Green Servitization in the Single-Use Medical Device Industry: How Device OEMs Create Supply Chain Circularity through Reprocessing

Abstract

Establishing a circular supply chain for single-use medical devices would make a significant contribution to reduce health care-generated emissions. One way in which this can be accomplished is to apply the possibility of device recovery through high-level disinfection and sterilization (a process referred to as ‘reprocessing’). As increasing emphasis is being placed on reducing health care-generated emissions, several major OEMs of single-use medical devices have extended their business to reprocessing services, taking a green servitization orientation. The present paper examines the trend towards green servitization in the single-use medical device industry. It uses interviews with industry experts, complemented with information from secondary sources, to explore how the green servitization phenomenon is supporting the transition of the industry to a more sustainable economic model. The findings provide insights into the green servitization endeavors of device OEMs as regards services offered, strategic intents, dominant business models, use of collaborative relationships and capability requirements. The paper reveals that single-use device OEMs may have started to understand the perspective and the long-term market share gains of combining a service model and a manufacturing model, making reprocessing an integrated part of how they think about how to design, produce and deliver their products.