Multigate Medical Products – designing healthy futures
Multigate Medical Products
Multigate Medical Products manufacture and sell a range of medical and surgical consumables. The business has been helped by accessing a range of services offered under the Entrepreneurs’ Programme to grow their business.
Designing with, and for, the customer is the new Multigate way
Multigate Medical Products is Australia’s largest designer, manufacturer and supplier of medical procedure packs. With thousands of products, offices in four states and more than 200 employees, Multigate has come a long way since it started in 1986 with one simple dressing pack.
It took three years to sell the first of those initial dressing packs but today Multigate manufactures hospital consumables, surgical tools and surgery procedure packs by the truckloads. Today Multigate is building its brand reputation on smart new products that power the performance of surgical and nursing staff.
One may think such a successful business would not need Australian Government assistance. Not so according to General Manager Ben Chen, who credits the Entrepreneurs’ Programme (the Programme) with changing Multigate’s approach to product development and customer consultation. He said this has been a huge and exciting change for the business.
Through Growth Services, the element within the Programme that specifically assists businesses with growth opportunities, Multigate instigated a new innovation-focused design process. Growth Services Business Adviser Mark Stewart guided the business through a full design integration strategy and helped it find technical experts, including one of Australia’s leading industrial designers, to coach and mentor Multigate’s team.
To deepen empathy with the people it designs for, Multigate has sought to engage its customers in the design process. Led by an ex-theatre nurse, a design team observes surgical procedures and consults with hospital staff for the benefit of real-world experience. Multigate’s world-class design process is complemented by a design studio with full surgical layout for prototyping and testing.
“We knew we had to get closer to the users of our products but we didn’t know where to begin. The Programme has been fantastic, the best thing we ever did. It didn’t just put us in touch with contacts, it put us in touch with the right contacts,” Ben said.
“We were designing products from our desks before. Now we understand that designing is not just about the product. It’s about driving the total experience and making sure our whole philosophy is across the organisation. What we do now is methodical, it’s user-centric and it makes sense.”
As part of the Growth Services engagement, Multigate started a full rebranding and mentoring project funded through a $20,000 Business Growth Grant.
No way would we be at this point now without the Entrepreneurs’ Programme.
“Multigate has really embraced the Programme. It has helped refine their organisational purpose, and focus their strategy on theatre professionals. Working with a design mentor has enabled them to develop their design and innovation capability and they are now translating this to a very clear, relevant and authentic brand story,” Mark said.
“At the beginning of the Growth Services engagement Multigate had good market share in the public hospital sector but no standing in the private sector. That has changed to the point they now have key private hospital groups wanting to collaborate and who are advocating their products.”
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