Category Manager - Orthopedic Power Systems

Location: Pune, Maharashtra

Employment Type: Full-time

Travel: Extensive domestic travel; occasional international travel

1. Role Purpose

The Category Manager – Orthopedic Power Systems will be responsible for building, managing, and growing Manman’s Orthopedic Power Systems business as an independent strategic category. The role will own the complete category lifecycle — from market intelligence, product strategy and portfolio planning to pricing, sales enablement, channel development, marketing, product launches, inventory planning and profitability.

The individual will act as the central interface between R&D;, Engineering, Production, Quality & Regulatory, Sales, Service, Marketing, Finance and Supply Chain, ensuring that the Orthopedic Power Systems portfolio remains clinically relevant, commercially competitive and financially successful.

The ideal candidate should combine strong orthopedic product knowledge with commercial and business-development capability.

1. Key Responsibilities

A. Category Strategy & Business Ownership
- Develop and execute the annual and long-term strategy for the Orthopedic Power Systems category.
- Own category revenue, gross margin, market share and growth objectives.
- Develop annual business plans covering:

- Revenue

- Unit volumes

- ASP

- Gross margin

- Product mix

- Channel mix

- Geographic expansion
- Identify new market opportunities, customer segments and applications for orthopedic power systems.
- Develop category growth strategies for India and selected international markets.
- Track competitors, pricing, technology, product launches and market positioning.
- Identify gaps in Manman’s portfolio and recommend new products or product variants.

B. Product Portfolio Management Own the complete Orthopedic Power Systems portfolio, including relevant:
- High-speed drill systems
- Large-bone systems
- Small-bone systems

- Saw systems

- Oscillating/sagittal saws

- Reciprocating saws

- Shaver systems

- Endoscopic burr systems

- Attachments

- Handpieces

- Accessories

- Consumables

- Batteries and chargers
- Related service and AMC offerings

Responsibilities include
- Define product positioning and target customer for each product.
- Maintain the product portfolio and product lifecycle.
- Identify products requiring upgrades, replacement or discontinuation.
- Develop product roadmaps in coordination with R&D; and Engineering.
- Define product specifications based on market and clinical requirements.
- Gather voice-of-customer and surgeon feedback.
- Convert clinical requirements into clear product requirements for Engineering/R&D.;

C. Product Development & Recent Product Introduction
- Prepare Product Requirement Documents (PRDs) for new products.
- Work with Engineering/R&D; on product development priorities.
- Coordinate prototype evaluation with surgeons and key opinion leaders.
- Organize clinical/user evaluations and product trials.
- Coordinate with Quality & Regulatory for required documentation and approvals.
- Develop launch plans for new products.
- Establish product readiness gates before commercial launch.
- Coordinate first production, field trials and commercial release.

D. Pricing & Commercial Management
- Develop product pricing strategy based on:

- Manufacturing cost

- Landed cost

- Competitor pricing

- Clinical value

- Channel margins

- Customer segment

- Market positioning
- Recommend MRP, distributor/dealer pricing and institutional pricing.
- Monitor discounting and price realization.
- Develop tender and institutional pricing frameworks.
- Identify opportunities to improve category gross margin.
- Monitor profitability by product, customer segment and channel.

E. Sales Enablement Work closely with the Sales team to increase conversion and category penetration.

Responsibilities include





- Develop sales presentations and product literature.
- Create product comparison sheets.
- Develop competitive battle cards.
- Conduct regular product training for sales teams and distributors.
- Train sales personnel on clinical applications and product positioning.
- Support major customer meetings, product demonstrations and evaluations.
- Participate in important tenders and institutional negotiations.
- Support the sales team in converting strategic accounts.

F. Surgeon & Key Opinion Leader Engagement Build strong relationships with orthopedic surgeons, hospitals and clinical experts.
- Identify and develop Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs).
- Conduct surgeon feedback programs.
- Organize product demonstrations and workshops.
- Coordinate product evaluations at hospitals.
- Gather structured feedback on product performance and clinical usability.
- Identify emerging surgical techniques and applications.
- Develop surgeon advisory panels where appropriate.
- Convert clinical feedback into product-development priorities.

G. Channel & Market Development
- Develop strategies for direct, dealer and distributor channels.
- Identify and onboard suitable channel partners.
- Define territory-wise category opportunities.
- Develop distributor sales targets and business plans.
- Monitor distributor inventory and secondary sales.
- Identify underpenetrated states and territories.
- Support international expansion of the category where required.
- Develop market-entry plans for new countries.

H. Marketing & Category Communication Work with the Marketing team to build the Orthopedic Power Systems brand and category.

