INCONTINENCE
From Vendor to Partner
A smart way to grow incontinence supplies sales
By Lori Mika
Durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers are being asked to do more with less. Reimbursement pressure, competitive bidding, staffing strain and rising service demands are forcing many businesses to rethink how they operate and where they grow.
That can make growth feel harder to reach—but it can also create opportunity.
While a wide range of medical supply categories have been affected by reduced reimbursement and the threat of competitive bidding, incontinence remains one of the fastest growing categories in the market. In fact, incontinence sales to patients in the home have seen nearly 5% annual growth over the past four years, indicating healthy and sustained demand. It is a practical and consistent need, and an area where the right strategy can improve the patient experience, staff satisfaction and business performance.
The key is having the right partner and product mix.
My strongest account relationships go beyond products and pricing. The real value comes from helping them simplify operations, reduce service burden and improve product selection.
That is what partnership should look like.
Simplifying Operations Starts With Smarter Product Mix
One of the biggest opportunities in the incontinence category is inventory consolidation.
For many providers, offering too many stock keeping units (SKUs) creates unnecessary complexity. Intake teams must sort through overlapping choices, inventory becomes harder to manage and staff spend more time navigating product decisions than they should.
Here’s a step-by-step example of how to achieve a smarter incontinence mix strategy:
1. Offer a “good/better/best” product portfolio.
- Good products for light incontinence needs and mobile customers
- Better products for moderate to heavy incontinence needs and limited mobility
- Best products for heavy to severe incontinence needs, immobility and tough cases with customers who are displeased with other products
2. Choose three product lines or brands to simplify your SKU assortment, reducing what you manage.
3. Maximize satisfaction and profits through complementary product sales with different HCPCS codes.
- Booster pads that add capacity to any absorbent garment
- Underpads to protect furniture and/or bedding
- Wipes, gloves, creams and other supplementary products
4. Reduce the list of manufacturers/distributors you work with.
Help Customers Select the Right Product the First Time
One of the most preventable cost drivers in medical supplies is putting patients into the wrong product from the start.
When intake coordinators have the right assessment tools, product evaluation samples and decision support, they are more likely to guide patients into the right product the first time. This reduces avoidable service issues, lowers the cost to serve and builds confidence for the intake team, customer and caregiver
In addition, higher-quality superabsorbent products provide a “set-and-forget” mentality, which allows you and your staff to focus on other areas of the business, like patient acquisition and retention.
Supporting Margin & Growth
Managing incontinence supplies strategically means thinking about reimbursement, utilization, product mix and overall margin together. It means understanding how the category performs as a whole, not just which stock keeping unit moves the fastest.
More disciplined product selection can support:
- Better blended margin across the category
- Optimized reimbursement, usage and patient care
- Incremental revenue growth without unnecessary complexity
In a market where many categories feel volatile or difficult to grow, incontinence can be a safe and stable space to build revenue.
Simplifying Operations
Suppliers know their staff, customers and operations better than anyone. What they often need is a partner who brings the tools, experience and perspective to help make the incontinence supply business easier to run, as well.
This is where the manufacturer relationship becomes something more valuable. Instead of simply delivering products, look for a partner who can help reduce friction and uncover efficiencies by offering tools like:
- Product assortment guidance
- Assessment and intake tools
- Product sampling programs
- Consumer education collateral
A Better Path Forward
Growth in today’s durable medical equipment environment is not always about adding more. Often, it comes from simplifying, standardizing and making smarter decisions within categories that already matter to your business. Now is the right time to take a fresh look at incontinence strategy.
Lori Mika is a territory manager for Principle Business Enterprises, the parent company of Tranquility Incontinence Products. She is passionate about building relationships with customers and educating them on products that significantly improve health outcomes and uplift, enlighten and enrich the lives of the patients, clients and residents they serve. Contact her at (800) 467-3224 ext. 307 or lmika@pbenet.com. Visit tranquilityproducts.com.
