Duesseldorf, Germany - 15 February 2011

Foreword David Kerr

The new year is quickly gaining momentum. At GHX we are looking forward to an exciting 2011. We will be intensely focused on increasing the utilisation of integrated connections across Europe and substantial trading partner growth is key to accomplishing our core objective: Maximising benefits for the participants on both sides of a transaction.

To make sure we achieve our goals, we continue to expand our team across our markets. One area we are looking to grow is our key account management. It is imperative that we further improve communication with our customers in purchasing departments and customer service, on the wards and in accounting. Only by being close to and listening to these stakeholders can we reach the deep understanding we need to provide comprehensive, efficient and user-friendly solutions.

More and more medical suppliers, hospital buyers, group purchasing organisations and distributors realise the strategic and financial value in trading electronically with their partners. Electronic communication is gradually becoming the norm for all purchasing transactions. The number of organisations trading electronically via our exchange is increasing steadily. At GHX we are confident that 2011 will continue the transformation within healthcare – an industry ready to embrace the opportunities given by accurate, timely and cost-effective electronic communications.

Asklepios clinic group and GHX announce Germany-wide collaboration

We are delighted that the German Asklepios clinic group is to coordinate their entire medical requirement via the electronic order platform of GHX. Asklepios is one of the biggest clinic groups in Germany with more than 60 clinics and more than 18,000 beds. One of the Asklepios member clinics in Hessen has already been integrated into the GHX platform, the others will follow by mid 2011.

The connection to the GHX system enables the Asklepios clinic group members to process their orders electronically and via one single platform. This leads to an automation of the procurement processes: Transactions, including the ordering of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, can be processed quicker and much more efficiently. This automation frees up the capacity of Asklepios staff to focus on their most important task: patient care. Moreover the Asklepios group will be able to track the order patterns of its member clinics, as the GHX system allows precise insights into several order patterns and order volumes. In this way the purchasing department can assess the actual demand on the basis of concrete data and therefore negotiate respective prices.

With the connection of the clinic group to the GHX platform the Asklepios master data will be matched against the GHX Allsource® catalogue and necessary data cleansing is performed at the same time. The content data base contains all supplier catalogues so that transactions will be processed on the basis of the current price data. We are proud that another leading clinic group in Germany has decided to use the products of GHX.

Welcome on Board!

One of the key objectives of the GHX team for 2011 is to further strengthen the relationships with our customers, making sure the value we are adding to their business is understood across all functions. We are delighted to welcome a number of highly experienced professionals to our team:

• Alexandra Fromm - Communications Manager Europe
• Thorsten Hauber - Integration Analyst
• Sukhraj "Raj" Purewal - Sales Manager North, UK
• Dominika Rudnick - Manager Administration KAM MNS Europe
• George Simeon - Key Account Manager, MultiNational Suppliers

Cooperation within the supply chain is indispensable

The Muiderslot, a famous castle in Muiden in the center of the Netherlands was the setting for the GHX Benelux Customer Day, which took place on 25 November 2010.

The castle used to be the meeting place of the famous 'Muiderkring' for arts and sciences and provided an inspiring environment for this event. The GHX Customer Day’s central theme was collaboration within the value chain. GHX customers shared their specific experiences of true cooperation in the healthcare supply chain. Presentations and discussions were focused on success stories around partners working together: healthcare providers with each other, with suppliers or with third party providers of logistics services.

The collaborative spirit expressed during the day, which is based on communication, trust and sharing of knowledge, showed once again how it can lead to benefits for all participants. Understanding each other's perspective allows all parties concerned to reach their individual goals quicker and more efficiently.

The programme of the event included amongst others five external speakers, who presented interesting insights into current topics such as standardisation in healthcare and the benefits, limitations and specialties in the strategic collaboration within the healthcare industry. The feedback of the participants in Muiden showed their enthusiasm to evolve their relationships in the spirit of partnership.GHX thanks all participants for their willingness to share experiences and the openness of their contribution.

New Swiss Management

Since 1 January 2011 Petra Mosch has taken on the operational responsibility for GHX Switzerland AG. Petra was previously Director and Country Manager for Arrow International, General Manager for Balgrist Tec and Director for J&J Cordis in Switzerland. Her responsibilities in these roles included amongst others sales and marketing management and human resources. Petra Mosch is very much looking forward to the new challenge: “Teamwork is the ability to jointly work towards a common goal. Motivation, respect and good communication are the fuel that turns colleagues into allies, which look into the same direction and achieve excellent results, … as the ability to can is to want, - and who wants, can.”

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