Among the top 100 US medical-surgical manufacturers, those that use Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX) Market Intelligence data grew medical-surgical revenue through distribution by an average of 6.42% in 2009, while non-users grew similarly classified revenue by an average of only 3.88%, according to an analysis conducted by GHX.

Furthermore, GHX’s analysis also found that the manufacturers employing more granular-level market data from GHX increased revenue at a faster rate than those using higher-level data.

GHX Market Intelligence tracks and reports on more than $35.5bn of distributed sales for medical-surgical and clinical laboratory supplies and devices delivered from 27 of the nation’s distributor members of the Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA).

The manufacturers use GHX Market Intelligence to better understand their market share compared to competitors, as well as growth opportunities by market and product.

According to the report, GHX analysed sales through distribution by dollars spent on medical-surgical products from the first quarter through the fourth quarter of 2009 and determined that GHX Market Intelligence users grew medical-surgical revenue through distribution faster than non-users during this time period.

Other key findings of the GHX analysis include 90% (or 18) of the top 20 US medical-surgical manufacturers by dollar spend use GHX Market Intelligence data to gain greater insights into the medical-surgical marketplace.

Among all manufacturers that use GHX Market Intelligence data, those that employ data down to the granular, three-digit ZIP code level grew their medical-surgical revenue through distribution by an average of 7.49% in 2009, while those that employ national-level data grew their similarly classified revenue by an average of 4.14%.

GHX Market Intelligence is a comprehensive source for accurate, detailed and timely data for the acute and alternate site healthcare markets, containing geographically relevant and competitive market share, size and average selling price reporting down to the three-digit ZIP code level.

Leveraging GHX Market Intelligence data, medical-surgical manufacturers can better align resources, improve demand planning to meet customer needs, support distributor sales and target opportunities to drive revenue growth in new and existing markets.

Ed McCauley, vice president of e-sourcing and business intelligence at GHX, said: “Top-performing medical device manufacturers have found that aligning sales efforts with available market opportunities is critical to success in today’s challenging business environment.

“In the coming months, as manufacturers conduct sales planning and forecasting for next year, GHX Market Intelligence data will assist them in gaining a clearer understanding of the competitive landscape and help them identify where they can best invest their resources for maximum growth in 2011. We have seen more and more companies make this data an integral part of the planning process, and the results speak for themselves.”

GHX enables healthcare providers and suppliers in North America and Europe to reduce costs and improve margins by automating processes, reducing operating expenses and increasing knowledge-based decision making.

Products and services include trading partner connectivity, order and contract management and validation, data synchronization, sales force automation and business intelligence.