Anthony W. Ulwick

ABBOTT MEDICAL OPTICS

Discovering hidden growth opportunities Abbott Medical Optics, or AMO (formerly Advanced Medical Optics), is a leading provider of lenses, insertion
systems, laser vision correction systems, and other devices for cataract and refractive surgical procedures.

Historically a technology-based company, AMO recognized the need to improve its approach to service innovation in an effort to attract and retain customers through secondary service offerings. Angelo Rago, AMO’s senior vice president of global customer services, noted that a cycle of incremental service improvements had resulted in “me too” service delivery mechanisms and support services— services that looked just like AMO’s competitors’ offerings. Worse, Rago and his team recognized that sales were being lost to competitors due to poor customer service.

To identify opportunities for service innovation, AMO targeted the materials managers (the job executors) who were responsible for replenishing ophthalmic lenses for cataract implant surgeries (the Job-to-be-Done). They targeted medical facilities in which cataract surgeries were performed.

Through interviews with materials managers, the ODI practitioner dissected the Job-to-be-Done into its component parts through the use of a job map and worked to capture a complete set of approximately 100 desired outcome

statements. By studying the job map, AMO discovered that a traditional distinction between front-office and back-office responsibilities for materials management was artificial.

Next, ODI-based quantitative research methods were employed. Through a controlled online survey, approximately 200 materials managers rated each desired outcome statement for (i) its level of importance, and (ii) the degree to which it was satisfied, given the service offerings they were currently using. This data was used to run a variety of data analyses (Outcome-Based Segmentation, competitive analysis, etc.). The analyses resulted in the discovery of a large segment of materials managers that had approximately 50 underserved outcomes (see the opportunity landscape).

The analysis of this segment revealed a flaw in AMO’s service delivery approach and in the process of obtaining ophthalmic lenses more generally. The process of communicating problems to AMO and its competitors frustrated materials managers. They were often unsure whom to contact to get a particular problem resolved because the issues they confronted ranged from delivery and lens consignment to invoicing and returns. AMO management recognized that delays often resulted because materials managers had to contact several people within AMO before finding someone who could help them. Matters were further complicated by the fact that the resolution of a

given problem might require the involvement of several people and/or several layers of approval within AMO.

With knowledge of the customer’s underserved outcomes, an ODI practitioner led a team of AMO sales, technical support, customer service, accounts payable, logistics, and IT infrastructure managers through the process of developing solutions to satisfy the most promising opportunities.

Valuable solutions were conceptualized and later validated and implemented.