Case Study: Medacta Patella Tray, When Speed to Market Matters

04 October 2021
Speed to market 3

Background

Medacta is a company built on innovation. It specializes in the manufacture and distribution of orthopaedic products and the development of accompanying surgical techniques for joint replacement, spine surgery, and sports medicine. Established in Switzerland in 1999, Medacta now boasts over 1000 employees and turns over more than $300 million annually.

The impressive growth and financial results are not the sole focus, but rather the result of Medacta’s ability, in their words, to ‘look beyond the ordinary’. An innovative mindset allied with deep expertise has seen Medacta products and procedures become the gold standard in orthopaedics.

Problem

Medacta were looking to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of knee arthroplasties, with a particular focus on patella resection. Given the potential benefits, Medacta looked to partner with an instrument supplier that could help them offer a full patella instrument solution, including a more efficient instrument tray, to their orthopaedic surgeons.

This prospective partner would need to:

  • Have an appropriate off-the-shelf product, or the ability to bring a new product to market quickly.
  • Be a manufacturer that exceeds expectations while conforming strictly to specifications.
  • Be agile and adaptable in their production processes, with the ability to scale production to meet deployment needs.
  • Have the capacity to build a long-term design and manufacturing relationship.
  • Be transparent, accessible, communicative, knowledgeable, and structured in their processes.
  • Be MDR compliant, while meeting all regulatory requirements demanded by markets around the world.
Speed to market 2

Approach

Having previously worked with Medacta to supply Premium Patella Saw Guides, Enztec were one of the first organizations that Medacta called. 

Medacta needed a complete set of patella instruments supplied within a narrow time frame. Enztec knew timing across the entire process, from design through to shipping, was key if the launch schedule was to be met. In partnership with Medacta’s Australian team, Enztec got to work.

Enztec had all the patella instruments available off the shelf and only minor customizations were required for the drill guides, which Enztec leaned on its robust design and engineering process to deliver. After an initial meeting to determine the necessary requirements, engineers got to work designing a premium drill guide that would seamlessly fit with the implant, and a bespoke tray to house all the instruments.

Once the designs were finalized, manufacturing was carefully monitored by the production team.

Result

Having successfully worked within Medacta’s time frame, the instrument sets were ready to dispatch. “We originally shipped 25 sets in late-2020 for Medacta’s initial product launch, with smaller repeat orders dispatched over the following months,” confirmed Bruce Toughey, Enztec’s Manufacturing Manager.

But Enztec’s focus stretches beyond delivering results on time and on budget, as Toughey explains. “A core part of who we are is delivering an experience that is agile, transparent, and adds value. The Medacta patella tray is a perfect example of how we like to run a project. We don’t just want to deliver volumes of product to customers all at once; we instead want to understand their needs and deliver product in instalments that match their market needs, so they don’t have to hold excessive inventory. To enable this, we have to deliver on time, every time, so our customers can respond rapidly to their market opportunities. We are immensely proud of our team’s commitment, and the way we have been able to assist our customers beyond simply delivering product.”

For their part, Medacta couldn’t have been happier with the result:

"The Enztec Patella Suite has made for an excellent addition to our instrument portfolio and has addressed the needs of multiple customers. This system is efficient, robust and well received by the surgeons, and as always, Enztec did a brilliant job at simplifying the entire development and introduction process”

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