Victoria Scholz
Senior Content Marketing Manager
Last updated on
14.8.24
Best Practice
How you can unleash unimagined potential with flexible ERP software for medical technology
11
min
Table of contents
In a highly regulated market, it can be a challenge to find suitable ERP software. For medical technology in particular, a suitable solution has countless potential, but the search for it has endless problems.
However, you should think about ERP software early on. Although there are many regulations in medical technology that complicate the search, the benefits clearly outweigh them.
Read below how to find a suitable ERP system for your medical technology company, what you should pay attention to and how to successfully implement it.
The challenges are numerous
Quality is not just a word in the medical technology sector. Rather, it determines every process — from onboarding new employees to managing the warehouse. For this reason, all software must comply with certain guidelines and reflect this quality.
That is why it is not so easy for standard ERP software to meet the requirements of medical technology. The challenges are numerous:
- Data protection and regulatory compliance: Data protection, safety and quality management are important components that must be considered in medical technology. Of course, the software must go hand in hand with these regulations. For example, should the software be in the quality management system It must also be possible to validate it. In the best case, it is also suitable for being able to reflect future trends and innovations in a timely manner.
- Isolated solutions: This challenge runs through every size of company. The majority of companies based in medical technology work with numerous solutions. In particular, this leads to the problem that the various software cannot or cannot communicate correctly and exchange data. The result: The data must either be entered manually, which in turn can lead to errors, or is simply adopted incorrectly by the system, which must be corrected again by a person. Both options cost valuable time.
- Inappropriate software: Especially because medical technology is such a specialized industry, you should rely on suitable software. Nevertheless, many small but also large medical companies use Excel spreadsheets. Of course, the spreadsheet program isn't a bad choice — it's just simply unsuitable for the applications that companies want to address in medical technology. Just to give an example, there is no role and user management in Excel. It's hard to keep employees away from data you don't want them to see or edit. For this and many other reasons, you should choose an alternative to Excel think.
- Constant change: As if the complexity in medical technology wasn't enough, the market and regulations are constantly changing. If your ERP software is not flexible, this can slow you and your success.
- Complexity of standard software: Not all standard software is suitable for every medical technology company. The solution is often too complex and fails when it is set up or adapted to your needs. If expensive additional fees for support or poor availability of the service are added, the software is no longer practicable.
Of course, these challenges are intertwined and interdependent. If companies in medical technology use Excel as software, this process is often not compliant with the rules. If there are many stand-alone solutions in your company, you lose time in the event of constant changes in the market or regulatory requirements - if that is even possible. Integrated software can therefore help medical technology companies react more calmly to future changes.
What good ERP software for medical technology can do for you
In the best case scenario, your future ERP system solves all the challenges you are currently facing. Medical technology companies know the urgency and benefits of digitization, but implementation is often the problem.
With a comprehensive system tailored to you, you can primarily get rid of all isolated solutions and rely on software. For this reason, there is also ERP software, which can also be extended to include areas such as project management in medical technology. This prevents multiple solutions in the company that, in the worst case, cannot communicate with each other.
Of course, comprehensive ERP software in medical technology makes you much more efficient. This not only saves you costs, but above all time so that you can concentrate on other projects. But the quality of the products will also significantly improve after the introduction of an ERP system. Complete documentation and traceability in the supply chain can guarantee this.
Speaking of supply chains, one of the bigger challenges companies face is when errors are noticed in a product and the entire manufacturing and delivery processes have to be reviewed. An ERP helps you to better understand where and when the error occurred. This makes a task that normally takes a lot of time a piece of cake.
But errors caused by manually entering data are also minimized if you use software with automation and processes that work seamlessly together.
Other benefits include:
- Transparency and better overview: Imagine that you only use one tool in your company. Since all data flows into this software, all employees can exchange information in real time and are always up to date. With a clever role concept, you also ensure greater data security, as only the person who should really see something can see it.
