George James Consulting has worked with
The market problem we solve
Europe is not one market. It is thirty-plus.
For an IVD company headquartered outside Europe, the region is one of the largest and most attractive diagnostics markets in the world, and one of the hardest to serve well. Each country has its own language, healthcare system, procurement and tender rules, reimbursement pathways and competitive dynamics. Layered on top is EU IVDR 2017/746 and, post-Brexit, a separate UK regime, both imposing obligations that flow down onto your importers and distributors as "economic operators".
You have no European network yet
Entering the region for the first time, or with negligible coverage. The risk is a slow, scattergun entry and appointing available partners rather than the right ones, the single most expensive mistake in market entry.
Your existing network underdelivers
Distributors are already in place but coverage is patchy, forecasts are missed, some partners have gone quiet, and there is little visibility or management rhythm. The value is trapped in a network you already have.
Different starting points, but one root cause
Distributor-led entry and growth fail far more often because of how the channel is built and run than because of the product. The recurring failure points are the same whether you are building or fixing:
Value proposition
The commercial outcomes you are buying
Not a strategy document. A channel that can be seen, forecast and steered.
Faster time-to-revenue
A prioritised, sequenced approach rather than a scattergun of appointments.
Lower risk
Right-first-time partner selection, and contracts that protect your position.
Higher yield per distributor
Active management that lifts underperformers and compounds the strong.
A managed asset, not a liability
A channel you can see, forecast and steer, rather than one you hear from at quarter end.
How it is organised
Two engagement tracks, one shared engine
Both tracks run off a single library of capability modules. Choose the track that matches your starting point, or combine them, since many companies build in some markets while fixing others.
BUILD
Establish a network from scratch
Best for: companies new to Europe, or with negligible existing coverage, that need to enter deliberately and at pace.
Entry point: a European market-entry consultation.
Outcome: a live, contracted, actively-managed network in your priority markets.
OPTIMISE
Improve an existing network
Best for: companies with distributors already in place that are patchy, unmanaged or underperforming, where value is trapped in the current channel.
Entry point: the Channel Health Check, deepened into a full Distributor Audit.
Outcome: a rationalised, re-baselined, actively-managed network delivering to its potential.
The module library
Seven capability modules
Each module serves both tracks, but does different work depending on where you are starting from. Switch the view below to see how each one applies to you.
How we engage
Start small, scope precisely, scale as it proves out
Every engagement is built from the seven modules above, so the scope matches your starting point rather than a fixed package. Most companies start with a short, low-commitment first step and expand only once the priorities are clear and agreed.
A first conversation
A short, no-obligation conversation with a consultant, whichever track you are on.
- No network yet: a European market-entry consultation.
- Network in place: the Channel Health Check plus a 45-minute readout call.
Ten minutes online; 45 minutes with a consultant.
A scoped first piece of work
A short, self-contained engagement that de-risks anything larger before you commit to it.
- Distributor Audit: territory-by-territory diagnosis and a prioritised remediation roadmap.
- Or a market & channel strategy sprint for a defined set of priority countries.
Typically a few weeks, with a defined deliverable.
The programme
The modules you need, sequenced into a single plan with named consultants and clear milestones.
- BUILD programmes typically run over 6–12 months.
- OPTIMISE programmes typically run over 4–9 months.
- Ongoing performance management continues beyond the programme.
Individual modules can also be commissioned on their own.
Diagnostic tool
European Distribution Channel Health Check
A short, structured diagnostic for any IVD company that already sells through partners. It takes around ten minutes, scores your channel health across six dimensions, and maps directly onto the tracks and modules above. Every completed Health Check is followed by a 45-minute readout call, where we interpret the score dimension by dimension, agree the two or three areas with the greatest commercial upside, and translate them into a clear plan with an expected return.
Why George James Consulting
Operators, not just advisors
This service is delivered by consultants with 30-plus years of international commercial leadership in IVD, including chief commercial officer and VP level roles, board experience, and a hands-on track record of building, managing and turning around European distributor networks for diagnostics companies based outside Europe. Recommendations are grounded in what works in the field, not in a slide deck.
We deliver, not just advise
Hands-on execution and resource, not a document that sits on a shelf. We add resources to your organisation and deliver the implementation plan.
Distributor-side P&L
Our consultants have managed a key European distribution business, delivering revenue and EBITDA growth, so they read the channel from the distributor's side of the table too.
Exclusively diagnostics
Fluent in IVDR, national tenders, reimbursement, clinical adoption and KOL dynamics, across the full lifecycle from strategy to performance management.
Build or fix
The same rigour applies whether you have no network or an ailing one, including the harder, less-glamorous work of remediating a channel that already exists.
Next step
Let's talk about your European channel
Tell us where you are and we'll come back with a view, not a brochure. If it's a fit, we'll propose a modular plan drawn from the seven modules.
- ✓ If you have no network yet: a European market-entry consultation.
- ✓ If you have a network already: the Channel Health Check plus a 45-minute readout.
- ✓ No obligation on either first conversation.
- ✓ Everything you share is treated as confidential.