Industry Perspectives

Most distributor teams don’t miscalculate ROI because they’re bad at math. They miscalculate it because they’re using the wrong unit of analysis. If you’re evaluating orthopedic suppliers by first-order margin (your gross margin on the first PO), you’re not measuring ROI. You’re measuring a single snapshot of unit economics—while the risks that actually make or break distributor profitability live in the months that follow.

Sourcing trauma implants isn’t like sourcing commodity disposables. Whether you’re adding a secondary source or qualifying a new orthopedic trauma implant manufacturer, your “supplier” is effectively part of your surgical reliability system—because every backorder, tray mismatch, or undocumented cha

Orthopedic Trauma Supplier Comparison: Stryker vs Medline vs XC Medico — What Distributors Should KnowYou're evaluating orthopedic trauma suppliers. Three names keep coming up: Stryker, Medline, and XC Medico.But here's the problem: each supplier's website tells you only their strengths. None of the