Medical Supplies Business Venture !!

Reliance

Good evening Boarders,

Basically looking for advice/tips/info on the next step??

A very quick summary : Bought some medical supplies from a friend in the states, (wound care,bandages, dressing etc..), now i need to sell them!

Not the best business plan i know, jumped feet first in and bought the stock, they are a cheaper alternative with excellent quality, i had a friend in the nursing home business check them out once they arrived.. So, the selling point is that they are a high quality lower cost alternative to what is on the market over here already..

I do believe this is the right time to sell a product which actually saves business' money, what with the whole "Big R" (recession).

Would greatly appreciate some info/help/advice, or maybe even someone interested in selling some product?!

Kind Regards

antoinolachtnai

Do you just want to offload one load, or is this going to be a business?

Medical supplies is all about being able to stand over your product. Can you? Do you have the right approvals, insurance, etc?

Ultimately you need to figure out what the HSE are interested in and get in touch with their purchasing people. They are the biggest purchaser of this stuff.

Kristopherus

The HSE makes the contracts for those items centrally. Your best bet would be to approach all the private nursing homes in your area. They are always on the lookout for cheaper dressings etc. I am presuming you have already done what Antoin has already mentioned. Also have you made sure there are no cheaper alternatives available in the EU. Make sure your stuff is not liable for import duty.

hinault

Approaching private Nursing Homes is a very good idea.

In dealing with the government/statutory medical bodies, the turnaround time in getting business out of them is slow.
So while you're negotiating the bureaucracy, you need to be developing contacts and business in the private sector.

Has your product got quality standard verification (is it CE-rated for example)?

It is important that any product that your supplying particularly in the medical sector has the relevent quality standard.

Reliance

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

Do you just want to offload one load, or is this going to be a business?

Medical supplies is all about being able to stand over your product. Can you? Do you have the right approvals, insurance, etc?

Ultimately you need to figure out what the HSE are interested in and get in touch with their purchasing people. They are the biggest purchaser of this stuff.

Ultimately it would be a business, ordered this one batch of goods to test the market.. With regard to standing over the producs, right approvals and insurance, all is order of course..

I have approached three nursing homes to date, with " leave a catalogue and price list with me" being the common catchphrase of all three! I have followed up only to be told "if the (owner/purchaser) is interested they will get back to you".

In regard to the HSE, great idea, something to be worked on. My initial market was to get the nursing homes on board and think bigger after them, HSE?pharmacys etc.. Little did i know that getting nursing homes to buy would be so challenging..

Diceicle

You'd be best to book in with some of the private nursing homes, not just dropping in on spec, arrange a meeting with the manager and or the chief nurse. Bring samples, they will want to examine them and possibly trial them. If you can provide proof from the states on the effectiveness of your products then all the better, it will have to be something highly thought of and not the Kerachii Medical Gazzette or some such.
The HSE will be pretty much off the menu unless you are a big supplier and can provide to a wide area (possibly Nationally), are a legit opereator and have statements of account etc and much other business info.