BELLA HEALTHCARE INDIA

BELLA HEALTHCARE

▪ Bella Healthcare India was originally established in Bangalore as a low-cost

manufacturing facility for a U.S.-based cardiology equipment developer
▪ Under country manager Joseph Cherian it evolved considerably,
developing its own research and development capabilities.
▪ The case is regarding the proposal to develop a new portable
electrocardiograph machine ,specifically for the Indian market.
▪ Their goal has always focused on serving emerging markets and making
healthcare more accessible and affordable
INDUSTRY BACKGROUND

▪ EKG is the measurement and interpretation of the electrical activity

of the heart as it contracts.
▪ Commonly used to diagnose problems such as heart attacks,
arrhythmia, lack of blood flow, birth defects and enlargement.
▪ EKG device is connected to three primary components.
▪ Standard EKG and Resting EKG
▪ Other EKG devices like the Holter monitor, Stress test equipment
measured heart activity under different circumstances.
BELLA HEALTHCARE IN INDIA

• Founded in 1969 by brothers Todd and Greg Bella

• With the advent of transistors they developed a new version of Holter
monitors and expanded their product line
• Innovation had to be patient-centric and commercially-oriented
• Establishment of first manufacturing facility outside the United States i.e. in
Bangalore
• Early 1990s –
1) Joseph Cherian was the manufacturing Director then and assembly and
testing started in the manufacturing facility .
2)Introduction of Buhd 612 (its newest 12 channel EKG)
3)Production of Raddit 601 (its single channel EKG)shifted
4) By 1996 manufacture of Ambulatory blood pressure monitors, Holter
monitors, 3 channel EKGs started.
• Late 1990s –
1) Seeing the extent of manufacturing expertise and experience of Indian
engineers, the facility in St. Louis moved partial production of popular 6
channel EKG and Kawu 606
2) Cherian proposed a formal cost engineering program
▪ Early 2000s –
1) Strengthen Bella India’s fledgling R & D team that would develop Fit X17, the
next generation of Bella’s ambulatory blood pressure monitor
2) After interviewing the top engineers of Bella India , an initial core R&D team
was formed of 7 members. This team was sent to US for further training
3) Culture of taking full ownership of work
PROJECT BATON

▪ Bella healthcare initiated project Baton to design a new lower cost

stress test system to be used with treadmills
▪ As these systems have tremendous value in clinical diagnosis and
global demand
▪ Challenging a new market segment and affordable offering
REQUIRED
▪ Effective coordination
▪ International team
▪ Faster production in order to
compete with the market
▪ Great performance and
cooperation
RESPONSIBILITIES
▪ St louis team – product and
functional specifications, user
interface
▪ Bella India team – driving down
costs by taking in charge of
electronics, sourcing and
ensuring the design enabled low
cost manufacturing .
PROBLEM STATEMENT
▪ Departure of St louis based project manger and no replacement available
▪ Technical and sourcing issues
▪ Delays in offshoring made microcontroller cost high
▪ Cross border coordination proved as difficulty
▪ Difference in working and communication styles
▪ Supervisor was too inflexible and impersonal , did not show any trust and
became upset at minor issues
▪ Difference in interests of the two teams: Bella –cared most about designing
for manufacturing whereas St louis –focused on developing the best , most
commercially viable functionality.
▪ Prototyping by Bella India did not meet the standards of St louis
▪ No timely delivery of goods by Bella India
▪ Managing the suppliers
PROJECT TKO

▪ TKO- ‘Technical Knockout’ , a single channel EKG to be launched in

Indian Market by Bella Healthcare India.
▪ Should Bella Healthcare take up the Project TKO?
▪ The reasons are being segregated into external and internal factors.
▪ External Factors: India being the populated country with
insufficient healthcare services.
▪ Exhibit 2 shows an increase in the global revenue.
▪ Increase in the incidence of Coronary Artery Disease(CAD)-
according to epidemiological and angiographic studies.
▪ Internal Factors: Successful delivery of the Fit X17 by the Bella
India team under the leadership of Joseph Cherian and Jeremy
Manning.
▪ After the failure of the Project Baton, the team didn’t lack
motivation. They realized the strengths and mistakes.
▪ Experiences of Baton had already covered the learning curve of the
team and that id one of key speeding factor to TKO.
▪ A St. Louis- based team will have limited knowledge of local market
needs. But at the same time, they needed the right designs for
relevant context.
▪ Based on market realities, the Bella India team defined four design
principles for TKO:
1) Portability
2) Ease of use
3) Connectivity
4) Affordability
THANK YOU