

The following report is based on a survey of the autoanalyzer market, which covers 31 major hospitals and labs in Delhi, Of these; 26 are large hospitals having their own - pathology labs while five are private, independently run pathology labs. The main aim of the study was to identify which brands were being used by these hospitals/labs and whether customers were happy with the service provided by companies marketing these brands. It was important to find out the various factors that made customers select a particular brand, and whether they intended to buy an autoanalyzer in the future. If there was no intention to buy, then the reasons for the same were found out; and in the case of intention to buy, the willingness of customers to look at the market for the latest brands available was found out. A copy of the questionnaire is provided in the appendix for reference. The study revealed that the main players in the autoanalyzer market are Bohringer and Wipro, while Miles is the dominant force in the semi-autoanalyzer market. Also, customers are by and large happy with the after sales service of these companies and have no complaints about aspects like downtime and recurring costs. There is no ‘problem about availability of spare parts either. As far as the ability to handle workload is concerned, 13 said they were satisfied while 7 said they were not. Of the seven, two are willing to buy within 6 month and 4 within a year. The ability to handle workload is therefore an important reason to invest in an autoanalyzers. The main reasons for choosing a particular autoanalyzer are performance features, company's reputation and ability to provide good after sales service. Price, though not a very prominent factor, may play an important role in large hospitals working on annual budgets. Most hospitals willing to buy are not necessarily keen on buying from the same company. They are willing to look at the market to choose an autoanalyzer most appropriate to their current requirement. Furthermore, since 16 out of 26 hospitals are ‘ considering the purchase of an autoanalyzer over the next two years, it is important to get a strong foothold in the market soon. In conclusion, while the market for autoanalyzers look good, there is considerable competition as several companies (Bohringer, Wipro, Miles, Transasia, CL Micromed etc.) are already established with fairly good market reputations. It is necessary to act swiftly and deliver well on those aspects which the customer considers important-a high performing machine, with strong, professional after sales service support. A good start would be to target those 16 hospitals which have shown some readiness to buy. ’ Gradually, smaller hospitals/labs which are experiencing a rise in their daily workload can also be targetted.