- Better communication with the outside world: Collect all data about suppliers, customers, buyers, etc. in one place in order to be up to date with every order and to be able to keep a better overview of all processes.
- Compliance and regulatory requirements: With validated software for your medical technology processes, you meet all compliance requirements and don't have to worry anymore. If you opt for a flexible ERP system, your company will no longer be affected by future changes in legal regulations or on the market. It also makes it easier for you to react to the competition.
How to choose the best solution for your company
You now know the benefits of ERP software for medical technology companies. Yet the hardest part is still ahead of you: finding a suitable solution that best supports you in your day-to-day work.
You should write down all challenges and processes that you want to digitize so that you can create a kind of checklist for choosing the perfect software.
What is important to you? Do you want software that only serves as warehouse management? Or would you also like to map your project management, sales, customer management and more in the software?
- Should the software also be able to map risk management in accordance with ISO 14971 or document management, for example?
- Should non-conformances, CAPAs or process validation be handled in addition?
- Would you like to be able to safely implement the MDR requirements and the requirements of ISO 13485?
- Should the software also help you manage your EUDAMED attributes?
Note down all processes that are to be mapped in medical technology software and which functions are important to you.
Quality and safety are top priorities in medical technology. Therefore, check all software for compliance with GDPR-compliant standards, such as server locations in the EU or certain ISO certifications.
Will your medical technology company grow? Then look for software that scales easily.
You should also answer the following questions:
- How important is customer support to you? How should he be reached?
- Which interfaces are important to you? Do you need a DATEV interface, for example?
- Should the software also be able to work on mobile devices?
- How are role and user rights regulated and how easy is it to withdraw rights from users as soon as they leave the company?
The most important thing, however, is how adaptable your new software should be for medical technology. With a flexible ERP system, you can react calmly to changes in the industry and Work more efficiently because the software adapts to you — and not the other way around.
The challenge here, however, is that standard software often cannot be properly adapted to your individual processes and needs. However, developing your own software costs a lot of time and money.
We would like to present you with a solution to this dilemma: Ninox. This platform uses modern low-code technology, which means you don't need a large IT department to develop your own ERP system.
Ninox is the flexible software for medical technology
Ninox is the basis for perfect customized QM software for medical technology that meets all your requirements. But what does low code mean? This is a technology that allows you to develop your own software with just a little programming knowledge.
It's best to think of it as a construction kit. With just a few clicks and elements that you simply push to where you need them, you can quickly build your own ERP adapted to your processes.
But Ninox can do even more: Thanks to an open interface, the low-code platform can be easily integrated into your existing systems.
We recommend that you start with a manageable use case. Get to know the platform and discover everything that is possible. Gradually, you can digitally map additional processes with the help of Ninox. The dream of software for the entire company can come true with Ninox.
And the best part: Your quality management no longer needs to be maintained in an extra system. You can integrate it with Ninox to make it part of your daily workflow. Data that is used regularly anyway is therefore incorporated into the QMS and can be evaluated. This means that you are always ready for the next audit.
Smart automatisms streamline your processes and ensure that data does not have to be manually entered several times. Through links, Ninox draws the data itself and automatically inserts it. The entries can also be automatically checked for plausibility. Empty input fields and “GDP problems” are now a thing of the past.
Of course, in Ninox, you can also assign rights to users and define in detail who can read, edit or delete data and where.
Does your QM application need to be validated and compliant with FDA 21 CFR Part 11? No problem with Ninox! Whether it's an audit trail, digital signature, or record protection, with Ninox, you can easily control and document your software life cycle process.
Try Ninox free of charge for 30 days and create your own ERP software for medical technology. It's best to let yourself be guided by our free templates inspire.
Want more support? Together with one of our more than 100 partners, you develop exactly the software you need. Our network comprises experienced companies from over 50 industries. You will not only receive an individual solution, but also long-term support and comprehensive advice.
The Ninox Partner Tracion Solutions is your expert in the MedTech sector with more than 15 years of experience and will reliably help you develop exactly what you need.
