The MedTech Field Inventory Turning Point: What Our 2025 Benchmark Survey Revealed About Sales, Operations, and the Path Ahead

The MedTech Field Inventory Turning Point: What Our 2025 Benchmark Survey Revealed About Sales, Operations, and the Path Ahead

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For years, MedTech has operated under intense pressure with case volumes on the rise, product lifecycles on the decline, and elevated expectations that sales and operations move in perfect harmony. Yet across the industry, one reality kept surfacing: the last mile is still too manual, too unpredictable, and too costly.

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That’s why Movemedical launched the first-ever Sales & Operations Benchmark Survey for Field Inventory Excellence. We wanted to measure where teams are succeeding, where they are struggling, and where meaningful competitive advantage is hiding in plain sight. As Bo Molocznik, Movemedical Founder, states in the report’s foreword, the industry doesn’t need “another piece of software; it needs alignment.”  

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And alignment starts with truth. This survey brings it into focus. ‍

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What We Found‍

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Across 110 respondents representing sales reps and operations leaders around the world, one pattern showed up repeatedly: ‍

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When visibility improves, performance follows. Case delays drop. Waste shrinks. Manual churn disappears. Teams get time back. And both sales and operations move from reacting to executing.

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The data highlights:

• Missing or delayed inventory is still the #1 cause of case delays. (Page 7)
• After adopting Movemedical, “frequent” case disruptions drop by 25%. (Page 8)  
• Ops teams globally still rely on fragmented tech stacks like ERPs, spreadsheets, and email to manage inventory. (Page 17)  
• Nearly 40% of ops teams see inventory shortages weekly, risking delays and patient impact. (Page 18)  
• Movemedical users report 50%+ reductions in manual work and helps field sales and operations teams make informed decisions. (Pages 20–21)  

This is the story the numbers tell: ‍

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Field inventory is no longer a back-office problem. It’s a lever for revenue, readiness, and real operational advantage. ‍

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Four Trends that Shaped MedTech in 2025; and Redefining 2026 ‍

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Sales Trend: Inventory Uncertainty Is Still Derailing Case Readiness

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The most consistent disruptor of patient care remains painfully clear:
55% of reps say missing or delayed inventory is the leading cause of case delays. (Page 7)  

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This isn’t a sales inconvenience—it’s a procedural risk.

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It reinforces that disconnected systems and manual coordination are no longer “manageable inefficiencies.” They are direct barriers to revenue, rep productivity, and surgeon satisfaction.

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Reps are still supplementing modern tools with texts, calls, emails, and spreadsheets—habits that signal both cultural and process gaps. (Page 9)  

Where organizations invest next will determine whether this friction disappears or compounds. ‍

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Sales Trend: Digital Tools Are Reducing Disruptions, but Adoption Consistency Matters

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After adopting Movemedical, reps report:

• A major shift from “frequent” to “rare” case disruptions ‍
• 3+ hours saved per week for more than one-third of users
• Increasing confidence in product availability and pricing (Pages 8–12)  

But the signal underneath the numbers is equally important: Some teams still don’t experience the full benefit.

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This reveals a critical truth. Digital transformation isn’t a switch; it’s a practice. Those who commit fully are seeing measurable returns. Those who don’t are leaving revenue, market performance, and time on the table. ‍

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Operations Trend: Field Inventory Is Being Pulled Back, and Visibility Is the Make-or-Break Factor

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Ops leaders overwhelmingly report that they are actively reducing field inventory, driven by:

• Visibility and tracking accuracy (65%) ‍
• Carrying cost reduction (52%) ‍
• Waste from expired or unused product (52%) (Page 16)  

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But reducing inventory without upgrading visibility is a perilous strategy. Weekly shortages reported by nearly 40% of operations teams show how razor-thin margins have become. (Page 18)  

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When inventory pools shrink, precision becomes non-negotiable—and manual reconciliation, missing data, and slow restocking processes become liabilities. This is where the best-performing orgs differentiate: They pair reduced physical inventory with increased digital visibility. ‍

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Operations Trend: Automation Is Now the Primary Path to Efficiency and Risk Reduction

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Operations teams report:

• Manual reconciliation is the #1 bottleneck to restocks/returns (Page 19)
• ‍50%+ reductions in manual work after adopting Movemedical (Page 20) ‍
• 81% improved decision-making capability with better data (Page 21)  

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Automation is no longer a “nice to have”—it is the backbone of modern ops strategy. The most noteworthy shift: Ops teams are reclaiming 3–10 hours per week, and in some cases more. Those hours aren’t theoretical—they represent fewer shortages, fewer late shipments, fewer billing errors, and fewer downstream scrambles. (Page 22)  

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This is the beginning of a new normal: Less chasing. More orchestrating. ‍

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What This Means for 2026 Planning, Execution, and Growth

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2026 will belong to organizations that treat field inventory not as a cost center but as a strategic performance engine. The survey reveals a path forward that is both simple and demanding:

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1. Align sales and operations around a single source of truth.

The cost of misalignment shows up in delays, shortages, rework, and lost revenue. The benefit of alignment shows up everywhere else.

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2. Reduce inventory only when visibility is strong enough to support it.

Otherwise, teams trade waste for risk.

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3. Eliminate manual bottlenecks before they scale.

Manual reconciliation, text-based updates, unstructured communication—these are silent killers of execution speed.

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4. Invest in automation and connected workflows that compound over time.

Automation is the clearest path to time savings, cost reduction, and organizational consistency.

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5. Reclaim time for what matters most: the patient.

Every hour saved upstream creates capacity downstream; capacity that directly impacts readiness, surgeon relationships, and quality of care. The industry is at a turning point.  

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The winners will be those who move first—and move decisively. ‍

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Download the Full 2025 Field Inventory Excellence Benchmark Report

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This article scratches the surface. The full report includes charts, user insights, and data across every major segment surveyed.

Download the full report to see where your organization stands—and where the industry is heading.

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