Medical Device Link.

VIEWPOINT

Figure 1. Suppliers should arm themselves with data on several material options when trying to sell their materials. Shown is a schematic of the type of data needed. (click image to enlarge)

We’ve all had sales reps come into our offices and present their newest and latest materials or equipment and ask us to consider them for use in our facilities. They speak of the vast applications and products they can cover and how you can take their word for it. Some of the more seasoned sales individuals come prepared with physical properties and material safety data sheets (MSDS) for your review and inspection.

In a fast-changing industry such as medical technology, such outdated tactics and brochures will not suffice anymore. We need suppliers that have done their homework on our business or industry and know it as well as, if not better than, we do. They need to know how different types of sterilization methods affect their materials, what aging (real and accelerated) does to their appearance, and, more importantly, the characteristics of their materials. But, even more important than those items, they need to know how their materials react when used with other materials and on equipment.

Trade show after trade show, conference after conference, I am continually hearing and speaking about how the packaging industry has moved into an “order-taking” role instead of a sales role. Some packaging suppliers seem to feel that if they can get in the door with one machine or one roll of material, then they are in there for the long haul. This is no longer a viable situation. The competition is too fierce and the almighty dollar too great.

What we need are suppliers that do their research and realize that the more information they offer up front, the less work the customer will have to do to validate or accept the material and equipment. We will be more apt to listen and to purchase. In the medical technology industry, any change we make to our medical device and pharmaceutical packaging materials or equipment will result in many hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months of work, just to see whether it is a viable alternative to what we are currently using. If you add this time and effort to all the other projects we are juggling, the cost can put a material or piece of equipment out of the picture before it has a chance to prove itself.

The ideal scenario for a packaging company trying to sell a certain type of top-web material for use on a form-fill-seal machine is illustrated in Figure 1.

With this type of information, we, as customers, are able to begin a design of experiments (DOE) that would have a III or IV resolution, instead of a full factorial. This would reduce the time-consuming and costly runs by double digits. In addition, if the supplier included Cpk (short-term) and Ppk (long-term) data and graphs with each one, the amount of preliminary work eliminated would be a great selling point!

For example, a supplier of top-web material could conduct the following tests:

• Aging: Accelerated 40°C @ approx- imately 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 weeks.
• Sterilization: Gamma, EtO, and E-beam.
• Seal Peel: 180°, supported.
• Seal Width: 0.0625 and 0.375 in.
• Material Thickness: Work with the bottom-web suppliers on a 2:1 draft of a certain package if available.
• Packaging Integrity: water and leak testing if it is a porous material or burst testing if it is a nonporous material.

After this testing is completed, statistical results could be supplied for the following, for each of the seal and forming parameters run:

• Seal Peel: Average, Peak, Cpk, and Ppk.
• Material Thickness: Average, Peak, Cpk, and Ppk.
• Burst or Water Leak: Burst – Peak psi; Water Leak – Pass/Fail.

With this information, suppliers become a formidable force to deal with and the first source sought when new materials are needed. The whole team (technical, sales, marketing, and customer) could be brought together to achieve an end result that is not only financially beneficial to both parties, but also goes a long way toward building a relationship for the future.

Keep in mind, different customers, in different industries, may want more or less information. They may and probably do have different tests that need to be run. But suppliers should remember that we are trying to move away from the “order-taker” mentality and into a sales relationship. They need to adapt their approach to the customer in front of them. The most important thing is for suppliers to draw out the information they need from their customers to learn their business, and then be able to go back to their side of the team (technical, marketing, sales) and conduct the front-end legwork for the customer.

The results will be happy customers, quicker times from presentation to order, and relationships that can be built upon year after year.