Why Amazon Has Medical Suppliers on Edge

Amazon sure knows how to set an industry on edge. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Amazon wants to become a major medical supplier, but the company has yet to make any healthcare-related announcements beyond its new healthcare venture with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase that was unveiled late last month. The company already offers a range of professional medical products through its business-to-business marketplace, Amazon Business. Get up to speed on key industry topics including 3D printing, smart manufacturing, hybrid vehicles, collaborative robots, machine learning, IIoT, and more at the free Advanced Design and Manufacturing (ADM) Conference and Expo March 7-8, 2018 in Cleveland, OH.  Analysts probed Amazon executives for information about its investments in healthcare during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call Feb. 1, but company officials were fairly tight-lipped about it. "On new businesses or expansion of categories, as you discussed, I would not talk to anything that's not been publicly announced, but on some of the ones you mentioned, they are underway and are continuing," said Brian Olsavsky, CFO at Amazon, in response to a question from Morgan Stanley's Brian Nowak about investment plans in new areas, including healthcare. Medical device manufacturers probably have less to worry about with Amazon's healthcare entry than suppliers that simply buy and then resell products manufactured by third parties, according to Needham & Co.'...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Medical Device Business Source Type: news