Rising above challenges to grow in Korea
When the Himchan Group, one of the largest individual private hospital groups in Korea, specializing in joint replacement and robotic-assisted procedures, wanted to purchase four Mako Systems in mid-2020, Stryker teams from Korea and their colleagues in Hong Kong (China) and Taiwan worked together to overcome the challenges associated with working in a COVID-19 environment, deliver their customers’ expectations and commercialize the technology in Korea. First, Kevin Shim, managing director of Korea, developed a financial solution that allowed the group to fund the Systems, linking to volume commitments. Next, in accordance with pandemic-related travel restrictions, the team facilitated training in Korea, working quickly to meet the installation deadlines. Certified trainers Tony Suen from Hong Kong (China), Grace Shak from Singapore and Casey Kuo from Taiwan left their families for six weeks to travel to Korea to conduct hands-on coaching to all 36 surgeons at the hospital. Lastly, Jeff Lee, business lead for Mako in Korea, coordinated with East Asia, APAC and the design division to ensure a great first-customer experience. Himchan Group went live with their first Mako surgery in July 2020 and has since conducted more than 1,000 procedures.
