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US BIO reorg coming, layoffs planned

anonymous

Guest
Despite assurances made during the Nov 29 all company call, it appears a major reorganization of the U.S. CRM field teams and HQ support functions is planned for the new year. Leadership chose to delay an announcement until after Jan 1 in an attempt to maintain morale and finish the year as strong as possible. The planned changes are required to compensate for continued mediocre sales performance and high SG&A that puts BIO at a competitive disadvantage against other CRM companies. The proposed field plan is said to contain territory consolidations and realignments, including complete exits from some geographies that have been underperforming for years and an end to dedicated sales team pilots. No word yet on 2021 bonuses for eligible employees but forecast year end revenues will not support a Feb payout unless the calculations are manipulated for a third year in a row, which Berlin has signaled it will not support. Field employees should expect contract renegotiations with lower commissions for 2022 and beyond on diagnostics and HV devices. Exploratory discussions are also underway with two organizations that have established non-invasive CV sales forces for possible 3rd party diagnostic device sales starting in 2023 after the next contract renewal cycle. Consolidation and outsourcing will also occur across several HQ departments in an attempt to reduce overhead costs with Berlin HQ picking up several functions that were previously staffed in the US and external vendors leveraged to fill in remaining gaps. The cost cutting is expected to affect 32 employees both in the field and in Lake Oswego with impacts to clinical, customer solutions, marketing, training and sales ops. The hope is that these efforts will help to stabilize the US operation and improve 2022 financial performance,
 










Why is the above person posting this level of planning and detail on CP? Sounds fabricated as Bio is doing really well and financially healthy.
Can we trust the financial performance data being shared publicly? I'm kind of skeptical myself that the company is "financially healthy" based solely on the contracts we've lost in my region alone in the past year and what I know is happening in other regions. It also doesn't square with the realities of pandemic slow downs, contract losses and declining ASPs. Something is not quite right with that picture.
 




Despite assurances made during the Nov 29 all company call, it appears a major reorganization of the U.S. CRM field teams and HQ support functions is planned for the new year. Leadership chose to delay an announcement until after Jan 1 in an attempt to maintain morale and finish the year as strong as possible. The planned changes are required to compensate for continued mediocre sales performance and high SG&A that puts BIO at a competitive disadvantage against other CRM companies. The proposed field plan is said to contain territory consolidations and realignments, including complete exits from some geographies that have been underperforming for years and an end to dedicated sales team pilots. No word yet on 2021 bonuses for eligible employees but forecast year end revenues will not support a Feb payout unless the calculations are manipulated for a third year in a row, which Berlin has signaled it will not support. Field employees should expect contract renegotiations with lower commissions for 2022 and beyond on diagnostics and HV devices. Exploratory discussions are also underway with two organizations that have established non-invasive CV sales forces for possible 3rd party diagnostic device sales starting in 2023 after the next contract renewal cycle. Consolidation and outsourcing will also occur across several HQ departments in an attempt to reduce overhead costs with Berlin HQ picking up several functions that were previously staffed in the US and external vendors leveraged to fill in remaining gaps. The cost cutting is expected to affect 32 employees both in the field and in Lake Oswego with impacts to clinical, customer solutions, marketing, training and sales ops. The hope is that these efforts will help to stabilize the US operation and improve 2022 financial performance,
Wow, territory stuff is least shocking as that problem has existed for a long long time.
 








Despite assurances made during the Nov 29 all company call, it appears a major reorganization of the U.S. CRM field teams and HQ support functions is planned for the new year. Leadership chose to delay an announcement until after Jan 1 in an attempt to maintain morale and finish the year as strong as possible. The planned changes are required to compensate for continued mediocre sales performance and high SG&A that puts BIO at a competitive disadvantage against other CRM companies. The proposed field plan is said to contain territory consolidations and realignments, including complete exits from some geographies that have been underperforming for years and an end to dedicated sales team pilots. No word yet on 2021 bonuses for eligible employees but forecast year end revenues will not support a Feb payout unless the calculations are manipulated for a third year in a row, which Berlin has signaled it will not support. Field employees should expect contract renegotiations with lower commissions for 2022 and beyond on diagnostics and HV devices. Exploratory discussions are also underway with two organizations that have established non-invasive CV sales forces for possible 3rd party diagnostic device sales starting in 2023 after the next contract renewal cycle. Consolidation and outsourcing will also occur across several HQ departments in an attempt to reduce overhead costs with Berlin HQ picking up several functions that were previously staffed in the US and external vendors leveraged to fill in remaining gaps. The cost cutting is expected to affect 32 employees both in the field and in Lake Oswego with impacts to clinical, customer solutions, marketing, training and sales ops. The hope is that these efforts will help to stabilize the US operation and improve 2022 financial performance,
Wait, it ain't as great as we've been all led to believe?!?!?! Shocking!
 




