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Healthtech brand Qardio adopts NetSuite OneWorld
Qardio, a brand offering health technology devices, wanted an ERP system to deal with billing, accounting and taxes in different regions of the world
Health technology devices manufacturer Qardio has adopted the NetSuite OneWorld platform to handle its global enterprise resource planning (ERP).
Qardio manufactures and sells personal healthcare devices in regions such as the US, the UK and the Netherlands, and as a global firm it needed an ERP system that could deal with billing, accounting and taxes in different regions.
Jorrit Kelderman, CFO at Qardio, says: “We are still a relatively small company, but we are growing rapidly. The NetSuite platform allows us to make the company scalable.”
Before moving to NetSuite OneWorld, Qardio was using an external accounting company in the US that handled its financial process on a NetSuite platform, but Qardio had no involvement in the relationship.
As the firm moved into new regions, it formed its own relationship with NetSuite, using its cloud-based platform to handle data from all its regions, including its Dutch and Hong Kong operations.
Kelderman adds: “We looked at other systems as well, but from a functionality and pricing perspective, for a small company like us, it worked really well.”
Qardio has a retail website, which although it has the same back-end platform, translates into 10 languages, as well as an app that can be downloaded in different languages according to region.
An external firm helped Qardio’s team to implement the NetSuite, and developed an interface on its NetSuite platform for its e-commerce offering, which is currently held on a separate platform.
“We are currently using another platform for our e-commerce,” sayd Kelderman. “We are thinking about migrating to the NetSuite e-commerce platform as well, but my focus was on getting all of the customer relationship management, billing and accounting data in there first, and then we’ll take it from there. I want to get the engine running.”
According to Kelderman, having all the firm’s finance data in one system not only reduces the complexity of tasks, but also reduces risk.
Catering for the healthcare market
Many startups are established to address a real-life problem, and Qardio was created after its founder’s father suffered a stroke.
To address a gap in the market for portable, modern, personal healthcare devices, Qardio developed devices such as blood pressure monitors, smart wireless scales and EKG monitors.
Kelderman explains: “There is a huge market for making it easier to track health and a lot of people are more willing to take care of their own health. We help them by providing these devices.”
As the healthcare industry faces spiralling costs, many have suggested using technology as a tool to move towards a model of preventative, rather than reactive healthcare.
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This would mean monitoring people’s health to make sure they do not need treatment, rather than treating them when they get sick.
Kelderman says the proliferation of healthcare devices means people are becoming more open to monitoring their health using technology, and Qardio is working with organisations such as the NHS to make sure the devices can be used in a co-operative and helpful fashion.
“By having a lot more data available around people’s health, in our view that is going to help the whole sector big time,” he says.
Qardio’s target market is people who have conditions that need to be monitored to prevent them requiring treatment, rather than those who are perfectly healthy or those who are already critically ill.
“We focus on people who are not critically ill, but have something where the doctor has said they need to monitor their blood pressure,” says Kelderman.
Data for doctors
Qardio designed its devices to make them easier and more comfortable for patients to use and carry around, but it also built a control panel, called Qardio MD, through which doctors can monitor patients’ data remotely.
“It’s a platform that unlocks all the data from our devices,” says Kelderman. “The doctor can log into that platform and see all the data at once. People and patients don’t have to send the data via email or in other ways – it’s all embedded in the software.”
Qardio MD makes it easy for doctors to interpret large amounts of data for large numbers of patients.
It should save time and money for patients and healthcare services, as patients can take their own readings rather than having to visit a doctor or hospital regularly.
Approved algorithms
Healthcare authority-approved algorithms are used to help doctors interpret the data. Most development work on platforms and algorithms is done by Qardio and certified by third parties.
“Obviously, we have to be very careful because it’s medical data and we are not doctors – we cannot interpret it,” says Kelderman. “Also, the algorithms need to be approved to make sure people can rely on them.
“We also need to make sure the data is stored in the right way. We have to be compliant, and that is what we are focusing on right now for all of our devices.”
Patients are responsible for buying the devices, and the platform is currently free for doctors. However, in the future, use of the MD software may move to a purchase or subscription-based model, which can be supported through NetSuite.
