1. Client Overview

Industry: Global medical devices and health technology – cardiovascular, endoscopy, neurology, oncology, and urology specialties
Region Focused: Australia and New Zealand business units

Client Context:
Boston Scientific is a multinational leader in medical technology and minimally invasive therapies, with more than $16.7 billion in annual revenue in 2024 and operations in over 120 countries. Despite strong global category leadership and impressive financial results—including a 27% adjusted operating margin and 22% adjusted EPS growth—the company’s regional operations in Australia and New Zealand sought to improve local pricing execution and margin control. The local leadership team engaged Pricing Insight to run a diagnostic and pricing capability uplift across Endoscopy, Cardiology, Urology, and broader clinical teams. The goal was to tighten pricing governance, lift confidence in value-based pricing, and improve commercial alignment across sales, marketing, and operations.

2. Challenge / Problem

Symptoms Observed:

• Price setting was overly reliant on legacy cost-plus logic and internal reference points rather than customer value or willingness to pay
• Pricing lacked consistency across product lines and regions, especially between public vs private hospital pricing
• High-value product features were not clearly linked to price differentiation in sales conversations or tender responses
• Teams lacked shared language or tools to articulate Boston Scientific’s premium positioning in negotiations
• Discount approvals were informal and not supported by margin-based governance or structured escalation
• Sales relied on product knowledge and technical performance but lacked confidence in defending pricing when challenged

Strategic Impact:

• Value was being conceded unnecessarily in tenders and negotiations due to low pricing capability and inconsistent deal logic
• Margin pressures were expected to rise due to procurement-driven buying behaviours in hospitals and health systems
• Internal pricing processes lacked rigour, making it difficult to scale governance and performance measurement
• Missed opportunity to monetise innovation leadership in areas such as AFib ablation, endoscopy platforms, and neurostimulation

3. Objectives of the Engagement

• Diagnose current pricing capability, governance, and commercial alignment using the Pricing Insight RMSF model
• Build pricing confidence within field sales, product specialists, and marketing through hands-on workshops
• Develop clear articulation of customer value drivers across business units using the Customer Value Canvas
• Recommend practical steps to improve margin discipline, approval control, and pricing execution
• Align leadership around pricing strategy and ensure frontline teams can sell based on value—not cost

4. Our Approach

• Delivered Pricing Insight’s Revenue & Margin Strength Finder (RMSF) canvas workshop across Endoscopy, Cardiology, and Urology teams
• Facilitated live collaboration using the Customer Value Canvas to identify and document value drivers by product line
• Conducted margin expansion scenario planning sessions using the Margin Expansion Planning (MXP) canvas
• Assessed pricing capability across nine core domains: strategy, analytics, governance, tools, training, value articulation, and commercial confidence
• Developed and delivered an action plan to address capability gaps and introduce pricing governance principles to senior leaders

5. Key Issues Identified

• There was no unified pricing strategy across teams. Most pricing was based on historical deals, competitor guesses, or internal anchors.
• Value drivers such as device reliability, time savings, surgical ease, and patient outcomes were not being systematically priced or communicated.
• Pricing discipline in tenders and procurement negotiations was weak, and internal pressure often led to pre-emptive discounting.
• Sales reps and product managers lacked tools and training to frame value during objection handling or price defence.
• Governance of discount approvals varied widely. Some deals were approved with limited commercial scrutiny or margin analytics.
• Teams showed strong technical knowledge but needed commercial training to connect clinical performance to price justification.

6. Key Actions Taken

• Developed Customer Value Canvases for key product groups including WATCHMAN, FARAPULSE, endoscopy platforms, and spinal cord stimulators
• Facilitated sales simulations and “pitch fest” contests to build commercial storytelling capability and rehearse real pricing objections
• Delivered training sessions in pricing maths, margin thinking, and value defence as part of the Pricing University curriculum
• Designed discount governance workflows, including escalation thresholds and deal review criteria to safeguard margin
• Presented Boston Scientific’s APAC pricing leaders with a roadmap of pricing maturity initiatives tailored to the local hospital landscape
• Enabled cross-functional alignment between clinical, finance, marketing, and tendering teams through structured workshops

7. Results Achieved

• Local teams gained pricing confidence, with improved ability to articulate value, differentiate from competitors, and hold the line in procurement conversations
• Greater consistency in discounting and margin control following introduction of governance rules and deal approval frameworks
• Identified early margin improvement potential of $2.7M–$4.2M across selected product categories within the first 12 months
• Improved alignment between global product positioning and regional price execution practices
• Strengthened capability to monetise clinical differentiation—particularly in cardiology and endoscopy—using the Customer Value Canvas

8. Client Feedback

“The Pricing Insight diagnostic gave our commercial teams a shared pricing language and practical tools we could use straight away. We’re now more confident defending our value and more disciplined in how we manage pricing outcomes.”
— Regional Sales Leader, Boston Scientific ANZ

9. What This Means for Similar Companies

In medical technology, premium products rarely win on price—but often lose margin when value is not defended. The Boston Scientific experience shows that even in highly innovative, high-growth companies, pricing capability must be developed, tested, and embedded at every level. Structured diagnostics, commercial alignment, and tailored value communication can unlock significant margin opportunities and help protect premium positioning across complex procurement environments.

10. Contact Us

To learn how a pricing diagnostic can help your organisation strengthen commercial execution, recover lost margin, and lift pricing confidence, contact:

Ron Wood
Managing Director, Pricing Insight

ronwood@pricinginsight.com.au

www.pricinginsight.com.au