Ge Healthcare India
akManagement 3040
Understanding the International Environment of Firms
GE Healthcare in India: An Ultrasound Strategy?
Introduction
GE Healthcare India, a joint venture between General Electric and the Indian multinational Wipro Ltd., was the market leader in the ultrasound machine market with sales growth of 10% for the previous fiscal year in 2007. The enormous market potential and General Electric’s successful low-cost operations fitted well with the aggressive sales strategy that the corporation had established. Solely on a business point of view, GE Healthcare India had tremendous growth potentials in the still developing market, but the social side of ultrasound machines was threatening to kill the future of the industry.
Initial Conditions
General Electric entered India in the 1980s and “early investments by GE in India gave their technology and business-service sectors crucial credibility and cash when other companies still viewed the country as a risky backwater.” Many even credit then GE CEO Jack Welch with fueling the economic boom that would come to India in the 1990s. GE Healthcare joint-ventured with Wipro Corporation, India’s third largest software provider, and their activities included the design and manufacture of ultrasound scanners and cardiology products; sales and service of medical imaging and information technology products; parts and services logistics; software services and technology solutions; training-in-partnership programs; and design, sourcing, and manufacture of diagnostic imaging systems.
As a venture in India with $100 million in revenues, GE Healthcare was the country’s largest medical systems sales and service provider, outpacing its competitors which included Toshiba, Siemens, Philips, and Mindray International Medical. The company began manufacturing and selling ultrasound machines in India in the 1990s, and took advantage of Wipro’s robust and extensive distribution and service networks to deliver its
Understanding the International Environment of Firms
GE Healthcare in India: An Ultrasound Strategy?
Introduction
GE Healthcare India, a joint venture between General Electric and the Indian multinational Wipro Ltd., was the market leader in the ultrasound machine market with sales growth of 10% for the previous fiscal year in 2007. The enormous market potential and General Electric’s successful low-cost operations fitted well with the aggressive sales strategy that the corporation had established. Solely on a business point of view, GE Healthcare India had tremendous growth potentials in the still developing market, but the social side of ultrasound machines was threatening to kill the future of the industry.
Initial Conditions
General Electric entered India in the 1980s and “early investments by GE in India gave their technology and business-service sectors crucial credibility and cash when other companies still viewed the country as a risky backwater.” Many even credit then GE CEO Jack Welch with fueling the economic boom that would come to India in the 1990s. GE Healthcare joint-ventured with Wipro Corporation, India’s third largest software provider, and their activities included the design and manufacture of ultrasound scanners and cardiology products; sales and service of medical imaging and information technology products; parts and services logistics; software services and technology solutions; training-in-partnership programs; and design, sourcing, and manufacture of diagnostic imaging systems.
As a venture in India with $100 million in revenues, GE Healthcare was the country’s largest medical systems sales and service provider, outpacing its competitors which included Toshiba, Siemens, Philips, and Mindray International Medical. The company began manufacturing and selling ultrasound machines in India in the 1990s, and took advantage of Wipro’s robust and extensive distribution and service networks to deliver its