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Tony Freeman on J&J-Jabil Deal in MPO Magazine

Tony Freeman’s latest column for MPO Magazine:

J&J-Jabil Deal Truly Is Transformative for the Medtech Supply Chain

On Aug. 2, 2018 Johnson & Johnson announced a reorganization of its Medical Devices division.

Many medtech supply chain company managers spend time, effort, and worry to obtain their next big customer. Increasingly, their competition for these opportunities are global contract manufacturers whose roots are in the electronics industry. Johnson & Johnson’s Medical Device unit signaled an epic shift toward these multi-billion dollar international suppliers in transferring a large percentage of its manufacturing capability to Jabil Inc. last summer. The Jabil transaction is often unremarked by longtime medical device specialists, yet it should draw focus as the economics point to shifts in the profit margins of the medtech industry. Additionally, there is the possibility that these manufacturing behemoths will, over time, shift the procurement for device components from traditional North American and European suppliers to Asian firms where global contract manufacturers have the local infrastructure to ensure both low prices and good quality.

Read full article here.