Medica 2025: vertical integration gains importance for medtech OEMs

There is increasing request from archetypal instrumentality manufacturers (OEMs) for declaration manufacturing partners that are vertically integrated, according to a aesculapian instrumentality manufacturer.

Sonoco Plastics, a part of packing shaper Sonoco, is simply a declaration injection molding, assembly and packaging work supplier to the aesculapian instrumentality industry. Kevin Ludlow, the company's strategical concern improvement manager says that vertical integration is proving to beryllium a strategical differentiator successful the market.

Ludlow made the comments during a speech astatine the MEDICA convention, taking spot successful Dusseldorf, Germany betwixt 17-20 November.

Some declaration manufacturers present connection vertically integrated solutions - covering design, cleanroom assembly, packaging, and planetary organisation - due to the fact that OEMs progressively worth full‑cycle partners.

“We're seeing an expanding magnitude of ample aesculapian instrumentality OEMs that are looking for partners specified arsenic ourselves who are vertically integrated, from commencement to finish,” Ludlow said.

Ludlow’s comments bespeak broader medtech manufacture probe connected existent trends. A 2025 study by McKinsey highlighted that galore companies progressive successful the aesculapian instrumentality manufacture proceed to beryllium successful the process of resetting their manufacturing and proviso concatenation outgo basal and returning to the subject of “continuous outgo optimisation” pursuing the dislocations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Alira Health’s 2025 Global Medtech Contract Development & Manufacturing Report, vertical integration is simply a main strategical operator of M&A activity. The study notes that acquirers targeted halfway competencies specified arsenic plan & improvement and assembly services, followed by machining services.

Meanwhile, a study by declaration improvement and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Intricon highlights that OEMs are shrinking their approved supplier lists; successful essence moving to marque their proviso chains little fragmented and much definite – 1 enactment of which is to spouse with manufacturers who tin connection vertically integrated services.

Ludlow continued: “A batch of the ample aesculapian instrumentality OEMs privation to absorption connected design, development, and the sale, marketing, and selling of their finished devices.

“Therefore, speed, clip to market, and outgo are each apt to beryllium cardinal evaluative metrics surrounding the accrued involvement successful vertical integration that we person witnessed successful caller years.”

"Medica 2025: vertical integration gains value for medtech OEMs" was primitively created and published by Medical Device Network, a GlobalData owned brand.