Rehability case study

Group 14 – come up with creative name

01. December 2022

Executive summary:
The company “Rehability” successfully created a demand in an uncontested market
space by focusing on a new customer segment “people with disabilities who want to
live life to fullest”. The company aligned all resources to their vision to create a
superior experience along the customer lifecycle.
Case review:
The traditional medical supply stores commonly shared the opinion that the industry
situation is driven by health care insurance funds as they represent 74% of total
market sales only looking for low-price-products. Furthermore, it was assumed that
regulations restrict opportunities for product diversification and innovation and that
consumers will continue to follow suggestions of their healthcare insurance for
making their purchasing decision. To meet this assumptions, the medical supply
stores focused on low-price, standardized products by compromising quality to
increase the effects of economy of scales. To enhance these effects large chain
stores offering a bride variety of products were established and service was cut to a
minimum, leading to a conveyed setting of “illness”.
It is important to state that the abovementioned traditional mindset does not only
exists in high regulated industries. It can be a case in any industry with low
differentiation, switching costs and pressure for innovation as well an in industries
where multiple players influence the customer decision journey.
The German company Rehabiltiy assumed that there is enough space to innovate
and that the change in consumer behavior – becoming more aware of a healthy
lifestyle – bares a huge potential to address the almost 5 million (1995; 2.45 million
under age of 65) people with physically disabilities. Furthermore, they expected that
the target segment of people with disabilities, that want to be an “active member of
society” is willing to pay for superior, high-quality products and services.
Therefore, Rehability focusses on mobility solutions and provided a product portfolio
of personalized wheelchairs and hand bikes instead of standardized wheelchairs. To
address these pain points, they relied on strong networking with the consumers by
creating a community, offering activates like seminars, get together and sport. More
important, they offered impeccable service, comfortable stores, and the whole
ecosystem that caters to the need for integration supporting the “new way of life”. In
detail to fit the customer needs in the best possible way, the products were
developed by people who are experiencing the problem they solve. The stores are
on the outskirts of larger cities with huge parking space that it is easy to reach for the
costumers and provide a setting of an active environment, where customer can test
the products. In addition, the company hired people with physical disabilities,
ergotherapist and bicycle mechanics and they helped consumers to wade through
administrative requirements of insurance to provide a superior service.

Following a clear strategy with coherent actions helped Rehability to create a

successful business as well as the consumers by increasing the opportunity to be an
active part of society.