Why is the above person posting this level of planning and detail on CP? Sounds fabricated as Bio is doing really well and financially healthy.
Hello, you must be the new marketing vp/press secretary/public relations spin artist that Ryan spoke about on the all company call and I see he has you starting work early. Welcome to the Biotronik rodeo, enjoy your 8 second ride!
 




Can we trust the financial performance data being shared publicly? I'm kind of skeptical myself that the company is "financially healthy" based solely on the contracts we've lost in my region alone in the past year and what I know is happening in other regions. It also doesn't square with the realities of pandemic slow downs, contract losses and declining ASPs. Something is not quite right with that picture.
What’s Ryan’s incentive for being transparent about the state of company finances? It’s a private company, so no SEC obligation or oversight to disclose truthful numbers and the financial controls at Bio are weak. The numbers reported to Berlin have always been massaged to manage appearances. Then there’s the game that is played each year with the field by having literally two sets of budgets… the internal numbers and the ones that the field is told for the purposes of hedging the bet. Lots of intentional smoke and mirrors in this organization which makes believing what Ryan is sharing very very difficult.
 








Why is the above person posting this level of planning and detail on CP? Sounds fabricated as Bio is doing really well and financially healthy.
“Bio is doing really well” relative to what? You’d need to be very skillfully cherry picking your metrics to believe that statement. If you open your eyes and trust your gut you’ll come to a very different conclusion.
 








What’s Ryan’s incentive for being transparent about the state of company finances? It’s a private company, so no SEC obligation or oversight to disclose truthful numbers and the financial controls at Bio are weak. The numbers reported to Berlin have always been massaged to manage appearances. Then there’s the game that is played each year with the field by having literally two sets of budgets… the internal numbers and the ones that the field is told for the purposes of hedging the bet. Lots of intentional smoke and mirrors in this organization which makes believing what Ryan is sharing very very difficult.
Ignorance is bliss. Stop reading CP and go back to work!
 
















This sucks, what do they have to loose by just being honest? I mean we all know whats happening with other companies. Doesn’t shock me at all that bio has to shrink but they should just be up front about it.
 








Why is the above person posting this level of planning and detail on CP? Sounds fabricated as Bio is doing really well and financially healthy.

I agree with your comment/question regarding the detail of their post BUT........ Biotronik is NOT doing well and they are NOT fiscally healthy in the United States.

If they were doing well and were in-fact fiscally healthy in the United States, they would be backfilling both in-house and field positions, they would be ramping up their clinical research, they would be investing in a true remote monitoring platform (they started it but have been stagnant with their progress for way too long), they would commit to GPO/IDN relationships.... They are doing neither of these.

BTK - USA is nothing more than a cash cow for Max. It's a distributorship.... nothing more. As long he makes $$$$ on the devices that he sells to them he's happy.
 




it is not in the culture of CRM much less BIOTRONIK to be honest with their workers.
I think they sometimes fail to recognize that loyalty is a two way street, especially in the age of global pandemics. I am not just loyal to the company because I get paid twice a month. I am loyal because I believe in the people I work with, the products, and the company (in that order). While I still believe in the products, the company and my immediate team, I am increasingly disillusioned with where current management group is taking us. The lack of transparency makes it difficult to understand if Bio has a future and what role I have to play in that future.
 




Where is management taking BTK? Where is BTK's place in the market? Are we getting new leadership? If so, who will it be?

Folks....... get your heads out of the sand. What you see..... what you see right now with BTK is what you get. It hasn't changed since the day they opened up shop in the US.

> New management every 5+/- years. Heck, Brown and his crew had the longes tenure.

BTK will never be a major player with the national GPOs/IDN. It's not for lack of quality in their products but rather...
1) A lack of diversity in their portfolio. The Big 3 can cover heart disease from A to Z which brings leverage to the table. BTK just can't do it.

2) Another glaring weakness when sitting at the negotiating table is IF a major hospital system were to drop 10 million in BTK's tomorrow they cannot handle the workload. They just can't.

Do they pay more than the Big 3? Yes but outside of a 401k what else do they offer you? There is no stock. No enhanced retirement plans. Only bare bones medical coverage. Oh yeah, you can get a discount at the local gym in Lake Oswego.

So, stop bitching about working for BTK and panicking over their future. Just look back at their history..... It will be repeated.