Transcript Appasamy Associates_Supporting and Maintaining Eye Care

Dr Arun Kumar Galli L MS, DNB, FRCS(Glasg), MNAMS
Executive Director-Africa Operations
Appasamy Associates & Appasamy Eye Hospitals
Chennai, INDIA
Lusaka, ZAMBIA
Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA
About APPASAMY ASSOCIATES
 Appasamy Associates - a trusted name in the
World of Ophthalmic Instruments and
Equipments - was established in the year 1978
 Our name is synonymous with Ophthalmic
Products at AFFORDABLE prices
 We provide Reasonable and Life Long After Sales
Service
 We support our products in such a way that our
post sales services remain a bench mark in India;
even MNCs try to emulate it
Make It Affordable
 When we entered business, we offered India’s first low
cost cryo at Rs 1800 (US$ 200), doctors were distrustful
 Why? Equivalent Indian product was priced at Rs 8000
(US$ 1000) and imported was at Rs 25000 (US$ 3000)!
 Hence we offered them the next best choice. Use and
Pay. It worked
 A NEW Indian company was born, which sustained
hard times and proved itself since last 30+ years
Make It Simple and Working
 When we introduced the world’s first non- electric
Vitrectomy unit in 1979, it was designed to do just two
functions! It will Cut and it will Aspirate. It was a
runaway success, as it was priced at Rs 8000 (US$ 1000!)
 It was virtually Trouble FREE
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 In its st year we sold more than 1000!
 Most of the surgeons use it, even
today, as a trusted Standby Unit
Keep introducing NEW products
 In 1980, we offered Keratometer. It helped not only
contact lens fitting, but also found its way into the
upcoming ECCE revolution in India
 Its OPTICS were designed at IIT, Madras
 Market share in India rose to an
incredible 90% +
 We began its OEM supplies in 1990. We
supply to many and now, unofficially, we
can proudly claim that we are the largest
suppliers of Keratometers in the world.
Keep Low Profit-Aim High Sales
 In 1987, We started offering Surgical Microscopes
 Its input costs were so high, due to
imported optical heads from Nikon
and Fiber Optics Cables
 It was made available at 1/3 price of
of an imported equivalent
 We did not miss the target; the sales
soared to healthy and profitable levels
Foresee the Megatrends
 Intraocular Lens were getting implanted in many parts
of the world. New designs and new materials were the
order of the day during the 1980s in the West
 Even Indian made IOLs were not affordable
 In 1988, we embarked on the project to manufacture of
IOLs, with Indian made contact lens
lathes! After rigorous tests and trials,
our first PMMA 3-piece IOL was
implanted into the eyes of the
grand father of one our own partners!
 We made them available at Rs 200
and thus started our IOL venture and
affordable IOLs for everyone under the sun
Invest in NEW Technologies
 We realized the importance of investing in new
technologies, when we realized that (1) we cannot
manufacture enough for the rising demand and (2) we
could not manufacture Single Piece IOLs, which were
becoming the order of the day
 We bought it from the USA. Single piece IOLs came
into our stable in 1995
 We started to manufacture our own IOL machinery,
when the supplier closed his supply machines
 We continued to invest to acquire Foldable IOLs, both
Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic
Go to End Users and Ask
His/Her Requirements
 In 1989, we wanted to extend our product portfolio.
Hence we asked the choice of our doctors
 Everyone’s first choice happened to
be the Slit Lamp and Binocular Indirect
Ophthalmoscope
 In 1989, we went for OEM suppliers
from others, despite our capability in
manufacturing our own optics. It lead us
into another learning experience
OEM Manufacturing
 Slit Lamps
 Microsurgical Instruments (Disposable)
 Manual Keratometers
 IOLs
 Viscoelastics
To Ophthalmology Companies in UK, Spain,
Germany,France, Switzerland and North America
When You can do it, Do it Yourself
 The increased cost of production due to OEM supply
and added cost of logistics lead to unnecessary hassles
 Identifying the problems of maintenance and
retraining our personnel to address the problems
arising out of unknown and unpredictable issues
became intolerable
 Most important being the increased cost of
production; we could not compete effectively with
other local suppliers
 We resolved and decided to make it ourselves, as long
as it is possible for us to do so
Make it Religious
Support Your Product
 We know our products are working; yet it require
support when it fails
 We promised ourselves right from day 1, to support the
product at minimum or no cost to the user
 We promised ourselves, to support the product at
minimum possible time interval, so that the user’s
professional work does not suffer extensively
 Surprisingly, we found a huge demand to our products
just because of this simple and committed resolve to
support our own products
Support Everyone; Leave None
 Our products are sold directly to vision care
professionals, surgeons and hospitals
 We decided to support everyone, particularly the
Ophthalmic Surgeon all over India
 We appointed service representatives in each and
every region, particularly all major cities, from where
every surgeon can be reached within 6 hours and
attended within 6 hours to 7 days, depending upon the
need and urgency
 Most of the time the service and parts were free of
charge. Hence delays were looked by the users
If you have a quality product
Just try to prove it
 We went after certifications on quality systems and
obtained CE markings, when vested interests raised
questions on the integrity of our products
 We encountered frequent service problems and found
them mounting with increased supply of goods
 We decided to introduce systems and went after ISO
certifications
 We introduced ISO based quality system in 1999 with
TUV certified our facilities . We went for CE markings
in 2001 for IOLs and other products
USA-FDA Certification
 Slit Lamps
 Indirect Ophthalmoscopes (Wired and Wireless)
 Microsurgical Instruments (Stainless Steel & Titanium)
 Manual Keratometer
 Manual Lensometer
Train others to support the product
 When we started exporting, we started having
nightmares. What was good in India, can go wrong in a
foreign country without proper technical and service
support
 We encouraged the distributors to train their personnel to
support the products. If anyone having any second
thoughts, we refused to supply the equipment for sale in
that market
Increase the Product Portfolio
and services whenever possible
 People always expect and aspire more, when you fulfill
their needs and expectations
 Try to live up to their expectations in every aspect
 Maintain the tempo – both in products and services
 ALWAYS try to fulfill the needs of the users - exceeding
their own expectations and your own capabilities
 We do not have share holders answerable; yet we bound
ourselves to our customers
 We found ourselves easy to grow, when we listened to
their needs
Operation Locations in India
Supporting and Maintaining in India
 Availability of quality eye care equipments and
consumables at an affordable cost
 Wide network throughout India of Sales and Service
Personnal
 Prompt after sales service lifelong at no cost
 Continuous Research and Development of new
equipments and consumables
 Trust the words of consumers
In Africa
 ICEE
 CBM
 Swiss Red Cross in Ghana
 Ethiopia
 Kenya
 Rwanda
 Tanzania
 Uganda
 Zambia
 Sudan
 Somalia
 Democratic Republic of Congo
In Africa
 Nigeria
 Ghana
 Ivory Coast
 Cameroon
 Benin
 Burkina Faso
 Togo
 Mali
 Senegal
 Mauritania
 Gabon
 Equatorial Guinea
In Africa
 South Africa
 Zimbabwe
 Botswana
 Mozambique
 Madagascar
 Namibia
 Reunion Island
Supporting and Maintaining in Africa
 Quality Eye Care Products at an Affordable Cost
 We can train technical people to service our
Equipments from Organisations who join with us
 In the future, we will station Service Personnel in
African Countries with increased penetration of our
products
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