Zurich economic region a driver of innovation

A company with a long tradition, IVF HARTMANN is driving innovation in the medical consumer goods market from the Zurich economic region and beyond. The company benefits from the region’s expertise in the fields of medical research, engineering and ICT.

At the headquarters of the IVF HARTMANN Group in Neuhausen am Rheinfall in the canton of Schaffhausen, people are busy working on the future of the medical consumer goods market. What happens here is of strategic importance to the international HARTMANN Group, which IVF HARTMANN belongs to.

Says CEO Claus Martini: "We are constantly working as an innovation driver. And the Greater Zurich Area is the perfect location for our activities. We have strong market access in many sales channels here and above all skilled employees."

Martini also has a good environment for all key business areas here, which is why investments are now in the double-digit-million range and a new logistics and service centre is expected to go into operation by 2020.

But IVF HARTMANN is about more than just innovations in consumer goods or increasingly efficient production: another key area is the development of digital services that have the potential to completely transform the market.

New solutions revolutionize the market

The Zurich economic region is perfectly equipped for complex ICT projects. Two years ago, a potent team of ICT, logistics, finance and marketing experts was assembled in Neuhausen to develop the procurement platform HARTMANN easy.

The new solution is now online. By integrating several suppliers, it enables retirement and nursing homes to order the entire range of nursing care consumer goods from a single source. Customers can save up to 50 per cent in process costs in purchasing and logistics with it, says Martini.

To ensure that every order reaches the customer within 24 to 48 hours and that everything runs smoothly, four warehouses at different locations were replaced with a state-of-the-art warehouse in Neuhausen. After retirement and nursing homes, further target groups are to follow. What's more, the concept devised by the local experts is to serve as a blueprint for HARTMANN in other countries.

Innovation along the entire value chain

IVF HARTMANN benefits from its long tradition in medical research. The company houses the group-wide centre of excellence for modern wound dressings, such as its HydroTherapy products. IVF HARTMANN is responsible for developing them as well as all steps in the production chain, from raw materials to packaging.

The engineering strength of the region is a particular advantage here: new production plants were designed to develop automation in production even further.

According to Martini, this is only possible because IVF HARTMANN is able to hire the specialized experts it needs locally.

"Whether for development, marketing, production or approval - the proximity to metropolitan Zurich with its first-class educational facilities is an important asset for us when it comes to finding the best employees," says Martini.