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THE PROMINENT DR. ROMBACH

John had settled comfortably into the soft, leather passenger seat. The big, black Mercedes slipped silently

onto the autobahn on the outskirts of Munich. In a few moments the driver, Klaus Ehrwald, was expertly

guiding the car at over 120 miles per hour. They were heading for Salzburg, Austria, for a meeting with Dr.

Hans Rombach, a prominent cardiovascular surgeon. At this speed it wouldn’t take them long to get there.

John Cannon was an American expatriate managing the German subsidiary of International Medical

Laboratories (IML), a large American biomedical equipment company specializing in expensive, high-

quality heart / lung machines used in open heart surgery. John was a graduate of a prestigious American

west coast university where he majored in international business and had been a very successful

biotechnology market analyst early in his career. When he joined IML as their marketing product line

manager for cardiovascular instrumentation, he was charged with the responsibility of taking the system

into the international market. He immediately targeted Western Europe.

The system proved to be an instant success, with Germany as the strongest market. It wasn’t long until

John was appointed the subsidiary manager for Germany and became a quick learner of local business

practices. He was determined to successfully promote the IML system to surgeons in all the clinics and

hospitals in the German sales region. He had been living in Munich for over year now.

He spoke casually about the upcoming meeting with Dr. Rombach to Klaus, his general sales manager.

Klaus was a Bavarian native and understood the “Teutonic character” very well.

John: I’ve been wanting to meet Dr. Rombach for a long time, Klaus. He has quite a reputation

among his peers. What sort of a man is he?

Klaus: Pretty typical of a successful European surgeon: arrogant, confident, and with a very great

opinion of himself. He did one of the very first heart transplants in Austria, and now people come

from everywhere to him for routine cardiovascular surgery. He does four or five surgeries a week

and makes a fortune. He has really pioneered some new, successful procedures and publishes

the results of his work in the very best medical journals. He has an international reputation as both

a brilliant surgeon and a very successful entrepreneur at his private clinic.

John: What kind of equipment is he using now?

Klaus: He’s using the Freznus system, German of course. It’s not as good as ours, but the

company has been around for a long time and he’s been using their equipment for years. Like

most surgeons, he doesn’t like to change equipment once he gets used to it.

John: As I recall, we can be very price-competitive with Freznus. Our system sells for about

$25,000, and theirs typically sells for over $30,000 when you compare all the same features.

Besides, we have a much more stable temperature control system (for controlling blood

temperatures during bypass surgery) plus the very latest technology in the new pump systems.

Our overall system is based on U.S. technology and one of the main sub-systems now includes

new Swiss-designed pumps which are generally thought to be the most reliable in the world.

Morris, Tom. June 1996. University of San Diego. Originally presented at a meeting of the World Association for Case Method

Research & Application. Case Problems in Management.

Klaus: Tell it to Dr. Rombach. I’ve been trying to sell him on our system for a long time, but he

continuous to use the German system in spite of the price difference and the high-tech image of

our equipment. He’s very concerned about quality and reliability. I guess he regards the German

equipment as being more reliable, or maybe he’s he is just nationalistic.

As they moved smoothly and swiftly along the autobahn, John thought about the nationalism issue for a

while. It was true that many citizens of Europe actively sought out nationally produced products – the

French, Germans, and the British in particular. In some cases it was a subconscious sort of thing. In other

cases it was very specific. In order to sell capital equipment to the public hospitals and clinics in France, for

example, you had to be named on the French-approved supplier list. The only companies which appeared

on this list were French companies or perhaps a few foreign firms that had no French competitor.

The Austrians were not quite so tough on foreigners, but they typically favored the German products. John

hoped that the current attempt to unify Europe would help to remove some of the traditional barriers to

foreign products. He thought carefully about how to approach this issue with Dr. Rombach and decided to

let the product speak for itself. After all, the IML system was in use in the most prestigious heart hospitals

in the United States, and that fact would not be lost on the prominent doctor.

After a brief conversation with Klaus on sales strategy and a technical comparison of the competing

systems, they exited the autobahn onto a long sweeping curve, gearing down smoothly, and soon arrived

at the outskirts of Salzburg. Dr. Rombach’s clinic was only a few kilometers from the exit. As they

approached the clinic, John could not help but admire the gracious old building with its Greek columns.

Upon entering, they were struck by the transition from the dusty marble entryway with its classic style of

architecture to a modern, gleaming, state-of-the-art medical facility. There was no mistaking the detailed

attention to high quality everywhere. Dr. Rombach’s office was on the third floor, overlooking the river and

the woods beyond. The secretary greeted them efficiently and confirmed their appointment. Yes … the

doctor was in and expecting them. As they were being ushered into the office, Dr. Rombach swiveled

around in his huge chair and rose to welcome them.

Klaus: Good morning Dr. Rombach. I’d like to introduce my colleague, Herr Cannon.

Dr. Rombach: Ah, good morning Herr Ehrwald and Herr Cannon. I suppose you have come to tell

me of your new and wonderful American Equipment.

Klaus: Of course. As always, we wish you to have the very best equipment for your work.

Dr. Rombach: Fine, fine…. Let us have some coffee while we chat, and then I shall take you for a

tour of our facility and show you our new operating theaters and recovery wing, just finished last

month.

As they began to make conversation, both John and Klaus were careful to avoid any direct mention of their

purpose for the visit. All parties knew that they were there to talk about the American equipment, but it

could wait until the proper moment. The tour was impressive, state-of-the-art equipment was everywhere;

the facilities and laboratories were the most modern John had ever seen. He had recently been in Los

Angeles, Houston, and Minneapolis to see the best of the U.S. facilities, as well as the new hospital in

Rotterdam, but this clinic was truly incredible. He noted the Freznus equipment in the operating theaters.

It seemed oddly dated among all the other high tech equipment.

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The Prominent Dr. Rombach1 John had settled comfortably into the soft, leather passenger seat. The big, black Mercedes slipped silently onto the autobahn on the outskirts of Munich. In a few moments the driver, Klaus Ehrwald, was expertly guiding the car at over 120 miles per hour. They were heading for Salzburg, Austria, for a meeting with Dr. Hans Rombach, a prominent cardiovascular surgeon. At this speed it wouldn’t take them long to get there. John Cannon was an American expatriate managing the German subsidiary of International Medical Laboratories (IML), a large American biomedical equipment company specializing in expensive, high-quality heart / lung machines used in open heart surgery. John was a graduate of a prestigious American west coast university where he majored in international business and had been a very successful biotechnology market analyst early in his career. When he joined IML as their marketing product line manager for cardiovascular instrumentation, he was charged with the responsibility of taking the system into the international market. He immediately targeted Western Europe. The system proved to be an instant success, with Germany as the ...
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