GranuLab: Strategies for Growth

GranuLab Sdn. Bhd. (GranuLab) was in the business of manufacturing patented synthetic bone graft substitute made from limestones and pure chemicals called GranuMaS. The bone graft substitute industry in Malaysia was a growing market with many large multinational players. In December 2010, the company began selling GranuMaS to several Malaysian hospitals. It had also completed the construction of its new production facility in Shah Alam, about 30 km from Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur. With the facility’s pending operation in January 2011, the company had to find ways to leverage its high-volume production capacity. GranuLab’s approval for the CE Mark certification for GranuMaS’ exporting as well as the ISO certification to operate as an OEM contract manufacturing provider were still pending. Therefore, it was unable to export GranuMaS to Europe and other international markets, forcing the company to restrict its sales within Malaysia. Each day, the need to bring in revenue from sales of GranuMaS was mounting for Mr. Romli Ishak, the Managing Director of GranuLab particularly with the manufacturing facility due to begin its operation soon. Mr. Romli and his management team began to ponder on the appropriate strategies to adopt in order to achieve the company’s objective of high profitability. This teaching case is designed to stimulate discussion regarding strategic posturing of a young medical device company with aspirations for high growth.