Australasian Dentist Issue 93

106 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST C M Y CM MY CY CMY K TESTIMONIALS I n 1997, while serving as senior regional manager for NAB, Merv Saultry was approached to research the dental industry. What he found was shocking. Suppliers were charging dentists vastly different prices for the same product – even if they were located on the same street or in neighbouring townships. Seeing how individual dental practices were easily exploited for lack of buying power in a largely opaque supply market, Merv decided to leverage his financial knowhow and set up a dental buyer’s network. The concept was straightforward: Draw on the collective strengths of individual dentists to amass greater negotiating and buying power. That seed idea has since grown into Australia’s largest commercial network for dentists. As Dental Innovations marks its 25th Anniversary this year, it brings to bear a salient point – what Merv had discovered in 1997 is still as relevant today. United we stand In amarketplace increasingly dominated by large corporates and health fund providers, the economic imperative for dentists to unite is still as pertinent – though more profoundly felt than ever. “The dental industry has changed significantly over the last 25 years and continues to do so,” says Berris Saultry, Director of Dental Innovations. “However the value proposition of the independent dentist who owns and operates his or her own practice still remains unchanged.” The same dichotomy can be said of the company. Although Merv stepped down as the CEO in 2011 to let his sons Tim and Berris run the organisation, nothing has changed fundamentally. They remain a family business dedicated to improving the bottom-line of their members. They continue to help practice owners systemise their business while leveraging the power of the collective Strength to strength in numbers The 25th anniversary of Dental Innovations proves that the purchasing network for independent dentists is alive and well in our highly corporatized industry. By Danny Chan to enhance individual prosperity. What has changed is the scale and delivery of the business. From a modest outfit in 1997, DI has grown into a bona- fide network boasting more than 750 independent dental practices across Australia and New Zealand. Since its inception, DI has saved its members millions of dollars. Savings (both time and financial) are accrued from a range of membership benefits: Stock Management and Inventory Control systems including exclusive discount pricing with 10 suppliers on more than 60,000 products; reductions in credit card merchant fees; practice insurance premiums; equipment discounts and access to complimentary marketing content resources. The company has also created various avenues for members to connect and exchange ideas and best practices with other dentists. These include a private online forum, networking events and webinars. These well-received programs have been developed in keeping with the rapid change of pace as well as increased pressure on dentists. “Dentists are up against multi- nationals. Venture capital is flooding in. Health funds attempting to control the industry,” Tim adds. “It’s an increasingly hostile environment. What most dentists want to do is dentistry but they end up having to cope with the immense pressures of running a business.” Membership has its privileges The message is clear. Only by banding together can dentists ever hope of generating enough critical mass to make themselves stand out in the crowded marketplace or heard above the media- saturated cacophony. That said, there are those who join Dental Innovations with simpler goals. Dr Sam Rogers, who has been with DI right from the start, said he was looking to form a peer group – preferably one with “very efficient buying power that the Australian Dentist Association wasn’t involved in.” While complimentary ofDI’s peer group support, exclusive deals and customer service, the owner of Northbridge Dental Clinic believes his biggest membership gains were the friendships he had cultivated within DI’s collegial framework. “It’s the feeling of not being in it alone,” he summarises, identifying one of those ‘invaluable intangibles’ rarely associated with the price of a membership. Echoing the sentiment, fellow Foundation Member Dr Andrew Prideaux said he also joined DI because he saw the value of grouping with like-minded dentists. Dr Prideaux joined as part of a group practice in 1998, but found bigger membership yields since moving into his own private practice in 2000. The Director of Mosman Fine Dental says he benefited the most from DI’s networking information, online portal and benchmarking services. Dr Prideaux singles out the peer-to- peer chat forum as the go-to conduit for Dr Andrew Prideaux, Director of Mosman Fine Dental