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The Impact of COVID-19 on Medical Cable Assembly Suppliers

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Submitted by AAP Marketing on

You likely do not need a reminder that the past year has been impactful in many ways. From restaurants to schools, every aspect of our lives has been affected in one way or another. Just as these services have been working to keep people safe, so has the medical device supply chain. Amphenol Alden has worked tirelessly to provide on-time delivery of high-quality products that aid in the recovery and ensure patients’ safety from the complications related to COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

As with common materials, such as toilet paper and aluminum cans, the medical industry has seen shortages of critical supplies and devices, such as ventilators and patient monitors. The supply constriction was further exacerbated by the increased need for these important devices and the medical cable assemblies associated with these devices from hospitals, clinics, and points of care. Amphenol Alden responded aggressively to expedite deliveries of key assemblies required to support the spike in demand.

At Amphenol Alden, we have been working diligently to keep up with the needs of the market to support our customers, and in turn, support the customer’s ability to help their patients. Here, we have kept our employees safe from COVID-19 and have reacted and adapted to the changing market conditions fast and effectively.

The COVID-19 Impact

At Amphenol Alden, production and production schedules were immediately impacted by COVID-19. Disruptions to our supply chain included things such as material availability, lead times, and assembly throughput. In parallel, there was a shift in demand for different types of medical products, such as reduced needs for assemblies that support elective surgery and increased requirements for assemblies required for critical care.

We knew the pivot from normal working conditions to those caused by COVID-19 would be difficult, but our ability to adjust was seamless. Amphenol Alden embraced new approaches to collaboration, bringing our employees together to problem-solve in new capacities. Leveraging tools such as video conferencing, we continued to offer our customers outstanding service behaving like an extension of their team. To ensure the health and safety of our on-site staff, we introduced new protocols to provide a safe working environment. Although the impact COVID-19 had on our company was significant, we adjusted quickly and effectively to continue to serve the industries that need us most.

Amphenol Alden Quickly Adapts to Changes

When the pandemic began, the demand for certain medical cable assemblies and connectors increased exponentially, and the change forced industry leaders to get creative. The solution to this problem wasn’t exactly straightforward. Leaders in the industry had to think outside the box and find innovative ways to secure and allocate materials to meet the rising need for critical cable assemblies. Thanks to cross-trained employees and production flexibility, we were able to reallocate resources to support the new demand requirements quickly and effectively.

Leveraging our global footprint and supply base, we quickly sourced and produced the appropriate PPE required to keep our employees safe. We followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines on spacing employees 6-feet-apart and requiring face coverings, and we are happy that we could offer weekly COVID-19 testing. As a leading supplier to the medical device industry, Alden’s designation as a critical supply chain ensured that our plants stayed open to deliver the goods required to assist in the recovery of very ill people. We quickly adopted new tools such as video conferencing to continue exchanging ideas for the free flow of information.

Alden Succeeds

COVID-19 disrupted our business by changing the mix of product demand, impacting staffing levels, and driving new safety protocols, yet placed tension on achieving on-time delivery and product quality requirements. Due to Alden’s rapid response to these changes, we could maintain a supply of critical assemblies and increase production where needed.

At Amphenol Alden, collaborative engineering is one of our key differentiators. Our approach to collaboration enabled us to work seamlessly across fluctuating customer needs. Customers have a deep reliance on us to be an extension of their engineering team, and even with a global pandemic, we made sure to provide them with the solutions they look to us for. No matter what product you need, Amphenol Alden offers outstanding standard products which can be customized, or if desired, we can create fully customized solutions and assemblies.

Though we still have a long way to go, the pandemic will eventually become manageable, and the demand for medical supplies will be regulated. Our knowledgeable staff members are interconnect experts that can help you find the right medical cable assemblies and connectors for your devices. Our standard products such as Pulse-Lok®, pulseOne, and Medi|Mate offer outstanding performance and value for devices used in various medical applications. We are experts in creating custom cable assemblies designed for specific medical uses.

To see how these new innovative medical products could benefit your healthcare facility, contact Amphenol Alden today.