How Digital Transformation Helped Medtech During the Pandemic and Beyond

A roundtable discussion explores how automating data handling could help medtech companies flourish despite challenges.

Daphne Allen

May 18, 2021

2 Min Read
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Image by RoBird – Adobe Stock

2020 was like no other year. Medical device companies and their employees had to quickly scale up production to meet demand for urgently needed medical supplies while finding new ways to work safely during a pandemic.

Such shifts occurred while manufacturing in general was in the midst of a significant digital transformation—some may call it Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, or even the rise of big data. Some medtech companies had already begun automating the collection of data throughout their operations for analysis and continuous improvement, among other initiatives. Many, though, had still been waiting and watching, perhaps not sure of the necessity or even the right strategy. But telecommuting, social distancing, and just-in-time fulfillment demonstrated the need for better data visibility and data-driven decision-making.

SPR Therapeutics Inc., a manufacturer of a minimally invasive neuromodulation implantable for pain called Sprint, had its own transformation well underway when the pandemic struck. It had already replaced siloed antiquated data management systems and was automating its data-handling processes end to end with a Salesforce platform implemented by Rootstock, ComplianceQuest, and CloudLoop.

Ben Austin, chief financial officer for SPR Therapeutics, explores how this solution helped manage disruptions during the pandemic in the now on-demand webinar, “Medical Device Manufacturing: After Surviving 2020, Win in 2021.” He is joined by David Stephans, president of Rootstock Software; Prashanth Rajendran, chief executive officer of ComplianceQuest; Travis Buckley, vice president, commercial sales - Healthcare and Life Science
Salesforce.com; and Hussein Kermally, chief executive officer, CloudLoop. These experts discuss digital transformation and more in a virtual roundtable discussion.

Austin says that before implementation, the company spent a lot of time talking about data sources and whether data matched up rather than focusing on learning from that data. Thanks to the platform, SPR Therapeutics has moved away from situations in which it was solely dependent on individual employees for data. And when COVID hit, Austin and his team were able to dig into the data in a matter of days to have real discussions about what COVID meant for its business.

And beyond the pandemic, SPR Therapeutics's employees—from management to engineering teams—now have real-time platform capabilities that enable faster response to customer and market needs.

Join us for a lively discussion on SPR Therapeutics’s transformation as well as potential gains for medtech companies. The webinar should be of particular interest to CXOs, VPs, and Directors of IT, Technology, Compliance, Quality, Supply Chain, Operations, Manufacturing, Finance, Product Development, and Engineering.

The speakers aim to share insights on:

  • How to use connectivity, insights, and collaboration to thrive and grow.

  • How to mitigate the risk of falling even further behind as the pandemic ebbs.

  • What tangible next steps companies can take today to move operations into the winner’s bracket.

  • What missteps can be avoided on the journey to digital transformation success.

  • The right time to move from planning to acting on manufacturing modernization.

 

 

About the Author

Daphne Allen

Design News

Daphne Allen is editor-in-chief of Design News. She previously served as editor-in-chief of MD+DI and of Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News and also served as an editor for Packaging Digest. Daphne has covered design, manufacturing, materials, packaging, labeling, and regulatory issues for more than 20 years. She has also presented on these topics in several webinars and conferences, most recently discussing design and engineering trends at MD&M West 2024 and leading an Industry ShopTalk discussion during the show on artificial intelligence. She will be moderating the upcoming webinar, Best Practices in Medical Device Engineering and will be leading an Automation Tour at Advanced Manufacturing Minneapolis. She will also be attending DesignCon and MD&M West 2025.

Daphne has previously participated in meetings of the IoPP Medical Device Packaging Technical Committee and served as a judge in awards programs held by The Tube Council and the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council. She also received the Bert Moore Excellence in Journalism Award in the AIM Awards in 2012.

Follow Daphne on X at @daphneallen and reach her at [email protected].

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