Here’s How GE Healthcare Is Further Expanding Its B2B Ecommerce Presence

Whether they operate in the B2C or B2B space, all savvy modern brands know the importance of being visible online.

While ecommerce has traditionally been the arena of B2C brands, B2B businesses are now starting to come around to the idea of making their wares available in online markets. For a long time, B2B selling has been stuck in the traditional model of sales calls, visiting reps, and physical catalogues. However, in 2021, these practices are finally starting to evolve, and brands are waking up to how wasteful – both in terms of time and money – the old ways of doing business can be.

GE Healthcare is one such brand and has been demonstrating this realization by further expanding its B2B ecommerce medical device procurement operation into new markets.

GE Healthcare

Those readers among you with a frankly terrifying memory capacity may recall an article we published some time ago – in the pre-COVID beforetimes – which reported on how the global medical device manufacturing brand was launching a new B2B ecommerce platform to make the procurement of spare and replacement parts more streamlined and simpler than ever before.

The GE Healthcare Service Shop was designed to increase available inventory levels and to introduce the kinds of quality-of-life features one would normally expect when shopping on a B2C ecommerce platform such as Amazon.

"As B2B buyers have come to expect a higher level of customer experience – driven by interactions with consumer retail sites like Amazon – healthcare manufacturers and distributors need to keep pace," we said at the time. "GE Healthcare's efforts to bring more ecommerce technology into healthcare purchasing seem to be hitting the mark. Ordering parts online instead of over the phone has saved customers 300,000 minutes, the company says, and the upgrades have improved the overall user experience – something that is particularly important for the new generation of millennial buyers."

It’s predicted that, by 2022, over 14% of services, devices, and parts will be purchased online by North American hospitals, which only serves to illustrate how ahead of the curve GE Healthcare was in this regard and the brand has seen enormous success – both in terms of sales and feedback from its customers.

New Markets

Driven on by its success with the North American GE Healthcare Service Shop, the globally renowned medical device manufacturer has recently announced plans to expand into the relatively underserved tier II and III markets in India.

"Through the GE Shop, GE Healthcare aims to address the currently underserved tier II & III markets in India. Purchase of MedTech devices requires considerable amount of research and in-depth product understanding," said the company in a press release. "This next generation model is designed to solve for the elementary issues faced by the Health Care Professionals and is configured to provide transparent and authentic information. The launch is an extension of GE Healthcare’s online service delivery enterprise Service Shop, a unique ecommerce portal to order genuine parts & accessories and create or renew your service contracts online."

The platform currently offers a range of preconfigured devices and parts. However, with the expanded functionality of the new ecommerce store, medical professionals will be able to customize their products and add or remove accessories dependent on their clinical requirements.

The Indian ecommerce portal is still in its nascent stages, but GE Healthcare is looking to add even more features as time goes on, such as virtual product demos to help buyers make more informed purchasing decisions and even deeper customization of medical device "load-outs."

Final Thoughts

GE Healthcare’s commitment to revolutionizing the business of B2B ecommerce is a fascinating story to watch. Of particular interest is the way this company adapts and evolves to make sure its offering is in keeping with the region in which its operating and the way it’s constantly innovating and adding more features to further enhance the customer experience.

"India is a country within many countries, and to serve the market well it is important to rethink and reinvent," said Managing Director, Wipro GE Healthcare, Dr Shravan Subramanyam. "Our philosophy with the GE Shop is rooted in creating a value proposition that goes beyond just access to medical devices. Through this portal, we aim to come closer to the health care professionals across all of India and open access to a richer knowledge pool. Our vision is to actively contribute to developing an effective omnichannel health ecosystem while continuing our commitment to support hospitals across the nation in ease of doing business.’’

You can hear GE Healthcare’s Director of Brand Campaigns and Media, Michelle Sweetwood, and Global Head of Global Brand & Digital Marketing, Kristin Fallon, speak at B2B Online 2022, taking place in April at the Chicago Marriott Downtown, IL.

Download the agenda today for more information and insights.