Businessmodel of Materialise

Customer Segments

Materialise has a mass market business model, with no significant differentiation between customer groups. The company targets its offerings at organizations of all industries and sizes.

Value Proposition

Materialise offers four primary value propositions: accessibility, performance, risk reduction, and brand/status.

The company creates accessibility by providing a wide variety of options. Its solutions have a broad range of applications, with uses in the aerospace, aerospace, art, cardiovascular, consumables, consumer electronics, cranio-maxillofacial, fashion, jewelry, and orthopaedic industries.

The company demonstrates strong performance through tangible results. Specific positive outcomes for clients include the following:

• GE Aviation used Materialise’s solutions to reduce the weight of its aerospace parts by 37%
• SL Corporation used Materialise’s solutions to reduce the weight of its jigs by 40% and lower their lead times by 10%
• Atos used Materialise’s solutions to reduce the mass of its inserts from 1,454 grams to 500 grams
• Primo Toys used Materialise’s solutions to reduce its parts assembly time by 25% and reduce the cost of parts by 20%
• Titan Company used Materialise’s solutions to reduce the turnaround time from design to product development as well as lead time The company reduces risk by maintaining high quality and safety standards. It maintains ISO 14001, ISO 9001:2008, ISO 13485:2003, EN9100, and EASA Part 21G  certifications.

The company has established a strong brand due to its success. It claims to have the largest 3D printing facilities in the world and the largest group of software developers in the industry. It has also won a number of honors, including the following:

• RTAM/SME Industry Achievement Award
• Innovation by Design Award for the GO Wheelchair by Layer
• Silmo d’Or Award for SEIKO Xchanger
• ISPO Award for Phits Insoles
• Henry van de Velde Company Award
• Several Trends Gazellen awards
• MAD Visionaries! Award ### Channels

Materialise’s main channel is its direct sales team. It also conducts sales through third-party distributors such as local dealers and original equipment manufacturers. The company promotes its offerings through its website, social media pages, expos, summits, and conferences.

Customer Relationships

Materialise’s customer relationship is primarily of a personal assistance nature. The company assists customers in the following ways:

• Support Services – The company offers a complementary Software Maintenance Package for the first 12 months following a purchase. The package provides customers with the latest versions of its software, technical support from its customer service engineers, and the ability to switch hardware at no additional cost. After those 12 months, there is a charge to continue the service.
• Training Services – The company offers training sessions at professional training centers and at clients’ facilities. The sessions include hands-on exercises and real-world projects. Despite this orientation, there is a self-service component. The company’s website features a “Resources“ section that includes iinstruction manuals, brochures, license agreements, presentations, and videos. The site also provides answers to frequently asked questions.

Key Activities

Materialise’s business model entails designing and developing its products and delivering related services to its customers.

Key Partners

Materialise’s key partners are the third-party distributors that help promote and sell its products and the suppliers that provide it with the equipment and materials it needs to produce its products.

Key Resources

Materialise’s main resources are its human resources, who include the engineering employees that design and develop its products and services, the sales employees that promote them, the training employees that provide instruction, and the customer service personnel that provide support.

It maintains important physical resources in the form of its more than 140 industrial 3D printers, with manufacturing centers in Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland.

Lastly, it places a high priority on intellectual property, with 97 issued patents and 166 pending patent applications in the United States, Japan, and the European Union.

Cost Structure

Materialise has a value-driven structure, aiming to provide a premium proposition through significant personal service and frequent service enhancements. Its biggest cost driver is cost of sales, a variable expense.

Other major drivers are in the areas of sales/marketing, research/development, and administration, all fixed costs.

Revenue Streams

Materialise has two revenue streams: revenues it generates from the sale of its products and revenues it generates from the sale of its services.