Back to Profitability

Dr. Artem Goldmann, CEO and sole proprietor of EOS, is a medical doctor himself and has been running a larger nephrological practice with an attached dialysis center since 2001. The specialist saw a need for action in the supply of consumables for dialysis machines: "Due to the dependence of practices on large industrial suppliers, a situation arose in which these could exert pressure. Because these suppliers are interested in buying up practices," he explains.

In 2010, he therefore founded EOS, initially mainly to make his practice independent of large manufacturers. They parted ways with the first producer in Egypt due to poor quality and high prices. With a new producer and after cost-intensive certifications and audits, EOS has recorded a growth of about 20% per year for the past four years. EOS is now the most affordable provider of consumables on the German market. Due to its distribution structure, the company manages with three employees for delivery and scheduling. 

Shortage Due to Bureaucracy

For patients in nephrology practices and dialysis centers, consumable supplies are vital as without them, dialysis is not possible. The range of products from EOS includes the core components of the dialysis machines: "A dialyzer is essentially an artificial kidney. Dialyzers are not device-specific, so they fit into any device and vary only according to the type of treatment," explains Artem Goldmann. Other products include various cannulas and dialysis tubes.

The managing director explains: "Our range of products is manageable; we do not want to expand it. It would not be possible here in Germany anyway, as the costs for certifications and their maintenance have become astronomical. With small quantities, it's impossible to recoup these costs. This very problem also leads to difficulties in obtaining, for example, heart valve prostheses or stents for children in the German health market." German bureaucracy thus harms the patient, Artem Goldmann is convinced: "When you have certification costs in the six figures, these are purely bureaucratic expenses; with that alone, you have produced nothing and not paid any staff. It's the same with medications. The fact that many medications are unavailable is a German problem."

Effective in Sales

EOS's customers are spread all over Germany. The company is one of the suppliers of the purchasing association NephroNet, through which sales are also made. "This allows us to keep prices at a very low level," says Artem Goldmann. The market, with about 1,300 dialysis centers in Germany, is manageable - everyone knows each other. Exchanges regularly take place at trade fairs and conferences. In addition to sourcing through NephroNet, all nephrology practices can register on the online shop and obtain their consumables directly from EOS. The company tries to adhere to sustainability by avoiding faulty products, reports the managing director. "Forfeiting our products is simply not an option and making them from paper is also not feasible. Therefore, our options here are limited." Even though production is outsourced, EOS prides itself on the low error rate: "We deliver excellent quality and have no complaints. Over the years, there has not been a single report to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices."

Primary Goal Achieved

The reason EOS is doing so well now, according to Artem Goldmann, is that from the beginning, we understood one thing: 'As soon as we start to establish a labor-intensive sales system in the classical sense, we will only be able to offer the same prices as the competition. Because the production costs are more or less the same for everyone. We simply cannot afford classical sales for a product that is needed only in limited quantities and does not cost much on its own.' The business model is such that the goods are delivered from our own warehouse by a cooperating logistics company certified for medical areas to the customers.

Looking back over the past years, Artem Goldmann says: 'Our most important goal was to enable colleagues to make the products available at favorable conditions. We have achieved that. Of course, there are special offers or closeouts, but for regular prices, we are the cheapest provider on the market.' His next goal is to develop a model that offers survival chances to doctor-operated dialysis practices and goes beyond purchasing.

He explains: 'The public is not even aware that privately operated doctor's offices are slowly dying out because the economic conditions are so poor that young colleagues are afraid to go into practice. When I started here in Neunkirchen, there were twice as many general practices as there are today. At the same time, the demand for medical services has increased by 30% over the last 20 years. The solution aims to allow operational economic structures again, enabling doctors to run their practice without selling out to big industry.'