Responsibilities include

- Develop category positioning and messaging.
- Plan product launches and campaigns.
- Create clinical and technical marketing content.
- Develop brochures, catalogues, videos and digital content.
- Support exhibitions, conferences and workshops.
- Plan surgeon engagement activities.
- Develop product demonstrations and educational material.
- Measure marketing effectiveness and lead conversion.

I. Demand Planning & Inventory Work closely with Sales, Production and Supply Chain to ensure the right product availability.
- Prepare monthly and annual demand forecasts.
- Translate sales plans into SKU-level forecasts.
- Monitor inventory levels and ageing.
- Identify slow-moving and obsolete inventory.
- Coordinate production planning based on demand.
- Ensure availability of critical handpieces, attachments, batteries and consumables.
- Monitor forecast accuracy.
- Work towards improving inventory turns and working capital efficiency.

J. Service & Product Lifecycle Management Work closely with the Service team to improve customer experience and product lifecycle economics.
- Analyse field failures and service complaints.
- Identify recurring product issues.
- Coordinate corrective actions with Engineering and Quality.
- Monitor warranty claims.
- Develop AMC/service opportunities.
- Identify opportunities for refurbishment, upgrades and replacement sales.
- Track installed base and replacement cycles.
- Develop strategies for consumable and accessory attachment.

1. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Category Manager will be evaluated on measurable business outcomes including:

Commercial

- Category revenue growth

- Unit sales growth

- Gross margin

- Average selling price

- Price realization

- Product mix

- New customer acquisition

Market
- Market share growth

- Number of active hospitals

- Number of active surgeons/users

- Geographic penetration





- Dealer/distributor productivity

Product
- New product launches

- Launch success

- Product adoption

- Product lifecycle management

- Customer satisfaction

- Product quality feedback

Channel
- Active distributors/dealers

- Distributor sales

- Secondary sales

- Dealer productivity

- Channel inventory

Operational
- Forecast accuracy

- Inventory turns
- Slow-moving inventory

- Product availability

- Warranty/service performance

1. Cross-Functional Responsibilities

The Category Manager will work closely with:

Function| Primary Interaction

Sales| Revenue, pipeline, product conversion

Marketing| Category positioning and campaigns

R&D; / Engineering| Product development and roadmap

Production| Costing, capacity and product availability

Quality & Regulatory| Compliance and product approvals

Service| Installed base, failures and lifecycle

Supply Chain| Forecasting and inventory

Finance| Pricing, margins and profitability

Management| Category strategy and business reviews

1. Candidate Profile

Education

Preferred

- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Life Sciences, Pharmacy or a related discipline.
- MBA in Marketing, Product Management or Business Management will be an advantage.

Experience 5–10 years of relevant experience, preferably in:
- Orthopedic medical devices

- Surgical instruments

- Orthopedic power tools

- Neurosurgical power tools

- Surgical equipment

- Medical device product management
- Medical device sales/business development

Candidates with strong experience in orthopedic power tools, surgical drills, saws, shavers or related capital equipment will be preferred.

Required Skills

- Strong understanding of orthopedic surgical procedures and applications.
- Product management experience.
- Commercial and business-development orientation.
- Strong analytical and market-research capabilities.
- Understanding of medical-device distribution.
- Pricing and margin management.
- Excellent presentation and communication skills.
- Ability to interact confidently with orthopedic surgeons.
- Ability to work with engineering and technical teams.
- Strong negotiation skills.
- Willingness to travel extensively.

1. Desired Personal Attributes

The ideal candidate should be:
- Commercially aggressive but analytically driven

- Customer and surgeon focused
- Strong in ownership and execution

- Comfortable working with ambiguity

- Data driven

- Curious about technology
- Strong at cross-functional coordination
- Able to understand both clinical and commercial requirements
- Comfortable presenting to senior management
- Willing to spend significant time in the field

1. What Success Looks Like

Within the first 12 months, the Category Manager should be able to:
1. Establish a clear strategy for the Orthopedic Power Systems category.
2. Build a comprehensive competitor and market map.
3. Define the product portfolio and product roadmap.
4. Establish SKU-level sales and demand forecasts.
5. Improve sales-team product capability.
6. Build a structured surgeon/KOL engagement program.
7. Improve product conversion and market penetration.
8. Identify new product and portfolio opportunities.
9. Improve category gross margins and price realization.
10. Establish a measurable category review system with monthly business dashboards.

1. Role Philosophy

This is not a conventional Product Manager role. The Category Manager is expected to operate as the business owner of Orthopedic Power Systems, with responsibility extending beyond product specifications into revenue, profitability, market development, customer adoption and portfolio growth.

The role requires an individual who can move seamlessly between a surgeon discussion in the morning, a product-development meeting in the afternoon and a commercial/business review with management in the evening.

📌 Category Manager - Orthopedic Power Systems (Pune)
🏢 Manman
📍 Pune