Supplier Spotlight: How Motion Healthcare is investing in innovation
2022 looks set to be an exciting one for Motion Healthcare, with new company headquarters and lots of exciting new products in the pipeline…
Mobility equipment manufacturer Motion Healthcare has enjoyed rapid growth since it first entered the market in 2016, fuelled by its strategic focus on bringing new products to market and working with an exclusive selection of partners.
The firm prides itself on three core values which it claims are at the heart of how it runs its business: Innovation, Reliability, Integrity and Service.
The firm recently moved into new headquarters in Rayne, in the North West Essex countryside where it is looking forward to inviting its partners to come and see its daily operations and meet its team of staff.
THIIS meets Tim Mills, Head of Business at Motion Healthcare, to find out more…
Can you tell us about your new office building?
TM: “The new building effectively is an old farm converted into an industrial estate in the countryside in Essex. It’s a beautiful location but still relatively close to the major road networks in terms of us being able to dispatch at a reasonable time to ensure we can still offer next day delivery.
“It’s 20,000 square feet spread over two buildings. One building is entirely devoted to product storage while the second building is one third office space and two thirds operational warehouse space.
“Our operational warehouse houses our engineering department, storage for spare parts, and our product pickfaces for all of our products. We pick pack dispatch out of one warehouse with the second as storage to be as efficient as we can.”
What new products has Motion Healthcare got lined up this year?
TM: “In terms of new products we’re really excited about the Evolite which we have already pre-sold successfully after a launch at last year’s Naidex. Arriving early to mid April, this aluminium and lithium car boot scooter is similar to our Alumina but at a significantly more competitive price point.
“It will allow retailers to meet their customers needs – which are clearly there based on the success of the Alumina – but at a lower price point for those that can’t afford to purchase it. This also protects the profitability of the Alumina as a product.
“We’ve also got an aluminium and lithium pavement scooter, the Airium. This is for people who are too large or require a bigger, more comfortable scooter than a boot scooter. It is made from aluminium and comes with a lithium battery, making it significantly lighter than the steel versions currently available with its heaviest part just 13.5kg. We’ve got some other exciting products coming up soon as well!”
What do you envisage will be the highlights for Motion Healthcare this year?
TM: “We’re looking forward to meeting our partners face-to-face and physically showing them more products and supporting them in the ways you can’t do virtually or on the phone.
“Of course, we’ve been visiting and supporting partners throughout the pandemic in a safe and responsible way over the last couple of years. We identified very early on that it would be in no one’s interest to close our doors or reduce our service levels.
“In terms of 2022, we’re most looking forward to a strong, long season of selling our core product range without as much disruption as we have had in the last two years. We hope to have a reasonably stabilized supply chain and a stable opportunity to allow our partners to sell as many products as they can without the restrictions which have previously occurred.”
To what extent do you think the global shipping crisis will affect business this year?
TM: “All of our production takes place in the Far East, China, Taiwan and Vietnam. I don’t think the sector will get back to how things were and I don’t think we’re at the end of the situation in terms of purchasing stock from the Far East, but this was another reason why we felt we needed to adapt our business. We are investing a lot more between our factories and our customers to ensure our supply stocks in the UK are higher.
“We wanted to ensure that we’ve got the space to store more stock and that we can deal with purchasing on significantly longer lead times. This way, if the situation doesn’t change for the next 12 months we are taking the hit on that, and not our partners.”
What do you think are the key factors for the sector in navigating such challenges?
TM: “At Motion Healthcare we recognise a larger than ever value on dealing with the right importer and distributor on products outside of the price.
“If the right products are there and the right service levels are there then we believe that the customer will notice that we are investing in areas that hold value outside of what the price of the product is.
“We work with high quality and reliable factories around the world to source, develop, import and distribute innovative mobility products to our network of approved partners in the UK.
“Ultimately, our aim is to enhance the lives of everyone who purchases our products.”
How is Motion Healthcare supporting its retail partners?
TM: “As a business we are investing heavily in our resources as we want our retailer partners to have much support as possible in being able to advertise and market our range of products.
“We have brought a new member of the team on-board who is concentrating solely on our marketing, social media and point-of-sale material.
“In the upcoming months we will have fresh new point-of-sale material to help our retail partners advertise our products in showrooms as well, with display stands, floor mats, pull-up banners and more!
“We are lucky to work with partners who are already at a good level in terms of being able to sell and support the types of products we sell. I think it’s important that we are crystal clear on what the USPs of our products are and are able to supply basic training in terms of making a demonstration as good as possible.
“We don’t need to tell them how to do what they’ve been doing for years on their own with other suppliers and similar products. We just want to be an extension of their business in terms of finding and sourcing the products that make selling easier because they are good.
“It is also about making sure that once partners have purchased that product from us they’ve got better support than anyone else in the industry in terms of what they need to do to sell it and keep a customer happy after they’ve sold it.”
What are the bestsellers for Motion Healthcare at the moment?
TM: “The Alumina and the mLite are probably the two that are selling best because they are both occupy innovative areas of the market. It is all about lightweight and good quality products in the travel arena at the moment. Price point isn’t even in the equation for a lot of people.
“We are quite lucky in that the current generation of consumers are prepared to pay a high price point for a quality and unique product. Those that don’t are customers that aren’t buying Motion products. They are buying products from other suppliers that want to target a more price-orientated high-volume mentality.”
Any plans to diversify in the future?
TM: “Right now, we want to continue operating in the arena we are operating in, which is premium travel products and continue filling the gips that other major suppliers aren’t filling by investing in innovation.”
