Why accelerated time-to-market has become a new normal

Tech and CPG companies have long understood the advantage of accelerating the time-to-market. Even as they face rapid product cycles, shifts in customer preferences, and disruptive technology innovations, speed remains a paramount concern in the battle for market share. As industrial companies push into new domains, speed will be the new kingmaker. But how can industrial companies take a page from tech and CPG and implement a faster process for growth?

We spoke with Marc Scatamacchia, former leader of Business Development and Strategy at Danaher, GE Healthcare and Philips Healthcare, about the accelerating pace of the market and how GLG has helped him keep up.

How important have market assessments been to your success and how has it evolved?

I credit my success to my ability to effectively assess a market to the required level of depth — better and quicker than my competition — and to be able to develop clear, relevant insights from the market. It’s increasingly easy to access generalized, secondary market research, and this has only increased the value of primary research that can create a 360-degree view of the market and inform these strategic decisions. It is through my many engagements with GLG that I have realized the value in working with a quick-moving team that can efficiently provide the proprietary market insights required for effective strategic analyses.

Can you discuss when you found a rapid market assessment especially important?

My company was faced with an acquisition opportunity, which had potential to broaden our device portfolio. The acquisition would be run as an auction, so we had to move quickly. To get alignment on a decision, we needed to understand how the target’s business and products would integrate with our business model and sales channels. Existing market research was old, with insufficient data on the target’s product portfolio at a subsegment level. We wanted direct, focused market access to create our own view of the target’s value.

How were you able to assess the target’s portfolio?

Since we needed to understand how the target’s business and products would integrate with our business model and sales channels, GLG suggested we conduct a survey to gain a quantitative assessment of the target’s market position relative to its competitors. GLG connected us to specialist physicians, hospital procurement executives, and group purchasing organizations. They also conducted the survey for us.

GLG helped us gain crucial insights, revealing that while the target’s devices were well regarded in the market, they were quickly becoming commoditized. Purchasing decisions were rapidly shifting away from the user and towards procurement specialists and group purchasing organizations, making price the determining factor. This did not align with our strategy at the time and we chose not to pursue the acquisition. With GLG as our insights partner, we came to the correct strategic decision quickly and efficiently.

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About Marc Scatamacchia

Marc Scatamacchia is a seasoned industry professional. He is currently Associate Vice President, Industry Engagement at Boston University. Prior to this he was VP Business Development at Danaher Corporation. Before this, Marc was Managing Director Business Development at GE Healthcare, and VP Strategy at Philips Healthcare.