Case Study

GE Healthcare India (C): The commercial innovation imperative

2 pages
December 2014
Reference: IMD-5-0802

This three-part case series examines the marketing challenge encountered by a leading medical technology manufacturer, General Electric (GE) Healthcare – a division of General Electric Company – in India. It follows the development of Lullaby Warmer Prime, an infant warmer that was designed, manufactured and commercialized by the Maternal Infant Care (MIC) division of GE Healthcare India from 2011 to 2014. The case series, together with a PowerPoint slide deck and video link, assesses the main issues that business-to-business (B2B) companies face in their efforts to create and capture value in emerging markets. Case C discusses how GE adopted fast commercial prototyping in order to diffuse its innovation in India and other emerging markets. Capturing value is the second and biggest hurdle.

Learning Objective
  • Low-resource business customers pose unique challenges. Management needs to gauge the implications for product development and the marketing and sales strategy.
  • Defeaturing existing products does not suffice. The traditional approach to product innovation used by Western multinationals in emerging markets no longer fits the bill. New products should be designed from scratch and incorporate the best available technology.
  • Product innovation and commercial innovation should go hand in hand. Fast commercial prototyping should be adopted to design the go-to-market model in parallel with product development.
Keywords
Emerging Market, Bottom of the Pyramid, Business Model Innovation, Low-Resource Customer, Fast Prototyping, New Product
Settings
BRIC, India
GE Healthcare, Healthcare, Medical Equipment, Healthcare
2011-2014
Type
Field Research
Copyright
© 2014
Available Languages
English
Related material
Teaching note
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