Singapore’s diverse ecosystem of large local firms, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), start-ups and research partners have been reliable partners for global companies seeking to innovate new products and solutions, in response to changing market needs. For the local players, working with a MNC has also resulted in gains – from boosting their capabilities to expanding their customer base.
Here’s how medical technology giant Edwards Lifesciences and global logistics company DSV worked with Singapore enterprises to achieve win-win outcomes:
Edwards Lifesciences & Meiban: Cost savings and capability building through collaboration
THE PARTNERSHIP
Edwards Lifesciences (Edwards), a leader in heart valves and hemodynamic technologies, set up its manufacturing presence in Singapore in 2005. The company began working with homegrown manufacturer Meiban in 2010, with Meiban helping to expand and diversify Edwards’ supply base, specifically focusing on the Asian region. This move was necessary to ensure the maintenance of high product quality standards and to boost its overall manufacturing efficiency as the company scaled its operations globally.
This partnership enabled the MedTech giant to improve production volume and achieve greater cost efficiencies. Over the course of the partnership, Meiban distinguished itself as an ideal partner by achieving ISO 13485 certification. This certification is highly significant in the medical device industry and it confirmed that Meiban’s quality management system met the stringent regulatory requirements for designing and manufacturing medical devices. Additionally, Meiban’s well-established engineering and tooling setup and business strategy aligned well with Edwards’ operational needs.
Meiban’s ability to meet Edward’s stringent qualification requirements gave Edwards’ Global Supplier Management team the confidence to expand the collaboration.
The partnership between both companies gradually evolved to include Edwards’ New Product Development team, and the co-design and development of new tooling to support Edwards’ Surgical Heart Valve and Critical Care business units.
The collaboration also demonstrates how an MNC can boost its innovation capacity by working with a local enterprise to accelerate the innovation cycle—from faster concept development to flexible adaptation of solutions—while leveraging specialised technical knowledge:
